The depth and grittiness of the Los Angeles Kings (20-16-13) forward core lines and defensive unit on the blue line and in the net yesterday shined in a big way in the West vs. the New York Rangers (21-24-6) on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena on home ice. Anton Forsberg came in clutch for the Kings and head coach Jim Hiller after the team lost starting goalie Darcy Kuemper due to an injury late in the opening frame in the first period yesterday.
Jim Hiller and the Los Angeles Kings defeat the Rangers in regulation on home ice in a one-goal resilient win, despite losing players to injuries yesterday night on home ice
Forsberg stopped 28 out of 29 shots he faced from the Rangers and Artemi Panarin yesterday on home ice, helping the Kings get the important 4-3 regulation win vs. New York. Hiller and the Kings got goals from forwards Kevin Fiala, Adrian Kempe, Andrei Kuzmenko, and Taylor Ward (his first of this regular season).
Hiller gave his thoughts to the media yesterday after the important and resilient 4-3 win over the Rangers to get the team a really valuable two points in the standings in the West in the Pacific Division on home ice.
The Kings snapped a four-game losing streak yesterday, including three straight overtime or shootout losses in the Pacific Division in the West this past week.
Here's a look at everything Hiller said to the media postgame following the Kings' gritty 4-3 regulation win over the Rangers from the East on home ice at Crypto Arena on Tuesday.
Jim Hiller
On the status of Darcy Kuemper
"Yeah, I don't have too much to share. We'll probably know a little bit more tomorrow."
On how Anton Forsberg played yesterday vs. New York
"I thought he was excellent. That one probably saved the game. I would say on the penalty kill, specifically, that was a pretty impressive couple minutes for him there. We had some good shot blocks also, we were desperate, some good things happened, but you guys all saw it, he made some great saves."
On how Andrei Kuzmenko had more of an aggressive shot-first mentality vs. New York and the lack of playing time in the final frame in the third period
"He did shoot the puck tonight. Kevin gave him a couple. He had a good one-time, two good one-times, right, on the power play specifically. So he shot it more tonight, which is good. He's got a really good shot. It wasn't connected to last game at all."
On Taylor Ward scoring his first goal of the season vs. New York
"What a great goal, just all three of them. Helenius, Malott and of course [Ward] got to finish it. Just a good, hardworking forechecking goal. Big, strong guys, win puck battles, muck it up and then good to see him rewarded finally. Then, hen he had another great chance down the wing again too. Those guys didn’t play a lot, but I thought they played really well once again."
On how Corey Perry played last night
"We went into Edmonton and he joined us, I don’t know what the number was, but I would guess he played maybe 15, 16 minutes and they played against against McDavid’s line a lot of that night, I elevated him when he was with Byfield and Foegele that night. Then we came home, he stayed with Byfield and played I think 17 minutes against Johnston, Dallas, that line, which is a pretty tough assignment.
Then tonight, he played 19 minutes, and a lot of that time was against Zibanejad’s line. So, not only is he elevated and helped us offensively, but he’s out there against the other team’s best line. Typically, I’ve spotted him off the fourth line in different roles, but man, I don’t know what to say. He’s only practiced like twice in the last two weeks, and he’s out there against some of the best players in important minutes."
On how the defense stepped up with Drew Doughty out yesterday vs. New York defensively
"I would have to mention Eddie, he’s somebody that we don’t talk about a lot that way, leadership wise, but I think him and Perrs both are, without letters, secondary guys that really push hard. I think from that perspective, Eddie just does a great job and we really don’t talk about him enough, what he’s given to the organization.
Ceci had a really good night tonight, him and Mikey Drew the assignment; they had Trocheck most of the night, so it’s good to see him step up. And then Moverare, who played extremely well last year, I thought he had a really strong game tonight. He made some plays with the puck offensively, which I thought made us a little more dangerous at the offensive blue line based on some decisions he made."
On the 5-on-3 penalty kill being a turning point in clutch time for the Kings yesterday
"Probably the turning point of the game, I think. Who knows what we’re talking about if they get one there. That was just great. I know the fans really got into it, I think they really appreciated the experts of Forsy during that time.
That was probably the pivotal moment of the game. I thought, besides the offensive zone faceoffs for them, the 6-on-5, the power play, I thought the rest of the 5-on-5, play when it was just free play, up and down the ice, I thought we did a pretty good job of limiting them and their threats."
On how Brandt Clarke stepped up defensively for the Kings yesterday
"It was good. He's ready for that, seemingly. You wonder if it's night after night. It's a bigger assignment. I think the nice part of it was, Mikey and Ceci did a lot of the heavy lifting that way in the defensive zone starts and all those kinds of things. We were able to get him out in the offensive zone and do some stuff where he really excels. We've talked about a good player getting better, you know, weekly, monthly, whatever you want to call it. Really bright future for the Kings."
On how Quinton Byfield performed in faceoffs yesterday at the center position vs. New York
"I had him out there right until the end. We weren’t good in the faceoff circle at all. Quinton had a tough night, there’s no question, those numbers don’t lie, but I think as a team, we were below 30 percent anyway, so it’s not like we were stroking them back in other areas. The biggest faceoff of the night was Armia winning the 5-on-3 draw. I stuck with Q. Q’s important player for us, he’s going to grow, that’s an area that he will improve. They were dangerous and they had all righties.
The righties are really good, Trocheck and Zibanejad, these guys went draws and they get on the other side, and Miller’s a good draw-man, when they want to put him on that dot, so that made it tough."