The Los Angeles Kings (4-2-0) and head coach Jim Hiller played one final true road game this fall in the preseason on Thursday night (Oct. 2) against the Utah Mammoth before the preseason finale on Oct. 4 against the Anaheim Ducks at home. This game was the final opportunity for the Kings to play a true road game in an NHL environment before the start of the upcoming regular season next week.
Utah hands Jim Hiller and the Los Angeles Kings their second loss of the preseason
Hiller gave his thoughts and takeaways from the Kings' one-goal loss to the Mammoth on Thursday night with the media postgame.
Here's a look at everything Hiller said to the media postgame following the Kings' 2-1 loss to the Mammoth at the Delta Center on the road in Salt Lake City on Oct. 2.
Jim Hiller
On how the game went defensively vs. the Mammoth
"Well, first period, we really didn’t play well at all. That was our worst. I liked that we got better as it went on, so that was the most important part for us. Played with a little bit more jam, NHL, get ready for the season. This team had only played most of these guys once, couple guys twice. So that was the positive for sure. And then Venecek played pretty good."
On the discipline the Kings showed vs. the Mammoth
"I thought the last 40 minutes we had the puck a little more than we did in the first 20. When you have the puck, it's generally you can draw them more than you're going to take them. If there was a turning point in the game it was the five-on-three. We had some real good looks and didn't score. So again, that comes back to Vanacek."
On the play of the special teams unit on the power play
"You’d like to see one find the back of the net. We haven’t worked on five-on-three yet, so that was a pretty good opportunity for us to do it there. I mean, again, I’d probably be pretty disappointed if we were game one at this stage, but these are reps, and you know, we got to get better there too. And that comes back on Vanacek, he played well."
On Alex Turcotte and his play this preseason
"Well, he’s just good, and that started last year with him. I give him so much credit. We had him everywhere, and you know, I talked to him before the game. He just knows he’s going to be centered some nights, wing some nights, he might be on the fourth line, he might be up. And he’s really, really matured and really found a groove for himself where nothing rattles him. He’s just ready to get out on the ice and do the job. Sammy made a nice play on that goal, too."
On what he's seen from Samuel Helenius and his development this preseason
"Sammy has just been terrific. What I love about Sammy is that he knows his job. No one has said oh, Sammy’s not playing hard tonight, or Sammy’s not finishing checks, or Sammy’s not winning faceoffs or giving 100% effort. He’s a guy, it’s what we call low maintenance as a coach, he’s got it figured out at a young age, and he’s just going to get better and better."
"He came in, and maybe he was too heavy, and then he was too light, and now he’s just kind of found himself. And I think, for a bigger player, and he’s still so young, it takes some time for everything to kind of start feeling put together and athletic, and what’s surprised me is how quickly that’s happened for him."
On the regular season finale this weekend at Crypto.com Arena
"I think we’re ready for it. We’ve got a new dressing room, I guess. So that’s going to be new. So it’s good to get one game in those new surroundings. I’m sure the guys are going to be wowed by how nice it is. So we’ll get that out of the way. Anaheim I think will bring a pretty good team in so I think it should be a good hockey game. And then here we go."
On what to improve going into the regular season finale vs. Anaheim
"We had probably four or five reads tonight that were preseason reads that maybe we have one or two versus Anaheim where we're like, okay, and then we're going to try to clean that up completely. You can never play mistake-free, but there were four or five tonight that, while watching the video, are ones that are atypical of us."