Early this week, the Los Angeles Kings (11-6-6) and head coach Jim Hiller were finally able to get on the right side of the win column in the standings on home ice vs. the Ottawa Senators (11-7-4) yesterday. The Kings snapped a two-game losing streak and reeled in their second win on home ice at Crypto Arena this regular season this fall by beating the Senators by one goal in the third period.
Jim Hiller and the Los Angeles Kings claim a win for the second time this month and the second time in as many weeks vs. the Ottawa Senators on home ice
The Kings rallied after a clutch power play goal on special teams in the third period late in the game by defenseman Brandt Clarke. The game-winning goal on the power play was the Kings' only PP goal yesterday from that unit vs. Ottawa.
Hiller gave his reaction to his team's hard-fought win in the third period yesterday with the media after beating Ottawa for the second time in as many weeks.
The Kings have now won two games on home ice this regular season this fall and LA swept the regular season series in the past few weeks against the Senators from Ottawa.
Here's a look at everything Hiller said to the media postgame following the Kings' tight 2-1 win at home at Crypto Arena over the Senators on Nov. 24.
Jim Hiller
On how the Kings grinded to get a hard-fought one-goal win on home ice yesterday vs. Ottawa
"We probably would’ve won a few more if we’d had one or two in some of those other games. The game, to me, is very similar to probably about five of them here that we’ve had that maybe we’ve come up short by a goal. You could be talking about, man, he didn’t get the goal and it was a hard fought game and what’s wrong, but when the puck goes in, now we’re celebrating the results.
So, that’s how important it is. The power play, at 5-on-5, was tough to get anything going on out there, for both teams, and the special teams are critical. Look at our penalty kill, it’s been really good, right? They’ve got an excellent power play. So our penalty kill and special teams make a difference."
On Brandt Clarke scoring the goal on the power play late in the third period on the 5-on-4
"I don’t know that we were particularly sharp, they killed really well, but it only takes one good play, right? Sometimes it comes at the very end. So a really, really good play on the entry, Clarkie unloads and here we are, happy."
On the play of Darcy Kuemper in net, allowing only one goal vs. Ottawa yesterday
"Darcy played really well. I thought Meriläinen played really well, so I thought both goalies were good. We’re pretty used to Darcy being our backbone, and for us, it’s just kind of what we expect. We expect him to be good, to be good to give us a chance, and Forsy’s done the same thing for us. I don’t want to discount how Merilainen played, I thought Kempe had two or three really good looks in the first period and made a couple saves in the second and that’s where Kuemper had to be good, in the second. Third period, we did a really good job, he didn’t have much."
On Warren Foegele scoring a tough goal in front of the net yesterday
"He penalty killed really well too, he was important there. I thought, Foegs got the goal, I thought the two players who really jumped out at me tonight were Foegs and Phil Danault. I thought those guys really had impactful games. Penalty kill, playing against Stutzle’s line. We had a tough time in the faceoff circle, Phil was in there in the end, some big wins. Those two players in particular, who would tell you they haven’t probably felt as good about their game as they’d like to, they were really important for us tonight."
On the adjustments he's made to the lineup in the past few games for the Kings at home
"I like when we win. I mean, this is such a hard game. Like, you probably don't have many guys. And I would say, I'm careful to tell you that we lose a game in overtime. We lose in a shootout, and that it was a whole bunch different than tonight's game was. For me, they're very similar. I'm careful not to just celebrate this so much and say "we played so well tonight". We've played pretty well. We got on the right side of it finally."
On facing Jordan Spence yesterday and getting to talk with him after the game
"I love Spenny, it’s great to see him. He’s one of those guys that brings a lot of life and energy to the locker room, so everybody, we all shared a lot of laughs with him. He’s over in Ottawa now, he’s their player and we wish him well. I’m not going to talk about anything beyond that, outside of how much I miss being around him, because he was the guy that made a lot of people laugh."