Knowing how good the Los Angeles Kings have been on the road early this regular season is confounding for head coach Jim Hiller and staff. The Kings are sitting on an eight-game road points streak in the standings in the West this fall, the longest of any team in the league this regular season.
Road wins piling up for the Los Angeles Kings and Jim Hiller early this regular season in the West and in the standings in the Pacific Division
Hiller and the Kings have won four straight games on the road, including two straight to start off this six-game road trip in the Eastern Conference in the middle of this week. The Kings dominated the Montreal Canadiens by a score of 5-1 for an impressive win on the road at the Bell Centre earlier this week on Tuesday evening (Nov. 11).
This comes after the Kings were the league's best home team in the NHL this past regular season. The Kings won a league-best 31 games at home at the friendly confines of Crypto.com Arena this past season in the 2024-25 campaign.
The Kings are playing a brand of hockey that's familiar to the fans. Hiller and Co. are winning gritty games by playing solid defense in front of starting goalie Darcy Kuemper while getting timely offensive support from the top goal scorers on the top-nine forward lines this fall on the ice.
Kuemper and the Kings have allowed two or fewer goals defensively in the road trip's first two games this week, resulting in regulation wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins this past weekend on Sunday and the Habs on Tuesday earlier this week.
"We wanted to push, we wanted to do a little bit more, but they kicked it back and so once they kicked it back, we came back and there was a lot of standing through the neutral zone and clogging it. We just did what we had to do."Jim Hiller
Hiller and the Kings boast seven wins on the road this fall early in the regular season, the most of any team in the Western Conference in the league this year.
"It's weird. Like two years ago, same thing. We're hot on the road. Last year we're hot at home. Now we're hot on the road. So, can't say anything about that. Just how it goes sometimes, but you want to get some wins at home. But we got to finish the road trip strong first."Quinton Byfield
The Kings are getting timely goals from key offensive players who have contributed recently in road wins for the team this fall in the offensive zone. Quinton Byfield scored the eventual game-winning goal and two points for the Kings in the convincing four-goal win over the Habs this past Tuesday on the road. He also registered an assist on the insurance goal to Kevin Fiala late in the first period in the win vs. the Habs on Tuesday earlier this week.
This team is playing much more disciplined and playing a complete 60-minute effort on the road to find this formula for road success early this regular season. The Kings have only allowed one special teams goal on the penalty kill in the past five games on the road early this regular season, which saw LA win four of those contests on the road.
In the past three road games, the Kings have won the battle in the faceoff circle and have outscored their opponents in the game's third period in clutch time when it matters most.
"Being tight and playing more the style we want to on a more consistent basis. Not that we’re not doing it at home, it’s starting to come, but just the 60-minute efforts seem to be there right now on the road. We want to keep building our game and then it’ll start translating to both home and road games."Darcy Kuemper
It feels like the Kings have figured something out to win these bigger games on the road this regular season in the West. The Kings are carrying over the success from this past regular season to help the team build momentum on the road this fall and in this regular season.
In the 2021-22 and 2023-24 seasons, the Kings ranked among the 10 best road teams in the NHL standings.