New interim head coach DJ Smith and the Los Angeles Kings (25-23-14) had a dominant start on the ice and a good start on the scoreboard on Saturday night (March 7) on home ice to set the tone at Crypto.com Arena vs. the Montreal Canadiens (34-18-10) in the opening frame in the first period. The Kings harnessed momentum on the scoreboard early in the game in the opening frame, jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the game's first 15 minutes over the weekend.
A 3-2 lead on the scoreboard in the final frame in the third period for the Los Angeles Kings doesn't yield two points in the standings in the West vs. Montreal on Saturday evening
The Kings outshot the Canadiens by a margin of 16-1 in the opening frame in the first period, and a margin of a half-dozen more high and medium-danger scoring chances than the Habs on the ice over the weekend vs. Montreal (per Natural Stat Trick).
What appeared to be the Kings having control of the game and the momentum on the ice and on the scoreboard in the opening frame in the first period vs. Montreal quickly disappeared in the middle frame in the second period last weekend on home ice in the West.
The Kings saw a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard in the middle frame in the second period disappear in the span of under 15 minutes. Kopitar helped to give the Kings the lead on the scoreboard in the opening frame in the first period, including an assist from star forward Artemi Panarin that he helped to set up as a playmaker in the offensive zone last weekend.
In the middle frame in the second period, the Kings pushed back with a goal from forward Scott Laughton in his debut in a Kings' uniform over the weekend vs. Montreal on home ice. Laughton tied the game up on the scoreboard in the middle frame in the second period for the Kings vs. Montreal last weekend.
It looked like the Kings had re-gained the momentum on the ice in the final frame in the third period vs. Montreal, getting the lead back on the scoreboard in the game on a goal from Alex Laferriere with over a dozen minutes left on the score clock in the game.
But the Habs responded to Laferriere's goal on the scoreboard in the final frame in the third period with a couple of quick goals in the span of under a couple of minutes on the ice. The throttled Kings were unable to mount a response in the final frame in the third period.
The nice start on the ice and on the scoreboard from the likes of Kopitar, Panarin, and Laughton ended up being all for naught as the Kings fell again after holding at least a one-goal lead in the final frame in the third period.
Here are the takeaways from the Kings' dismaying 4-3 regulation loss in the third period vs. the Canadiens on home ice at Crypto.com Arena on March 7.
Kings can't build on Anze Kopitar's goal in the opening frame in the first period
The way that the top-line pairing offensively in the zone played this regular season in the West vs. Montreal for the Kings has helped to display their dominance and productivity on the ice and on the stat sheet for Smith and the team's coaching staff in this past few weeks in the Pacific Division. Kopitar and Panarin set the tone on the ice and on the scoreboard vs. Montreal on home ice at Crypto Arena with the game's first goal in the opening frame in the first period.
"It’s real tough. When the game’s on the line, you got to make plays. With six minutes to go, their top guys made plays. We did a lot of good things. To a man, we worked, we checked, their goalie made a lot of saves, and it’s part of the NHL. We have a refocus to work ethic and effort, and that’s a hard one, but you got to let it go and we got a huge road trip coming."DJ Smith
On the scoreboard, closing out games on the ice has continued to be a major issue in the West for the Kings in the final frame in the third period. Problems on special teams on the power play on the 5-on-4 man advantage also continued to hurt the Kings on the scoreboard in the opening frame last weekend.
Third-period adjustments yield the same result on the ice for the Kings and Smith
I will admit that the results on the ice and how the team has fought on the scoreboard under Smith and the new Kings' coaching staff this regular season in the Pacific Division has looked much different in this past couple of weeks. But the results in the standings in the West this regular season in the Pacific Division haven't been much better for this upcoming postseason in the playoffs.
This loss cost the Kings valuable points in the standings in the West this regular season for the postseason. The Kings needed to get more goals on the scoreboard in the opening frame in the first period and in the middle frame, despite getting a strong debut in a Kings uniform from Laughton over the weekend at the center position for the bottom-six forward core group.
" I think we played a pretty complete game in every area of the ice. We were good defensively. We were good offensively. I think just couple little bounces, and they have some unbelievable offensive players, and I think that they were just able to hurt us with those little bounces."Alex Laferriere
On the ice over the weekend, I thought that the Kings looked like the much better team on the ice and on the stat sheet definitely. But the fact of the matter is that the Kings and Smith and the coaching staff need to produce better results with over three-dozen shots on goal and over two-dozen scoring opportunities on the stat sheet in the West.