LAK AT 25: MOVING ON FROM HISTORY

LOS ANGELES, CA — At the start of the 2023-24 NHL season, the expectations for the Los Angeles Kings were higher than they had been since the franchise’s championship era of a decade ago.

With consecutive playoffs appearances building momentum towards contender status, Los Angeles was not among the betting favorites for a Stanley Cup championship. The thought was that continuing improvement would culminate in, at minimum, a playoff round victory, something not seen since its 2014 title.

With a renaissance season from goaltender Cam Talbot, an emergence from Quinton Byfield and organizational depth that is a necessity for every winning team, it was not a surprise the Kings started well in the season’s early days. What couldn’t be foreseen was the historic start that propelled Los Angeles to its current standing among the NHL’s elite.

The historic 11 straight wins to start the season included both three-goal comebacks and dominant, suffocating defensive efforts and places them in the midst of the race for the Pacific Division title.

It’s no surprise to see sterling stats – both standard and fancy – that accompany a team playing .720 points percentage hockey:

• Third in goals scored per game

• First in goals against per game

• Second-ranked penalty kill

• Second in goal differential

• First in high danger chances against

But with the Vegas Golden Knights showing no interest of giving up their Stanley Cup crown and the Vancouver Canucks possessing an explosive offensive in combination with a return to form by goaltender Thatcher Demko (and yes, the Edmonton Oilers are starting to lurk) the path to LA’s first Pacific crown will not be a breeze.

When a team records points in 20 of 25 games (16-5-4 going into Wednesday’s homecoming match against Gabe Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and the Winnipeg Jets), there’s not much to critique. The 4-1 loss Sunday evening to Jonathan Quick and the New York Rangers marked the first time since Opening Night that Los Angeles lost a game by greater than a two-goal margin. That game matched teams that were coming off losses on front ends of back-to-back games with the Rangers winning games the way they do this season – special teams prowess and strong goaltending. It was a game that I penciled in as a “schedule loss” at season start and while consecutive losses aren’t good, the 2-1-1 road trip was a success.

So, what’s to critique for Los Angeles with its lofty status and increased chatter about a team that is a championship threat? Not much, and far less than in past seasons under Head Coach Todd McLellan:

• A middle-of-the-pack powerplay

The one facet of the Kings’ game that has regressed from last season is production with the man advantage and an area that may not improve until the return of Viktor Arvidsson (or a comparable player should he not return to form after his back surgery).

The lack of a proven righthanded shot on the team’s first unit is noticeable. While there are more than enough playmakers sprinkled between both units, Arivdsson’s missing toolbox is major factor is the conversion rate dropping from 25 to 20 percent. While you can live with the middling powerplay in context of the superior play in all other areas, an extra boost of offense from the unit will be key as the season progresses.

• The problem children

Kevin Fiala’s game isn’t going to change. Most nights, he’s going to be scary to defend and some others he’ll be scary for McLellan to defend. His move to shift the Swiss Army Knife to the line with the defensively responsible Phil Danault and Trevor Moore (who just isn’t offense with a 42-goal pace over 82 games) seems to have reduced but not eliminated Fiala risky-at-times play.

The bigger challenge is how to unlock Pierre-Luc Dubois’ talents on this team. While McLellan’s system isn’t easy to grasp, with a full training camp and 25 regular-season games under his belts, Dubois needs to start settling in and be more productive than the 40-point full season pace he’s on.

Separating Dubois and Fiala was the first and correct step given both players needing the puck to operate best (something they couldn’t do while paired), but the second necessary step is Dubois’ improvement in his play without the puck. More specifically, he needs to be thinking less and doing more. Dubois is a coach’s son, which is the genesis of his analytical approach something that will help more in his post-playing days as a TV analyst and less in the moment as the team waits for him to become an impact player in this system.

• Health

 Arivdsson’s back injury allowed Alex Laferriere to emerge in training camp as a placeholder in the middle-six forward rotation. Laferriere hasn’t been overmatched but has to find the back of the net more regularly to continue in a regular role as Arvidsson continues to mend. Aside from Arvidsson, the Kings have had good health and it appears that the team dodged as major bullet with Vladislav Gavrikov, who incurred a knee-on-knee hit from Anders Lee in the overtime loss to the New York Islanders. The good news is that Gavrikov returned to finish the Islanders contest and starting (but not finishing) the Rangers game is a signal that no major injury occurred and a final determination on his availability likely comes before Saturday’s game in Seattle.

If Gavrikov’s absence lingers, it may open the door for Brandt Clarke’s return to the NHL. For the moment, Jacob Moverare will be the popular defenseman’s replacement but as a left-handed shot, it will force McLellan to play one of his left-handed rearguards to play their off-side.

Throughout the historical road run, the team was matter-of-fact about being part of NHL history, rarely discussing it unless prodded by the media, keeping focus on the specific job ahead – executing a solid 60-minute effort. It wasn’t a regular topic of conversation in the locker room despite the increasing league-wide attention.

Cam Talbot is typical of the team’s approach to the start, deferring to his teammates when he registered his second shutout in 17 starts in the Montreal win, replying that a shutout is a team stat. When I asked him about his other individual stats – his top five ranking in goals against average and save percentage – he reiterated that those were team stats as well, citing the efficiency on high danger chances against.

Can Los Angeles replicate the level of games in its next 25 games?

The march to Game 50 starts with a schedule that sets them up for another winning run. They will be favorites in the next six games that include home-and-home pairs against Seattle and San Jose and providing they improve their play at home, they could stay on pace at the current plus .700 point percentage hockey.

RANDOM NOTES

Not much has been said publicly about Vilardi’s critical comments about the hit by Blake Lizotte in the first game between the Jets and Kings that caused him to miss several weeks with a knee injury. Privately, there was surprise and disappointment in Los Angeles at the former King’s level of criticism for a player who plays an honest game like Lizotte. It will be interesting to see the greeting by the Los Angeles faithful to Vilardi’s return, who also took a jab at the fan base by saying, “they’re not big hockey fans out there.”

My trip through Boston, Montreal and New York was great. Anytime you can do a multi-city trip through the Northeast in December without weather delays is an automatic W but the stops along the way were awesome.

It was great to catch up with Dustin Brown and family at his induction into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. He was gracious about the honor, something that despite being honored with a jersey retirement and statue being erected last season, he’s still not comfortable with the spotlight that accompanies the accolades.

While they miss the friends they made in Los Angeles over two decades, a return to their home state of New York was comfortable and necessary given the amount of travel hockey their four kids play. Dustin keeps tabs on his former mates via text, even chiding Quinton Byfield when he had an opportunity at an empty net goal for his first career hat trick. Brown has seen just a few games in their entirety because the juice isn’t worth the squeeze with all the 10:30pm Eastern starts.

“For 20 years, I tried to convince (team president) Luc (Robitaille) to move the games to 7pm starts, now I REALLY need him to move them,” Brown joked.

And he pushed back hard when asked if he would participate in the post-game dancing you’ve seen on Kings social media.

“That’s a no,” Brown said with his usual wry grin.

AND FINALLY...

It’s always special to see a game in Montreal, I have an affinity for the city, the passionate fan base and the relationships I’ve built over time. But this visit was unique given the media reaction to this version of the Kings.

With the execution of their 1-3-1 defensive scheme one of the keys to the early season success, some of the Quebec-based media contingent has deemed the Kings style “boring and anti-hockey,” a curious claim given the Kings have been in the top five in scoring throughout the season’s first third. Some media cited the 2000 Devils as a comparable, a high-scoring team that played Jacques Lemaire’s trapping system to a tee is a huge stretch.

If you need to go back almost 25 years to when the game was vastly different, to draw a comparable, it is truly legitimate?

Given three of the four goals in the Kings 4-0 win were high skill plays, maybe the Montreal media has forgotten what entertaining hockey looks like with the lack of success of the team they regularly cover.