LAK AT 71: FOUR DAYS IN MARCH

LOS ANGELES, CA — To say it’s been an entertaining season for the Los Angeles Kings is an understatement. They’ve been chameleon-like in their style and approach to winning games.

Early in the season it was all about offense, playing an unaccustomed up-tempo, defense-be-damned offensive scheme. Risk was their middle name – a dicey proposition given the sub-par goaltending by their two established netminders. The risk contributed to their early season inability to close games out, while no deficit was too large to overcome due to a newly found offensive prowess, no lead was safe.

But as the season lengthened, they learned to manage their risk while introducing newcomers that helped save their season – in particular, goaltender Pheonix Copley, who has done nothing more than continuing to win games – and place them in position to earn their first Pacific Division title in franchise history.

Though Los Angeles is on pace for a franchise record for standing points – they are not a juggernaut that will breeze through a parity-filled Western Conference in the postseason. But with no equivalent of the Boston Bruins lurking out west, they are in the conversation as a team that can emerge from the West.

Equally entertaining is the schedule the NHL laid out for Los Angeles – jamming games into their slate in the season’s first half which had them leading the pack in games played. The load lessened around the All-Star break that led them into the current state – a unique late March four-day break until their next game on Saturday afternoon against the Winnipeg Jets.

They’ve earned that break with a run of play that hasn’t been seen since their championship seasons. While it’s too early to compare this team to the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup winners – and with a reminder that those teams finished third in the Pacific Division – they take their respite (practicing only two of the four days off) as a red-hot team, one that has all the numbers trending in a favorable direction.

You want offense? The resounding 8-2 victory over the Calgary Flames was arguably their best 60-minute performance of the season and marked the third time in four games Los Angeles has registered four goals in a period. The outburst moved Los Angeles into the top-10 in goals scored, a ten-place jump over last season. Even with the cooling off of the powerplay (with injury subtracting two pivotal players), it stands sixth overall a stunning 21 place jump from 27th last season.

You want defense? The Kings have surrendered two goals or less in nine straight games, something unthinkable in the first half that was dotted with 7-6 wins and 9-8 losses. They have learned to manage the risk in their collective game to limit high-danger scoring chances without sacrificing defense. The goalies, while not spectacular, haven’t surrendered the momentum swinging goals on low danger chances.

What makes the last month more impressive and unlikely is that it was achieved with the backdrop of a seismic franchise event – the trading of the goaltending goat, one of the men on the Mount Rushmore of the Los Angeles franchise: Jonathan Quick.

When the news broke of the deal, one train of thought was that the sudden, shocking trade – one that I would have lost serious green betting against it ever happening – would wreck team chemistry with the departure of one of the Cup Core Four when Quick received the call in Winnipeg he was being moved to Columbus.

That would have been a bad bet as well.

Los Angeles has not lost a game in regulation since The Trade as the arrival of Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo has stabilized the backend. The pair were grateful to be rescued from a last place situation in Columbus and injected into a playoff team and are showing the gratefulness (and proper motivation as unrestricted free agents at season’s end) by delivering what General Manager Rob Blake hope they would.

Gavrikov has slotted in next to Matt Roy and hasn’t played in a game where the team has surrendered more than two goals. While he’s not solely responsible for the muting of opposing offenses, since his arrival he’s delivered size, smarts and an aggressiveness that belies his reputation of a stay-at-home defenseman he earned in Ohio. The only loss on Korpisalo’s slate is in a shootout to Vancouver that featured a great goaltending performance by Thatcher Demko. The only downside to the former Jackets pair is their pending UFA status and the risk of losing them this summer.

But back to the offense, producing at level that most Kings fans are still getting adjusted to (the championship teams ranked 29th and 25th, respectively). Through imports (Kevin Fiala) and emergence (Adrian Kempe, Gabe Vilardi and even Carl Grundstrom these days), the lineup has lengthened to the extent that Coach Todd McLellan can ice a lineup with five of the bottom-six skaters registering double digits in goals scored.

The Calgary triumph was notable because it was an offensive explosion that was missing the team’s leading scorer (Fiala), second leading scorer on defense (Sean Durzi – also the quarterback for the second unit powerplay) and a winger who is tied for second in powerplay goals (Arty Kaliyev).

There’s a saying in sports that you’re not as good as you are during a winning streak and not as bad when in the midst of a losing streak. With 11 games left on the schedule and some of the softer touches completed, it’s unreasonable to ask Los Angeles to replicate the 8-0-2 stretch in the final three weeks of the regular-season. What’s not unreasonable to ask is to continue the style of play that’s translated to wins. To keep playing a checking game when they need to, managing risk on offense and getting saves in big spots, that’s what wins at Game 83 and beyond.

Whether or not the four days off is a benefit or challenge is a matter of perspective. A team playing this well, playing in sync and with all facets of their game clicking isn’t a team you want off the ice. With confidence brimming and chemistry flowing through the roster, this break may disrupt it. But that has to be weighed against the injury factor that has started to creep into the picture. They continue to win without Fiala and Durzi, though the two shootout losses could have used the offensive flair both provide. With Vilardi leaving Monday’s win with 10 minutes left and not returning, and the uncertainty about the return to the ice of the former two, this mini-bye week looks to be more help than hindrance.

Q ABOUT QB

During the past month, Quinton Byfield has become a point-a game player but not in the manner most thought it would occur. He’s earned the trust of McLellan and has become a fixture on the top line/six/nine alongside Anze Kopitar and Kempe. His point production is a function of being a facilitator and not a scorer, understandable given the goal-scoring season his linemates are having, but a 1-9-10 stat line over the last 10 shows effectiveness in his current role.

While he may be forever tied to the player who was drafted just behind him, Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle, it’s no longer fair to compare the two. Stutzle is the Senators’ leading scorer (35 goals, 38 assists) and arguably its MVP (along with Brady Tkachuk), while Byfield, whose game has improved as his confidence grows, has three goals in 42 games.

On another team with a lesser offense, the focus would be sharper on the lack of goal scoring for a No.2 overall pick and it is unusual for a team playing at the pace Los Angeles is to have player lacking a goal scoring touch (one of the three was an empty net goal, his only marker in the last 21 games) playing that high along the forward wall.

McLellan talked this week about Byfield’s play, usage and growth in-season:

“He’s checking a lot of the boxes (the other facets of his game). It would be hard to argue against the fact that (Quinton) is a better player now than he was three months ago when he was playing in the middle. He’s got some confidence, playing well in his role and does a lot of work on that line. The question (about his goal output) is something that has to be fixed over time, but we like where he is right now (in his development) and the capper would be when he develops a shot and uses it more effectively and beat goaltenders.”

Byfield is taking his move up the depth chart in stride, while aware that he does need to hit the back of the net more often, he’s learning valuable lessons on how to play winning hockey.

“We (his pairing with Kopitar and Kempe) feel good about our game. We play good defense, and we take a lot of pride in that,” Byfield said. “If you’re doing the right things (on defense), you’ll get more offensive opportunities and we’re producing right now.  I think the goals will come… hopefully (chuckling).

“I’m happy to be out there, trying to be a difference maker, either with my body (checking) or passing to the other guys. It took me a little bit to find my game and I’m really comfortable out there, I’m not afraid of making plays.”

If Byfield needs a boost of confidence while adapting to being a goal-scorer in a new position, he doesn’t have to look far. Both Kempe and Vilardi struggled to find their goal scoring touch while playing center at the beginning of their careers and have blossomed once placed in the wing, a role with less responsibility and more freedom.

Byfield’s NHL destiny may ultimately be a return to the middle, but for now, his impact is growing.

PLAYOFFS? WHAT PLAYOFFS

With Los Angeles 15 points clear of the ninth-place Flames with 11 games left, a look ahead to the postseason is in order. With both the Pacific and Central Division titles up for grabs, it’s difficult to forecast which team will face Los Angeles in round one of the Stanley Cup playoffs. You can throw out two of the top three in the Central (Dallas/Colorado/Minnesota); it’s very doubtful Los Angeles would drop to a wildcard spot as they lead Seattle by nine points (Kraken have two games in hand), leaving a mix of Vegas, Edmonton, Seattle or Winnipeg.

There are no easy paths through the Stanley Cup playoffs, but playing one of the two current wildcard teams appears to be less challenging than the Oilers or the Golden Knights in the first-round.

At the Kings’ current level of play, they could beat any Western Conference playoff qualifier – including the improving and getting healthier Colorado Avalanche – so positioning themselves to avoid a particular team isn’t necessary and the reality is that the only team they should avoid won’t even get to the Big Dance.

The Kings haven’t beaten the Vancouver Canucks since 2017, their shootout loss last Saturday night dropped them to 0-8-2 in the last 10 against British Columbia’s best. Is it an anomaly? Different players, different teams at different stages would dictate Los Angeles hitting the W column somewhere in those 10, but it’s not an anomaly when Brock Boeser scores 13 goals in 14 games and Elias Pettersson has 19 points in 12 games and shots 29.6%.  When it comes to beating Vancouver, it’s wait until next year.

HEATING UP IN LA

If you haven’t heard, we are bringing our SiriusXM NHL Network Radio show, The Hot Stove, to Los Angeles this Saturday. Ryan Paton and I will host the show from the Impact Bar and Grill prior to the afternoon tilt between the Kings and the Winnipeg Jets. We’re shifting our normal show time from 8am-10am PT to 11am-1pm PT as the lead-in to the game.  Like our previous on-site show earlier this season from Dallas, it will have a Kings-centric tone with multiple guests and it’s perfect timing with the team in the midst of a 10-game standings point streak.