Kings Takeaways: Defeat Stars In High-Event Tilt With 5-4 Shootout Win – The Hockey Writers Los Angeles Kings Latest News, Analysis & More

Entertainment at its biggest stage is what the city of Los Angeles is all about. Most of the time, that means music, film, and theater. Last night, however, there was one heck of an entertaining hockey game at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Kings and high-event hockey usually mix like water and oil. In other words, they don’t, but against the Dallas Stars, all three periods were electric. It was a battle of who would score last with both teams going back and forth trading goals. One of the most exciting Kings games of the season ended up with the home team pulling out a 5-4 win in the shootout. 

“I thought it was one of our best games of the year to be honest with you, just all-in, just the different elements that were there. We were good on the rush, we were good in the o-zone. They’re (Dallas) gonna get you sometimes. They’re good, too, so just really liked the game,” said head coach Jim Hiller, who became the fastest coach to reach 50 wins in franchise history.

After dropping eight of 13 games played in January, the Kings have kicked off February with a three-game win streak, with two of them coming against a powerhouse team. Handing losses to the Stars and Carolina Hurricanes shows that this team has what it takes to compete at the top of the NHL, and while you might say that’s a small sample size, don’t forget the Kings have also beaten the Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, Vegas Golden Knights, and the league-leading Winnipeg Jets twice this season. There’s no doubt the Kings have struggled at times and they haven’t found that same level of consistency like some of the teams ahead of them in the standings, but it would be foolish to think that this group is incapable of contending.

“We’re such a deep team. I mean, going even back to last year, we kind of struggled against these guys with their speed and everything. And now, I think this year we are just kind of matching that… I think as long as we can keep doing that with four lines, it’s going to be a pretty good time in (the) playoffs this year,” said forward Alex Laferriere. 

Kings Scoring in Bunches

It was just over a week ago when scoring one goal was a difficult task for this group, having been shut out in back-to-back games in the state of Florida. It’s insane how quickly things can change and how easy it is to build off momentum and get in a groove once things start clicking again. It’s not like the Kings were coming out with terrible efforts during their slump in the last half of January, but they weren’t playing how they have in the past three games, either. Add that with the unlucky bounces and the disallowed goals, and an unconfident, shaky group of players who begin overthinking every play is what you’ll get. 

That’s all in the past now for the Kings, who seem to have found their scoring touch in the early days of February. After scoring just 22 goals through 13 games in January, the Kings have already scored 14 through three games this month. After being the lowest-scoring team in January, the Kings lead the NHL at five goals per game this month.

It’s the way the Kings have been scoring goals as of late that provides confidence that this level of production can be somewhat sustainable. For the most part, the Kings have been a team that likes to generate their offense from the blue line. A key part of that is getting bodies to the front of the net either for a screen, rebound, or deflection. When pucks are finding their way to the net it works out perfectly, but when the Kings aren’t able to get that net-front presence, or teams have caught on to it and shooting lanes from the point are no longer available, that’s when the Kings begin to panic in the offensive zone. Finding other, more creative ways to score goals is important and a lot of that stems from elite players being able to take over.

The Kings have been scoring in bunches and haven’t needed to rely or revert solely on generating offense from the point. All four of the goals the Kings scored against the Stars were unique and had some combination of either causing a turnover in the offensive zone or converting quickly off the rush. It was that quick change of possession that the Kings were able to pounce and capitalize on. Quick puck movement, gaining the zone in layers, and following the play to the net were all ways the Kings were able to maintain time and space in the offensive zone and ultimately put the puck in the back of the net multiple times.

Offense Coming from All Over the Top Nine; 22-55-14 Continue to Stand Out 

We know what kind of level Kevin Fiala has been on lately, almost extending his two-goal game streak to three games yesterday, but how about the production he and his other two linemates have had together over the past three games? Fiala, Laferriere, and Quinton Byfield have scored eight goals as a line in the last three games. Right now, they are the center of offense for the Kings and a big reason why they have been able to escape that scoring slump.

That line was on the ice for two of the four goals against the Stars. Even though Byfield went for a change seconds before Fiala scored his 21st of the season, it was that trio that was working the puck in the offensive zone. Those three displayed quick puck movement entering the zone on the Kings’ next goal. Although it was a weird bounce off the boards that landed Laferriere with the puck in front of an empty cage, distributing the puck quickly was what led to the opportunity.

“We’re fast, we like to hunt pucks. I mean, those two (Fiala and Byfield) are such dynamic players and whenever they have the puck, they are going to make unbelievable plays. So, for me, it’s just kind of finding open space and trying to get the puck back as much as possible, and I think we all kind of feed from each other with that. It’s fun to play hockey right now,” said Laferriere.

Related: Kings Takeaways: Continuing Home Success With Big 6-3 Win Over Canadiens

Success comes to teams much easier when multiple lines can contribute to the scoresheet. Having multiple players or lines be able to produce at the same time hasn’t happened a lot for the Kings this season. Usually, it’s one line or a couple of players taking over the offense in a game but against the Stars, the Kings’ top three forward lines all converted. Warren Foegele opened the scoring 11 seconds in, Fiala and Laferriere scored back to back, and Anze Kopitar tied the game up at four with his first goal in over a month halfway through the third period. 

That’s two games in a row now where the Kings have had that extra buzz, and it’s no coincidence both those games were played in LA. Now with a 17-3-1 record at home, the Kings not only have a chance to make it 18 wins but also extend their winning streak to four games tonight when they host their neighbors, the Anaheim Ducks, for the third edition of the Freeway Faceoff. The Kings have won the past two games against the Ducks this season, both of which were at Honda Center.