Kings look to improve power play vs. rival Edmonton on Monday
The Kings are in for another battle in Alberta and they will need the full 60 – or 65 – minutes against the rival Oilers Monday in Edmonton.
They stampeded into Calgary Saturday with an opening salvo that saw them hit the net nine times on their first power play but none on their other two opportunities. Similarly, they had more shots in the first period than they did in the second and third combined.
After winning an overtime thriller, 2-1, in Winnipeg on Friday, they lost by the same score behind the Flames’ man-advantage marker. With the Kings’ power play failing to connect in either game, its ongoing futility on the road loomed large.
“It’s just super frustrating,” Quinton Byfield told reporters. “They trust us to go out there and be offensive players. In tight games, 1-1 games, we’ve got to be the difference. So that’s on us, and we’ve got to be better on the power play.”
For his part, Coach Jim Hiller expressed confidence in his staff’s tactics as well as his on-ice personnel.
“Guys out there know how to do the job, they’ve done the job before, and it’s got to be better,” Hiller told reporters.
Special teams insecurity ahead of a matchup with Edmonton could make anyone queasy. The Oilers’ penalty kill blanked the Kings in last year’s playoffs while their power play has been a significant reason they’ve bounced the Kings from three straight opening rounds.
They set a record for power-play efficiency two seasons ago at 32.4%. Since Nov. 19, they’ve been clicking at a 32.1% clip, the best rate in the NHL. They’ve been the highest-scoring team in the league overall since Oct. 24, although the Kings have allowed three fewer goals than any other team this season.
The Kings’ often immovable object allowed 10 shots or fewer through 40 minutes in consecutive games for the first time in franchise history, per NHL Public Relations.
They also managed to contain the Oilers in a meeting at Crypto.com Arena on Dec. 28, the first of two losses in two days for Edmonton. Since then, they’ve won five of six games.
Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid sit second and sixth, respectively, on the points leaderboard. Draisaitl’s 31 goals place him six ahead of any other skater.
Zach Hyman, who scored 54 goals last year, has shaken off a forgettable start. Since Dec. 5, only Draisaitl and Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele, whose goal sent Friday’s game against the Kings to OT, have more goals than Hyman.