Right now, the Los Angeles Kings’ penalty-kill unit is extra more likely to rating a aim than their power-play unit. Needless to say, that isn’t a formulation for successful hockey.
Joel Armia scored a shorthanded aim to tie the sport late within the third interval, however went 0-for-5 on the ability play and couldn’t generate any even-strength offense both in a 2-1 time beyond regulation loss to the Boston Bruins. It’s the second straight sport through which they scored shorthanded, however didn’t handle any power-play targets out of a minimum of 4 alternatives, leaving them searching for solutions.
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“I mean, we’re getting chances,” Kings ahead Anze Kopitar mentioned. “Last night we got some good chances. Tonight we got some good chances. So just keep on battling, keep on going. Maybe try and simplify a little bit. Try to get more stuff to the net and create off of that. And just work at it.”
The Kings’ power-play share entered the sport at 15.4%, good for twenty seventh within the NHL, and dropped even additional after the competition completed. They even had a two-man benefit within the first interval, however couldn’t rating on that both.
“The five-on-three, they have one good block on [Adrian Kempe’s] first shot, and then [Andrei Kuzmenko] found him through the seam on the second one, good save,” Kings head coach Jim Hiller mentioned. “But just, yeah, just not good enough. Not good enough execution.”
Now the unit is going through one thing of a reckoning, with Hiller acknowledging that adjustments are most likely wanted — a actuality made extra sophisticated by Drew Doughty’s absence.
“It’s something we’re thinking about, and it doesn’t look good, and it’s cost us games,” Hiller mentioned. “So when you get to that point, at some point, you might have to make some changes.”
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The optimistic out of special teams proper now’s the penalty kill, and significantly Armia. The Kings prevented their opponent from scoring on the ability play for the sixth straight sport, and are actually tied for the league lead in shorthanded targets with 5 — greater than they’d all of final season.
“We’re maybe one of the most aggressive teams on the penalty kill in the league, so when we’re all on the same page, it’s really hard,” mentioned Kings ahead Trevor Moore, who assisted on Armia’s aim. “And you can force guys into turnovers. They want to make plays, and you make them make a mistake, and you can go the other way.”
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Armia’s shorthanded aim was his third such aim of the season, probably the most within the NHL to date. After arriving within the 2025 offseason as a free agent, he has made an impression on his teammates and coaches along with his work ethic and flexibility.
“We’ve seen him move up and down the lineup,” Moore mentioned. “He’s kind of a Swiss Army Knife guy. He can play with a lot of skill and also a lot of responsibility. He’s been great for us.”
But as nice as the shorthanded targets could be, as a lot as they point out the Kings’ power and intelligence on the penalty kill and their willingness to grind the place grinding is required, they don’t often result in wins on their very own. The Kings have to generate another goal-scoring strategies in the event that they need to contend for the playoffs and, extra urgently, discover the home wins which have largely eluded them to date.
“[It’s] really frustrating,” Moore mentioned. “We want to win at home. We’ve been good here historically. So it’s frustrating. Something we’ve got to figure out.”
While they’ve to resolve their points at home, they appear to have some smaller points to resolve alongside the best way. Now they hope the wins will come if these extra particular issues get labored out.