"To dangle Werenski and the power to fight through traffic and finish, chefs kiss." Quinton Byfield's goal put the rest of the NHL on notice during his breakout campaign.
Quinton ByfieldDon't count out the Los Angeles Kings just yet.
The same goes for Quinton Byfield.
While the Kings have re-entered the playoff race after winning four straight games, Byfield did his part to remind naysayers why he was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft.
That was the same draft when the New York Rangers selected Alexis Lafreniere first overall and when the Ottawa Senators selected Tim Stutzle with the No. 3 pick. Since then, some have wondered if Byfield deserved to be picked where he went.
After all, he ranks seventh among his draft class with just 75 points in three NHL seasons. Those aren't top-of-the-draft type numbers. If anything, they suggest Los Angeles might have swung and missed.
Of course, no one is saying that anymore.
Bust? More like busting out.
The 21-year-old, who has 18 goals and 42 points this year, showed why he was a top pick by scoring what many are calling the goal of the year in a 5-1 win on Tuesday. As The Hockey News' Kings site editor Austin Stanovich wrote, "If someone asked me to sum up Byfield in one play, I'd show them this goal; it had everything.
"The speed through the neutral zone to put Zach Werenski on his heels, the hands to dangle Werenski and the power to fight through traffic and finish, chefs kiss."
With the win, the Kings remain the top wild-card team in the West, just one point back of the Edmonton Oilers.
Here's what the hockey world had to say about Byfield's incredible goal.