
The Los Angeles Kings have experienced trouble on the power play to start the season. From opening night on Oct. 7 to Nov. 2, the Kings had the 25th-worst power-play conversion rate. In 37 opportunities, they scored six power-play goals to that point, going 16.2 percent on the man advantage.
However, when Los Angeles took on the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 4, the team’s top unit was tinkered with as they replaced Andrei Kuzmenko with Corey Perry. Since then, the Kings have played three games and recorded a power-play marker in each of those contests.
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Despite that, the Kings' head coach, Jim Hiller, believes that it’s time to make another tweak to their first power-play unit.
Hiller is putting Kuzmenko back on the top power play, swapping with Quinton Byfield, who will now grace the second unit.

Los Angeles’ bench boss pleads that this is an alteration that will get the best out of both players.
"We feel that's his great strength that gets him going in his overall game...try to get him some more touches there and see if that can translate,” Hiller said of Kuzmenko.
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As for Byfield, he doesn’t see this change as a negative decision for the 23-year-old center.
"Want to put the puck in his hands....he's a lefty. We got (Doughty) as a righty. I really want those two to be the shooters," the Kings coach told reporters at Tuesday morning's skate ahead of the team’s clash with the Montreal Canadiens.
This suggests that Byfield and defenseman Drew Doughty will work the right and left flanks, respectively, on the second unit. That leaves D-man Brandt Clarke as the quarterback, and Alex Laferriere and Phillip Danault as the net-front presence and in the slot.
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For Los Angeles’ top unit, the formation shouldn’t change too much, but Kuzmenko's substitution for Byfield will add more balance between left-handed and right-handed players on the ice.
The Kings are looking to continue their streak of power-play goals to four games against the Canadiens.

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