While the 20-game mark is still a fairly small sample size, it's wide enough to compile some learnings about the Los Angeles Kings.
Offensively, things look good for LA. The team has scored 61 goals overall, good for seventh most in the NHL. Forward Adrian Kempe is heating up and is tied for the team lead in goals with the surprising sophomore Alex Laferriere with nine total. Per Moneypuck.com, the Kings are sixth in the league in Goals % (58.11) and third in xGoals % (57.02). Furthermore, while they have been Corsi giants in the past, they still sit in the top ten this season (53.01 - ninth).
The team is not as stout defensively, as their 54 goals allowed sit twelfth in the league. While these numbers still reflect a team in the top half of the NHL defensively, the Kings have hovered around the top 5 in the last few seasons.
The analytics suggest they still have the potential to be elite defensively, especially after the potential return of Drew Doughty. The Kings are still within the top ten for goals against per 60 (2.06 - ninth) and are the second-best team in expected goals against (1.99).
Special Teams
The LA penalty kill has improved but is still lukewarm in this unforgiving league (80.3% - 16th). The PK hasn't broken into the top ten because the Kings' underlying analytics show a team that likes to counterattack.
Quinton Byfield and Warren Foegele sit first and second in the league in PK Corsi (33%, 31%) among players who have played at least 30 minutes shorthanded. Both players are second and third in the league (30 minutes or more played) in on-ice shot attempts per 60 with 61.08 and 64.42. The Kings also have one of the most dangerous shorthanded players in the league in Trevor Moore, who currently sits atop the league in expected goals per 60 with 1.9.
Their powerplay has been as top-heavy as ever. LA’s second PP unit has yet to score a goal this season, but things could change with the recent addition of Brandt Clarke onto that unit. That wasn’t the only change coach Jim Hiller made , going with five forwards on the first powerplay group. The goal is to get Byfield going in front of the net, but the big picture item is to improve their overall power play numbers, as their 15.5% is only 26th in the league.
Goaltending
The Kings aren't getting much help from their goaltenders, and the recent injury to Darcy Kuemper may further set the Kings back in this area. The Kings are without a goalie in the top forty for goals saved above expected per 60 (42nd Rittich: -.194), while Phoenix Copley sits at 40th in goals saved above expected (-1.0). Rittich and Kuemper sit 46th and 44th, respectively, in save % above expected with -.004 each. Copley has the best Wins Above Replacement at -.017 (40th in league rankings) and is currently in Ontario.
Rittich, who is the Kings’ top option with Kuemper on the mend, gets the second most help from his defense in the entire league in terms of blocked shots (minimum five games played). In the percentage of shot attempts blocked by teammates, Rittich stands at 25.29%. When healthy, Kuemper was 15th in the league in this regard (23.44%).
In conclusion, the Kings are balanced offensively in their forward group, with a makeshift defensive unit that has made their inconsistent and borderline bad goaltending look better than it actually has been. Their penalty kill has seen a new duo implemented, increasing the overall speed and ability to counterattack. Their powerplay is overly saturated on the top unit, and they are conducting risky experiments to get both units producing.
It will be interesting to see what numbers improve or decline towards the midway point of the season, especially with Doughty potentially returning to the fold.