The Kings have been quietly dominating on the road this season with ten straight wins on enemy turf with the tenth win being an exciting 4-3 comeback win against the Blue Jackets, last night.
The win tied the all-time record for road wins to start a season with the 2006-07 Sabres, who won ten straight to start the season and rode their winning ways all the way into the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were bested by Daniel Alfredsson’s Ottawa Senators.
The Kings key to success so far has been their red-hot top six who are all producing, averaging a point per game on the road this season, led by Trevor Moore who has seven goals and 15 points in their ten road wins.
Their subtle rebuild since their two 2010s Stanley Cups may finally be turning into fruition with their offense ranking first in goals per game this season despite its lack of big name talent. This was an improvement from last season, where they finished top ten in this category which at the time was a huge jump from their 20th place finish the season prior.
They haven’t just rebuilt their offense but their defense is excelling as well, ranking second in goals against per game on the season (2.32) which looks far better than their 16th place finish a season ago. Young blueliners Mikey Anderson and Jordan Spence have put up impressive numbers to start the season with Spence having a better plus minus and more even strength points than his fellow 2019 draftee Mortiz Seider.
The biggest concern last season was their goaltending which proved to be a factor as they were outscored 25 to 20 in a high-scoring first round loss to the Oilers. This season, their netminders have been hot to start with 36-year-old goaltender Cam Talbot shutting the door on opponents with a sparkling 8-0-0 record with a 1.40 GAA and a .951 save percentage on the road. Not to mention, backup Phoenix Copley has also been above average this season with a 4-0-2 record and a 3.03 GAA.
Talbot suits up on the road tonight against the Habs in Montreal, where his squad has a chance at history. This could be a great matchup for the Kings as they’ve beaten the Habs in four of their last five trips to the Bell Centre and have won five straight in this matchup.
The Habs will look to be spoilers but will have had a tough time as they have a 2-5-1 record this season against defenses ranking top ten in goals against per game. They also have five straight losses under these circumstances, one of which was to the Kings, where they lost 4-0 in LA.
With an impressive record like 11 straight wins on the road to start the season and all the pieces falling into place (except still maybe needing a goalie) after a long rebuild means this team could finally be primed to make a deep run and bring the Cup back to Cali for the third time In 11 years.