Amid the Los Angeles Kings' recent power-play woes, it appears they have made an adjustment behind the bench regarding their man-advantage strategy, including head coach Jim Hiller and assistant Newell Brown.
The Los Angeles Kings' power has been abysmal as of late. It went scoreless yet again in Monday's contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 3-1 defeat.
After the game, Dennis Bernstein noted that assistant coach Newell Brown, who typically handles the power play, is no longer in full control of the extra-man special teams.
From now on, head coach Jim Hiller will be involved with the power-play scheme and the decisions made for the power play.
Hiller is a power-play specialist himself. From 2015 to 2019, he was an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs and was in charge of their power play. Between the 2015-16 and 2018-19 campaigns, Toronto had the fifth-best power play at 21.3 percent.
In Monday's loss to the Blue Jackets, the Kings had five opportunities to score a power-play goal. While they failed to convert in their last contest, the Kings have scored four goals with the extra man in their last 35 attempts over the last 12 games.
That comes out to 11.4 percent, the third-worst power-play percentage in the NHL since Nov. 25.
Los Angeles Kings Coach Is On The Hot Seat - But Not Who You Think
While Los Angeles head coach Jim Hiller has been on the hot seat, depending on his team's form, there is another member of the team's coaching staff who hasn't been firing on all cylinders either.
In the same span, Los Angeles' penalty kill has allowed 12 power-play goals. The Kings' opponents don't seem to have the same difficulty converting with the extra man.
There are other instances when the Kings shoot themselves in the foot, on top of having an unsuccessful power play. Against Columbus, there were a couple of power plays that were cut short because Los Angeles committed a penalty of their own.
In the final moments of the contest, the Kings had the net empty and a power play at the same time. While attempting to take advantage and deploy six skaters against the Blue Jackets' four, Los Angeles committed a bench minor for 'too many men,' which ultimately iced the game.
The Maple Leafs are in a similar boat with the Kings in terms of power-play woes. On Monday, they fired their power-play coach, Marc Savard.
It doesn't seem like Los Angeles is barking up that tree just yet, but at the very least, there is a lot of pressure surrounding the Kings' coaching staff, specifically with Brown.
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