The Los Angeles Kings' high-powered offense is showing up right now, putting seven past the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.
The Los Angeles Kings' high-powered offense is showing up right now, putting seven past the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.
It was a high-event first period which saw six total goals.
Carl Gundstrom opened the scoring with a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle. The Wild answered with two quick goals of their own and then the Kings started taking over the period.
Vladislav Gavrikov tied the game up with a scrappy goal in front, then with just a minute left in the period, Pierre-Luc Dubois scored twice in 12 seconds to put the Kings up 4-2.
After a high-octane first period, the second period saw no goals as both teams traded a few chances but the goalies came out on top.
In the third, Trevor Moore stayed hot with a nifty finish over Marc-Andre Fleury's shoulder after a blocked shot fell to him.
Joel Eriksson-Ek got the Wild within two late, but two empty-netters, one from Adrian Kempe and the other from Blake Lizotte, killed the game off.
Here are three takeaways from the 7-3 victory:
Dubois With a Strong Performance:
We'll start with the two goals from Dubois, both plays that highlight some of his biggest strengths.
His first wasn't a beauty but was a good example of why he was brought in. Dubois chased down a Kevin Fiala chip and got physically engaged with Dewar in what became a 50/50 puck inside the Wild zone.
Dubois outmuscled Dewar, holding him off with one hand, and kicked the puck up to his stick. He got a slight touch on the puck and it slipped between Fleury's pads.
It was a power-forward's goal in a lot of ways and had to put a smile on Rob Blake's face.
His second was more of a skill play, he picked up the puck in the slot after a blocked shot, hesitated and opened up a lane for himself, and then fired the puck over Fleury's shoulder.
It wasn't just the offense from Dubois though, he was engaged all over the ice. He made a great defensive play, getting a stick on a Kirill Kaprizov chance that likely saved a goal.
The Kings keep calling him a 200-foot center, and while that isn't always accurate, it was on Thursday.
The one big issue with Dubois is in the dot though. He won 1 of 15 faceoffs on Thursday, good for 6.7% in the draw. That simply isn't good enough.
Another Strong Performance From Talbot:
Cam Talbot was given the nod for his first back-to-back start this season and did not disappoint.
He didn't stand on his head by any means but he made some big saves at timely moments and gave the team a chance to win.
He finished the game with a .907 save percentage and 0.09 goals saved above expected.
It wasn't an amazing game but was just above average and that's all the Kings need.
If he can continue playing this way throughout the season, and maybe throw a steal or two in there, the Kings are in a good spot with their goaltending.
I'd expect Pheonix Copley to get the start in Los Angeles on Saturday, but there has to be a fair amount of confidence in Talbot right now.
Trevor Moore Electric Again:
Everyone was saying that "Trevor Moore looks like Trevor Moore again," during the preseason. No, he doesn't, he looks even better than that right now.
He's now scored in three straight games, bringing his tally to four on the season for the team lead.
It's not just the goals though, it's everything. Todd McLellan often refers to Moore's ability to make escape as his best asset and that was on full display on Thursday.
There were a few shifts where Moore grabbed the puck down low and could not be dispossessed, spinning defensemen around along the boards and in the corners.
As always he was also a complete puck hound and responsible defensively.
Add in the ability to convert chances at a high rate and you have a fantastic player on your hands.
Who knows how long Moore can keep up this level of production, he's obviously not going to continue on his current 82-goal pace, but if he can get into the 20-25 range, that's great for the team.