The Los Angeles Kings have been a dominant even-strength team. That aspect of their game goes back to Todd McLellan, and now the torch has been passed to Jim Hiller. The Kings always lacked powerful goal scoring up and down the lineup, but they’ve checked for chances. The team took steps toward becoming one of the elite even-strength teams last year. Via Moneypuck, the 2023-24 Kings were third in Expected Goals (54.51%), fourth in Corsi (53.92%), second in Fenwick (54.88%), and fifth in goals allowed (143) for the tenth-best even-strength goal differential in the league (+22). These numbers paired with their suppression metrics solidified their reputation for being a tough team to face. Their foothold this year over the league in five-on-five play is better than the previous year. Their Expected Goals are the best in the league (57.03%). They’re fifth in Corsi (53.19%), and second in Fenwick (54.32%) while allowing the third-lowest Goals Against (43), giving them the second-best goal differential (+20). There are plenty of games left on the docket (51 to be exact), but the early signs from their season and Winter results are promising, especially considering these particularly cold months have been brutal for the team in the past. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings/latest-news/kings-return-to-the-road-and-the-scene-of-their-collapse] So, what is keeping the Kings from being elite? Well, their special teams, particularly their powerplay, are holding them back. The Kings' penalty kill improved as they passed the midway mark of December. Their 81.8% rate is tenth in the league, and while they do not have the league's best penalty-killing goaltender from a season ago, they have slowly improved game by game. The Kings' powerplay woes were on full display Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. After scoring just 33 seconds into the game, the Kings had a couple of first-period man-advantage opportunities to press their foot down on the Penguins' throat. They squandered those and let the momentum drift from their even strength sails. Yes, the Pittsburgh PK was ranked within the top ten, but LA’s inability to press their advantage over the opponent via the powerplay is hurting this club right now. It was a significant factor in the Kings conceding a point yesterday after giving up two one-goal leads. Giving up late leads is not a good look as it has become a rarity for the Kings and overall, in this league. That happened at even strength against a team with a five-on-five goal differential of -22, which is 30th in the league. This is where the powerplay becomes much more prevalent. Having an elite team at even strength that suffocates the opponent all over the ice must yield more goals or an opposing penalty taken. The penalty works out for the opposing team since it completely removes the edge from the Kings' game. The edge was specifically withdrawn after yesterday's two failed powerplay attempts in the first period. So the team will likely continue to trend favorably at even strength, possibly becoming one of, if not the best, even-strength teams in the league. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings/latest-news/kings-winning-streak-is-a-new-york-state-of-mind]This will continue while their special teams keep them pressed back from being in the league's upper echelon. There is something important to consider, though. Does Drew Doughty's return next month possibly change things? Brandt Clarke would operate the second unit, which typically only gets about a fourth of the powerplay time the first unit gets. I'm skeptical these shifts will dramatically change their powerplay success rate. Doughty may add a different shooting element than Clarke's facilitation on the first unit. It might slightly boost the overall percentage, but will it have a transformative effect? Unlikely. In the end, the Kings will likely ride or die on excellent even-strength play and an improved penalty kill. How that unfolds in April remains to be seen. KeithFriesKeysTHNWeek3
