INSIDER: With Bread Delivering, Need Others To Follow Suit

Hard to say the Kings haven’t gotten what they’ve needed from forward Artemi Panarin. 

“He gives us every opportunity,” Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith said of Panarin. “Every night, he can make plays, certainly on the power play. When he gets a clean look, he puts it away and that’s what you need this time of the year.”

Panarin gave the Kings life in Game 1, with a late power-play goal that brought them within one shot late, though they ultimately fell short in the 2-1 defeat. In a 0-0 Game 2, Panarin found the breakthrough for the visitors, as Los Angeles took its first lead of the series, inside seven minutes to go. It was a goal that you thought might’ve been enough, on an evening where everything was on lockdown……everything besides one panel of glass, that is. 

Panarin’s goal in Game 2 was the exact goal they acquired him to score, though the Kings couldn't get that game over the line. He’s their big guy offensively and he’s contributed.

“He can make plays and he can make plays under pressure," Smith added. "He's one of those star guys kn the league that certainly helped us to get to here. He gives us that scoring, that confidence, that little bit of swagger than we have a big boy."

When he was brought in, the power play immediately came to mind. The Kings have scored on the man advantage in both games, with Panarin doing exactly what he said the plan was before the series. He spoke about how little room is afforded in the playoffs and how the Kings would need to simplify things on the power play. More shots from the top, with traffic in front. Both of Panarin’s goals came from the middle of the ice, one from the point, one from the slot. That’s not where he has typically operated but he has creatively found different ways to get open, converting in both games. 

“I think we’ve got to shoot the puck, shoot the puck from up top, probably, and try having three guys down by the net for rebounds,” Panarin said of the power play, before Game 1. “Especially in playoffs, it’s hard especially to make a great play right away. Everyone is going to be nervous a little bit, so we’ve got to start simple. I actually prefer being simple. I feel like when you shoot it, you have five shots on a power play, then you recover the puck and they can’t break it out, you probably have a better chance to score.”

The power play is 2-for-9, which is a five-percent uptick on regular-season percentages, but frankly, in the playoffs, it’s about the timely production. Panarin’s goal in Game 2 was that. It put the kings ahead for the first time in the series and the first time this season against Colorado, regardless of the game. It was a huge moment that the Kings just couldn’t capitalize on.

Now, the Kings need more guys to chip in.

In Game 2, one goal could have and honestly probably should have been enough. It wasn’t, though, and I don’t think that one goal will be enough in Game 3 tomorrow evening or likely in any game the rest of the way in this series. For whichever area you believe is the problem, the Kings have to score more than they have. 

I don’t think it’s necessarily been down to a lack of chance creation. I shared this in the analysis story this morning, but the Kings had an identical number of high-danger chances in Games 1 and 2 in Colorado as they did in Games 1 and 2 versus Edmonton last season. They put 12 past the Oilers and two past the Avalanche, despite getting the exact same number of high-danger chances. 

They have gotten to those areas. They’ve had a penalty shot. They’ve had open nets. They’ve had looks from the slot. They just have not gone in.

What the Kings did better in Game 2 was establish more possession in the offensive zone at even strength. Game 1, they matched Colorado in terms of chances but the Avalanche had nearly double the amount of offensive-zone possession time, with the Kings just over three minutes. Los Angeles upped that total to more than four and a half minutes in Game 2 and the disparity was substantially less. In Game 1, Colorado held a 63/37 advantage in that area but in Game 2, it was only 55/45.

Could throw numbers at you for days here, but it’s put up or shut up time right now. The Kings have to score more than they have to date, while continuing to deliver on the other areas within the way they’ve played that have keep these games competitive and close. 

“We’ve had breakaways, we’ve had clean looks and there’s other nights when you’d score five, right, and this is what the playoffs is about,” Smith said of his team. “It’s hard to score, it’s hard to get pucks to the net. You say it all year, that’s why you’ve got to play it that way, because when you get here, you can’t just turn it on and off.”

Through two games, it’s been Colorado’s depth players who have led the way. Logan O’Connor and Nicolas Roy are the game-winning goal scorers in this series thus far. Two really, really good depth players but they aren’t the stars Colorado has at the top of their lineup. 

The Kings probably need to get more of their scoring from higher-up in their lineup but they have a number of guys who have been around it. Heading home, the Kings will get more of their matchups, which means using Quinton Byfield’s line against Nathan MacKinnon and company as much as possible. The hope there is to free up Anze Kopitar’s line for more offensive situations in more favorable matchups. They’ll need Panarin to keep scoring and they’ll need something from Adrian Kempe, who has no points in two games. Same with Kopitar. 

To match Colorado’s depth, they’ll probably need Byfield’s line to chip in, despite the assignment, and someone else has to step up. Byfield had a team-high six shots on goal in Game 2 and had a penalty shot denied by a fantastic glove save by Scott Wedgewood. Had a great look off the rush too that Wedgewood narrowly kicked out and had a rebound attempt on an open net stick away by a desperation stick lift from defenseman Sam Malinski. His linemates, Trevor Moore and Alex Laferriere have been dangerous as well and that line was the team's best in Game 2. They have something more to give offensively.

"Playing hard, playing physical, getting on their D a little bit more and getting to the front of the net as well," Laferriere said, of how he'd like to see the Kings generate more offensively. "I think the harder we make it on their goalie, we're going to get a lot more chances. Getting right on top of him is one way to do that. I think our focus is to try to get to the front of the net."

So who else can chip in?

Could be Brandt Clarke, who had an assist in Game 1. Could be Scott Laughton, who led the Kings in shots on goal in Game 1. Maybe it’s the fourth line, which has gotten three good chances in tight from forward Samuel Helenius over the two games, coming from work below the goal line, and led the team in expected goals percentage in Game 2. Perhaps it's more of a collective effort from the blueline, who might not directly contribute, but have ways of impacting the game offensively before that point. 

"I think it starts with getting out of our zone quicker, if we can get the puck into our forwards hands and not spend too much time in our d-zone, try and create a little bit more o-zone time, keep pucks alive out there," defenseman Brian Dumoulin added. "If we can try to wear them down a little bit in the offensive zone, I think it'll benefit us."

Don’t know who it’ll be. Probably can't just be one guy. But the Kings need their big guns to step up and then they need their Logan O’Connor to surface, whoever that might be, starting with tomorrow’s Game 3. 

They’ll get that chance at home. 

Will dive into this in more detail tomorrow, but with that comes more influence on matchups and that goes two ways for the Kings. There are defensive ideas but also offensive ideas that come with matchups. Perhaps more control in that area can help to swing another close game, if that is the situation the Kings find themselves in once again. With how the season has gone thus far, it is unsurprising to see Games 1 and 2 decided by one goal. It’s how just about every Kings game this season has been decided. 

Crypto.com Arena awaits, hopefully with a few more goals for the Kings within it. Brand-new series if the Kings can win Game 3, but they'll need a name other than Artemi on the scoresheet in order to do so.