INSIDER: Alex Laferriere's First NHL Hat Trick a Long Time Coming

Early in the first period of last night’s game against the Anaheim Ducks, Alex Laferriere worked his way into the low slot. Defenseman Drew Doughty moved the puck behind the net in the offensive zone to Anze Kopitar, who was stationed in Gretzky’s office behind the net, with some time to make a play.

Laferriere found some space in between what felt like four Anaheim defensemen in front, as he moved into a soft spot between the coverage. Kopitar put the puck on Laferriere’s stick and he shot first time. The start of the most productive game in his NHL career thus far?

Well, sort of.

Laferriere’s shot hit Anaheim goaltender Lukas Dostal, who was sliding left to right, which kept the lead at 2-0 in favor of Los Angeles. Thankfully, just a few minutes later, he got another chance from the exact same spot and he made no mistake.

“After I scored, Kopi was joking if I didn't score that one, he wasn't going to pass to me anymore, so I knew I had to bear down on that one,” Laferriere said with a laugh. “Those guys were finding me in the soft ice the last two games so many times and I wasn't able to bury for them. [On Saturday] I was able to.”

Laferriere’s goal was the first of three he buried on Saturday evening as earned his first career hat trick in the NHL. It was the first hat trick by a Kings player since Kopitar’s three-goal performance on Opening Night of last season in Buffalo and the first hat trick by a Kings player at home since the 2023-24 campaign. The first hat trick ever by a Kings player on home ice against Anaheim.

The goal from the slot was important, because showed the path to success for both Laferriere and his line. He’s always been one of the best players on the team at getting chances from high-danger areas - no Kings player has more shot attempts or shots on goal this season from the inner slot than Laferriere. Exactly where he scored from in the first period.

With that line together, it should help the Kings create more off the cycle. No team in the league has scored less off the cycle than Los Angeles, but in playing Laferriere, Kopitar and Kempe together, the Kings are combining three players with some size or physicality in their games. Laferriere leads the Kings in shots off the forecheck, while all three players are in the Top-4 on the team in shots off the cycle. Saw what that combination can do last night.

After the first goal from the slot, Laferriere added a breakaway goal early in the third period to provide breathing room and insurance, as he scored with a nice backhanded finish. The Kings score a lot through hard work but that one was simply a skill play. Forward against goaltender, 1-on-1 and the forward came out on top. How often have we seen the Kings not get those moments? Huge to get one there.

He added the third goal with a one-timer from the high slot, which took a nice kick off a Ducks defenseman on the way through. When you factor in all three, Laferriere became the third Kings player this season to reach 10 goals and after a slow start offensively, he’s back on pace to exceed 20 goals on the season.

What a night.

While the hat trick was certainly indicative of the way he played against Anaheim, it really felt like it was a longer time coming than that. Laferriere had five or more shots on goal in three of his last five games. Throughout the month of December, when the Kings have really struggled offensively, Laferriere led the team in scoring chances and high-danger chances. They weren’t going in, but he was getting to the right areas and turning that into offensive opportunities.

A nine-shot performance against Seattle right before the break seemed to signal a player who was about to explode. In that game, he became the first Kings player to record both nine shots on goal and four hits in the same game since the league began tracking hits coming out of the NHL lockout over 20 years ago. He didn’t score, though.

Felt like a night that was indicative of so much of this season. Did X, Y and Z well, but didn’t score. More than made good on it last night, though.

“Nine shots against Seattle, five [Saturday] so that’s 14 shots in two games, he was coming off a game against Seattle where I thought he played really well,” Jim Hiller said of Laferriere. “He had 14 [shots on goal] and sooner or later, they’ve got to start going in and those were some nice goals tonight too. He made some really nice plays. His line was good, complemented each other pretty well.”

The thing with Laferriere is that he earns what he gets.

He’s got a lot of natural ability, certainly, but he’s never been a guy who has just relied on his abilities to make him an NHL player. He works. Every day, practice or game, Laferriere is someone who gives you what he’s got. Whether he’s on a scoring streak or in a scoring slump, you generally get the same game from Laferriere, night-in, night-out. Always seems to have an impact on the game in one way or another.

Those are the kinds of players you like to see get rewarded, as Laferriere did last night.

“He's great, never complaining, always plays 100 percent and practices 100 percent,” defenseman Drew Doughty said of Laferriere. “He's solid defensively, which probably people don't talk about as much. Man, he's been awesome for us, and he's going to continue to get better and better.”

For Quinton Byfield, he and Laferriere have been regular linemates this season, even if they’re playing separately right now. Whether they’re on the ice together or not, very few games go by for Byfield where he doesn’t notice Laferriere in one form or another.

That’s just the kind of player he is. Even when the Kings weren’t scoring, Laferriere was extremely noticeable. There were times when a lot of players on this team weren’t noticeable, alongside a lack of goals. Very rarely was that the case for Laferriere. He contributes all over the ice in a number of ways. Good to see guys like that get rewarded.

"It was awesome to see, just playing with him for the last year, he's made some big steps, every night you notice him," Byfield said. "He's playing some really good hockey, he's got speed, skill, everything, playing power play, penalty kill, he does it all. It was really nice for him to get that."

It was the kind of game the Kings needed from Laferriere. It's the kind of game they need from a number of other players as well going forward. Statement kinds of games. A few guys got off the schneid last night. First goal in 17 games for Byfield, his first points in the month of December. First goal in 10 games for Trevor Moore. First goal in nine games by a Kings defenseman. The Kings are a team that needs to continue to rely on multiple parties to find offense.

As Kopitar put it last week, the Kings don’t have a superstar on their team, so offensive improvements have to come from the collective. That’s harder to fix, because it means that you have to look to a number of places for guys to get going. Last night was a step in the right direction, certainly, with Laferriere at the core of those improvements. With Colorado in their sights, by far the league’s top team through three months, getting those continued strides will be essential in having a chance to win that game.