On Saturday in San Jose, the Kings were led from the top.
Let’s start with the stats.
The line of Artemi Panairn, Quinton Byfield and Adrian Kempe led the way early and often, all the way through the end of the night. Throughout the course of the game, all three players scored a goal, including Panarin’s game-tying goal late in the third period. All three players collected multiple points, with Kempe and Byfield each finding the back of the net on the man advantage.
How about the splits?
With those three players on the ice, skating 5-on-5, the Kings had 20 shot attempts for, compared to just four against. Nine of those shot attempts were classified as scoring chances by Natural Stat Trick, as the Kings controlled more than 81 percent of them with those three players on the ice. Of the 20 forward lines with at least 25 minutes at 5-on-5 through the first week of games, the Panarin, Byfield and Kempe line is one of five around the NHL controlling more than 65 percent of shot attempts.
What’s more important, though is how it looked.
I’ve always felt that it is dangerous to make decisions off of small sample sizes early in the season. So, if it didn’t jump off the page, I’d pump the breaks. However, when those small sample sizes support the eye test, rather than inspire it, they become more important. The eyetest was what stood out first, with the supporting metrics amplifying what we saw.
The reason it stood out is that it felt like every time that line was on the ice, the Kings were in the offensive zone, with the puck, making plays and creating chances. In fact, around the NHL, all three players rank in the 80th percentile or better in time spent in the offensive zone, with Panarin leading the way in the 91st percentile. For a team that is focused on increasing the offensive production this season, you look to your top guys first. Early days, but a good start in that area.
“I thought their game was on point, they created the entire night, I thought they were excellent the entire night,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “QB, Bread and Kemps were really, I thought, pretty dynamic and generated an awful lot for us.”
It starts with Panarin, who has three points in his first two games, scoring goals both in Colorado and San Jose.
The most productive season of Panarin’s NHL career came under Laviolette in New York. Laviolette’s system encourages forwards to make plays and with Panarin specifically, he wants to let him use his creativity and his ability to make plays. There’s always a line, but with a player of Panarin’s caliber, it’s got to be a bit further out than most.
“The way he thinks the game and the way he creates offense, it’s at a very high level,” Laviolette said during training camp. “Everybody has to move inside of a mindset of how we’re going to defend and how we’re going to play offense, but his creativity, especially the offensive side of the puck, I don’t think you can try to harness that. I think you have to let that go. I’ve coached him before, I think he’s a competitor, I think he’s highly skilled, an elite player that can make a difference in a game. I don’t want to do anything that constrains him from reaching that level.”
For the Kings, Panarin has the chance to really impact the game at the offensive end of the ice. There hasn’t been a player of his makeup here in a long time.
Panarin’s chemistry with Kempe is already something known. Last season, Kempe scored at over a 50-goal pace when playing with Panarin. Adding Byfield into the mix is the change. While Byfield lacks Anze Kopitar’s pedigree and production, he brings an element of speed that puts a pair of burners next to one of the NHL’s best playmakers.
Panarin joked he’s just doing his best to keep up, but the element their speed adds opens up more space for him as well.
“Two pretty fast hockey players, which makes the puck on our side more, because they win lots of battles and they forecheck very well,” Panarin said of his linemates. “I try being fast too, but I’m not that fast, so I’ve got to a start earlier by a second, that’s all. We had good moments. We start feeling each other more and more and I feel the second game was better for us, as a team as well.”
The speed and the forechecking was a big part of the equation.
Last season, there weren’t many players in the NHL who could keep up with Byfield and Kempe. Per NHL Edge data, both players ranked in the 95th percentile or better in speed bursts of 22+ MPH and speed bursts between 20 and 22 MPH. Both players had a maximum speed burst over 23 MPH as well, ranking in the 89th percentile or better.
That speed, in forechecking situations, can be deadly. Byfield, Panarin and Kempe rank first, second and third in loose-puck recoveries in the offensive zone this season among Kings forwards, which shows how routinely they’re getting pucks back inside the offensive blueline.
Look at Panarin’s goal, for example.
