Kings hit road looking for first win of season

WASHINGTON – The Los Angeles Kings believe their first win will change everything.

Getting it has proven difficult through their first six games, but the Kings (0-4-2) hope their fortunes will turn during a five-game road trip that begins against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; ABTV, MNMT).

“We’re on the road. I think this is a good thing for us,” Kings captain Drew Doughty said Monday. “Just the boys getting together, going for dinner, it's a good time for us to gel even more than we already do. I know that once we get one (win), we're going to start rolling. 

“It's just about the only thing that's disappointing is maybe a little bit of a lack of desperation in our last game.”

The Kings’ last game, a 4-1 home loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday, provided a microcosm of their early-season struggles. Alex Laferriere scored to give the Kings a 1-0 lead 31 seconds into the game, but they were unable to get a second goal past Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman. Still, the score was tied 1-1 until Marat Khusnutdinov scored at 13:36 of the third period. Elias Lindholm and JJ Peterka then scored empty-net goals to seal the Kings’ sixth consecutive defeat to start the season.

Los Angeles played similarly tight games in a 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Oct. 6 (Matthew Tkachuk snapped a 1-1 tie at 11:20 of the third period) and in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 10 (Mitch Marner scored on the power play at 2:40 of overtime).

“It's almost like instead of just believing and knowing that we're going to make it happen going into a third period tied, I think we're waiting around to see what's going to happen, if that makes any sense,” Doughty said. “We're not going in, you know, grabbing it … and taking it. That's what we're lacking right now. And I think that once we get our first win, hopefully here against Washington, we'll roll. We'll get that confidence.”

In a way, the Kings’ problems are simple. They’ve scored 12 goals through their first six games, including just one in each of their past four (0-3-1).

The Kings are 31st in NHL in scoring 2.00 goals per game (2.00) and 30th in the League in allowing 4.17 goals per game. Their power play 26th at 14.3 percent and their penalty kill is 31st at 61.9 percent.

There are some positives, though. Although Los Angeles is 18th in the NHL in averaging 26.8 shots on goal against per game, it is eighth in producing 29.8 per game. And according to NHL Edge, the Kings are eighth in the NHL in offensive zone time (42.1 percent) and seventh in defensive zone time (39.2 percent).

It’s just about generating more scoring chances, and converting them, during the time they are in the offensive zone.

“I think we've had some,” Kings coach Peter Laviolette said. “We're pushing for more. Every game has been a little bit different with regard to that. I thought we had some really good chances against Edmonton (a 4-1 loss on Oct. 13), had good chances in the first period against Boston and San Jose (a 5-4 overtime loss Oct. 3). We had just a ton of chances early on. I think we hit the post in the first five games, maybe 10 times. 

“So those things don't really help with regard to getting to the back of the net. So, we’ve just got to keep pushing and find a way to score goals.”

Forward Mats Zuccarello’s likely return Tuesday after missing the past three games with an undisclosed injury should help. Zuccarello practiced Monday on a line with center Quinton Byfield and Trevor Moore. 

“I think it helps slot things a little bit,” Laviolette said of the Kings lineup. “But that being said, I think we’ll just watch his minutes and where he goes. He’s been out for a bit for us. But definitely a guy that can come in and help with regard to the offensive part of the game.”

The circumstances weren’t ideal for Los Angeles to get off to a strong start in Laviolette’s first season as coach with a shorter training camp and preseason to implement and learn new systems followed by a challenging season-opening schedule that included games against some of the League’s top teams so far -- the Colorado Avalanche (8-4 loss on in the season opener on Sept. 30), Florida, Vegas, Edmonton and Boston -- spread over nearly a three-week span.

The Kings hope to get into more of a regular routine during this trip, which includes games every other day through the first four against the Capitals on Tuesday, the New York Islanders on Thursday, the New Jersey Devils on Saturday and the New York Rangers on Oct. 26 before capping it with the second game of a back-to-back at the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 27. 

Their six games played to this point are the fewest in the NHL. 

“Our schedule has been a little bit on the lighter side, which at the end of the year, like it's nice to have, but you want to be playing games and get momentum going,” Byfield said. “So, it'll be nice. Everybody is going to be close, hanging out, and then just getting to play a lot of games.”