The Kings came out on top with a close victory over a depleted Avalanche team. There were positives and negatives to the overall effort Los Angeles had against Colorado.
Here’s a breakdown of the Kings’ performance:
Positives
Offensively, the Kings were aggressive against the Colorado defense. For a team that usually plays flat against lesser opponents, the Kings’ offense showed up in a big way. As impressive as the five goals were from Los Angeles, it’s the fact that they had 33 shots on goal, which put tons of pressure on Mackenzie Blackwood.
A major reason as to why the Kings offense was so efficient was in large part, in large part to the playmaking abilities of Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere. As vital as it was for Byfield and Laferriere to both score a goal, it was more important that they both had two assists each. Byfield and Laferriere both had an assist on each other’s goals and set up the two Kevin Fiala goals. Four out of five goals by the Kings were assisted by either Byfield or Laferriere.
As previously mentioned before, Kevin Fiala scored two goals in this game. The first goal was the very first of the game and the second goal was the last score for the Kings. Fiala not only gave the Kings the early lead, but he also scored the goal to extend their lead to a 5-3 lead, which essentially sealed the victory for Los Angeles.
Negatives
While the Kings did well on offense and came away with the victory, there is still a big elephant in this room that needs to be addressed. Nathan Mackinnon and Cale Makar did not suit up for this game. With Colorado missing their two best players, it is expected for the Kings to win. Despite the fact that the Kings won, Los Angeles really could’ve played a lot better.
Outside the three players previously mentioned in Byfield, Laferriere and Fiala, nobody else really played that well for Los Angeles. The rest of the team offensively didn’t put much pressure on the defense as Los Angeles really had to rely on one specific line to generate offense.
The main issue for the Kings still wasn’t the top-heavy production on offense, it was the defense. Los Angeles gave up four goals to a team that did not have their two best players. Darcy Kuemper ended the game with a .875 save percentage. For a defensive-minded team, this is a completely lackluster performance against a severely under-manned roster. If the offense was as potent as it was, the defense would have costed the Kings this game.
Recap
Taking into consideration that the Avalanche were heavily out-manned and still gave the Kings defense a scare, it is a bit concerning. The final score may have been different if Mackinnon and Makar played, but hockey is not played based on what ifs. The games are played with the players actually on the ice. What matters is that the Kings were electric on offense and found a way to come out with the victory. Byfield, Laferriere and Fiala all put on a masterclass to elevate the Kings to be good enough to secure the two points.
