LOS ANGELES — The Kings nailed down their fifth win in six games under interim head coach Jim Hiller, putting away the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-1, on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Returning from a successful road trip that featured a trio of come-from-behind, one-goal victories, the Kings continued to work themselves out of the midseason funk that resulted in Hiller replacing head coach Todd McLellan less than three weeks ago.
Pierre-Luc Dubois’ second two-goal game of the season, a highlight-reel effort from Quinton Byfield, a late power-play conversion from Kevin Fiala and an exclamation point courtesy of Drew Doughty provided the Kings (28-16-10, 66 points) a clear path to their sixth win in seven games.
Goaltender Cam Talbot put in a strong effort, securing 33 saves against the last-place team in the Metropolitan Division, which last week fired General Manager Jarmo Kekäläinen.
Blue Jackets starting goalie Elvis Merzlikins stopped 31 of the 36 shots he faced, but the first one he couldn’t set the tone because Byfield’s unassisted opening goal stole the show.
“Here’s a guy that took a bit of flack early in his career,” Hiller said. “He’s just starting to get his legs going. He’s got a tremendously bright future with the Kings and we’re all glad to be watching him grow in front of our eyes.”
From a faceoff in the Kings’ end, the 6-foot-5 forward jumped on a loose puck and hustled toward the Blue Jackets’ zone, where he veered to his left before cutting back with a hop while nutmegging defenseman Zach Werenski near the left faceoff circle.
“I was originally going to take Werenski wide there, saw he was cutting me off and wanted to make a play to the inside,” Byfield said. “Luckily I beat him. I tried to get the puck on net. It went in, it was special.”
In one fluid sequence, the 21-year-old winger who was the second pick in the 2020 NHL draft, kicked the puck forward to get it back on his stick before splitting Werenski and Adam Boqvist in front of the Columbus net. With his left knee on the ice, Byfield dragged the puck across the face of the goal to his backhand, beating Merzlikins’ glove for a 1-0 lead on his 18th of the season.
Byfield, who also had an assist, has six goals and 12 points in his last 10 games.
“I think we’re feeling good right now off a couple wins on the road,” Byfield added. “A couple comebacks. Our mental side of the game is there right now. We’re all confident. We’re all playing the right way. It’s a lot of fun. Getting a win back at home is big for us.”
The Kings doubled their lead early in the second period when Dubois, facing the team that drafted him third overall in 2016, converted 21 seconds into a power play.
Receiving the puck from Talbot, defenseman Brandt Clarke, who netted his first NHL goal with an overtime game-winner against Boston on Saturday, dumped the play deep into the Blue Jackets’ zone where Dubois pounced on it inside the left circle for a first-time slap shot.
Columbus (17-27-10, 44 pts) got one back when Boqvist scored his first goal in 24 games played this season, bouncing it in from behind the net off Talbot’s right leg pad at 4:41.
The Kings regained a two-goal edge when Dubois tallied his sixth point in six games on his 13th goal. Camped out in front of the Columbus net, the high-priced forward had help with Byfield’s 24th assist to go with Alex Turcotte’s second.
“The first game back from a road trip is always really tough and it wasn’t pretty at times,” Dubois said. “[Talbot] was huge tonight for us and the penalty kill was great. I think that’s what made the difference for us.”
The Kings’ league-best penalty kill shut down the Blue Jackets’ three power-play tries, making it nine goals conceded over their last 69 shorthanded situations in 2024.
For the season, the Kings have killed 87% of the penalties against them (146 of 168). Hosting teams at Crypto.com Arena, they are even better, denying 91% of their opponents’ chances (72 for 79).
Two late goals in the third period – Fiala’s 14th at 15:56 and Doughty’s 12th at 19:36 – sealed a successful result in the opener of a three-game homestand. It was Fiala’s eighth consecutive game with a point against Columbus dating to 2019.
A goal and an assist gave Doughty 31 points, giving the defenseman 14 consecutive seasons with at least 30 points.
Forward Viktor Arvidsson, who was playing just his fourth game this season after he underwent back surgery in October and had contributed a couple of assists, played only 17 seconds before being forced off the ice with a lower-body injury, limiting the Kings to 11 forwards for most of the game.
“That sucks,” Byfield said, “But 11 forwards, that’s a lot more ice for us. Other guys need to step up and I think we did a good job of that.”
We're cheering with the fans in the back @LAKings l #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/0Z51HV55nJ
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) February 21, 2024
Q gives us some insight on his INSANE goal @CarrlynBathe@LAKings l #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/4o5flRyInL
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) February 21, 2024
Pierre-Luc Dubois shares his thoughts after tonights win @LAKings l #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/tC82dmfhPV
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) February 21, 2024
Alex Turcotte: not good at number guessing games @jarretstoll @Patrick_ONeal@LAKings l #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/dCTutFyr2M
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) February 21, 2024
