The Kings probably did not feel the effects of tryptophan on Thanksgiving Thursday because they were still elated from Wednesday’s euphoric win in which they dominated the NHL’s top team ahead of their Friday visit to Anaheim.
In 48 hours, the Kings were shelled in the third period of a 7-2 loss to the not-so-successful San Jose Sharks before turning around to ground and pound the Winnipeg Jets in a 4-1 victory that saw the Kings cede just two shots on goal in the final 26:43 of the contest.
“It’s an example of how good we can be,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “It’s hard to be really good like that night after night, it’s 82 games in a season, but it gives us an example of what is possible if we all play together and a certain style of play.”
When asked what he’d like to see against the Ducks during Friday’s matinee, Hiller referred back to the signature victory of the Kings’ campaign to date.
“The exact same thing. The exact same thing we saw [against Winnipeg]. We’re not going to do that for the next 59 games, I know, but that is the standard. That is what we expect,” Hiller said.
The Kings met that expectation at least once previously in a spirited bout with Vegas, seeing them take leads of 4-0 and 6-1 en route to a 6-3 win. Yet that triumph followed another disappointment in San Jose, and in that same week, the Kings also lost to the Chicago Blackhawks.
So, are the Kings playing down to lesser opponents?
“It’s probably happened long enough –– you say lesser teams, teams that are lower in the standings –– that I would say there’s something to that. We have to correct that,” Hiller said.
Some corrections have already gone in the lineup. Power-play-personnel tweaks helped Quinton Byfield breakthrough in a home win over Seattle before the San Jose fiasco, and new even-strength lines helped spark the first goals in nearly a month for Kevin Fiala and Philip Danault against Winnipeg.
Danault, who scored just his second goal of the season to pick up the game-winner Wednesday, embraced the shuffling amid some offensive malaise. He pointed out that other than Anže Kopitar and Adrian Kempe –– they’ve combined for 36 points in the last 15 games –– had been the Kings’ only truly consistent scorers.
“You think you’re playing well, but then you don’t get goals and assists, or it’s a little harder to get the mojo going. It happens in a season, for me it was in the beginning,” Danault. “We play a hard game, too. We don’t score a lot of goals. There was only one line working the last couple games, so we’re all in the same boat.”
Next up, Danault & Co. will face the Ducks, who had been jockeying around the cellar with Chicago and San Jose in recent years but got back to .500 with Wednesday’s win over Seattle. They lost 4-1 in their first clash with the Kings on Oct. 20, but have compiled a 4-1-1 record in their last six games, thanks to a combination of stellar goaltending and augmented offensive support.
