Kings wrap up hectic homestand vs. Eastern power Carolina

Closing out what has been a highly eventful four-game homestand on the ice and away from it, the Kings will host an Eastern Conference power, the Carolina Hurricanes, in a bid to collect six out of a possible eight points.

The on-ice theatrics came Tuesday, when the Kings poured in eight goals and managed to still lose to the surging Seattle Kraken, a division rival that has won seven straight games and has just two losses, neither in regulation, during a 14-game points streak.

Then came the behind-the-scenes histrionics: a last-second cancelation of practice and an immersive team meeting Wednesday, which was accompanied by several roster moves, including the demotion of goalie Cal Petersen to the minors.

But Thursday, things were back on track, as the Kings prevailed 5-3 against the Arizona Coyotes, bucking a trend after a pair of overtime losses.

“I felt like we were going to go out and play well and I’m not just saying that. I felt good about our group. I think the last 48 hours, it was different, but it isn’t as dramatic as maybe I feel from the line of questioning,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said.

“We’re not happy that Cal is in Ontario right now, none of us are. We all take responsibility for that, but we’ve got to move on. The fact that [General Manager Rob Blake] came in to talk to us, that happens.”

While team captain Anze Kopitar emphasized that pro sports were a results-based business, McLellan said winning the wrong way could be less productive than losing the right way, channeling UCLA legend John Wooden from the great beyond.

“You can lose when you outscore somebody in a game, and you can win when you’re outscored,” Wooden once said.

Yet the Kings cannot discount their ability to outscore teams, which has been even more un-Kings-like than their porous defense, though that tightened considerably Thursday, particularly in the third period with an opportunity to slam the door on Arizona.

The Kings’ goals per game and power-play conversion rate are on the rise, and even if they stay at the levels they are at cumulatively this season, they would represent historically strong figures for the franchise. The 3.42 goals per game is the highest average for the Kings since 1993-94, and in the past week they’ve potted an even five goals per contest. Their 24.7% conversion rate on the power play would signify the third-best mark in team history and the highest percentage since 1986-87. Since Nov. 12, they are cashing in on nearly 46% of their opportunities, a staggering albeit unsustainable clip.

Newly acquired winger Kevin Fiala has been a substantial contributor offensively with the man advantage and at even strength. His eight power-play points place him on pace for 25 this season, which would blow comfortably past his previous career high of 18.

For the second consecutive season, Fiala is notching above a point per game, with his 20 even-strength points nearly being enough alone to pace the Kings in scoring. Fiala leads the Kings by a seven-point margin, putting him on pace to be just the second player other than Kopitar to lead the Kings in scoring since 2007-08 (Jeff Carter was the other in 2016-17).

Of all the additions the Kings have made since their 1967 inception, only four players reached the 20-assist plateau faster, and two of them were Hall of Famers Larry Robinson and Wayne Gretzky (the other two were Jozef Stumpel and the late Pavol Demitra).

“He’s got a tremendous skill set. His edges, his ability to slide off checks … I think it [all] got enhanced in Minnesota with Kaprizov there, they have that same kind of shifty, on-the-edge, keep-plays-alive, change-of-pace [qualities], and he’s got a hunger to score,” McLellan said.

Fiala and the first power-play unit have been dangerous, but the second unit has often been lethal, as evidenced by winger Viktor Arvidsson’s team-leading nine points up one man or more. McLellan said that depth made such balance possible, then the two units started supporting each other and now they’ve begun to compete as to which can perform better.

“I think the reason we have two units going is because we have two units going, if that makes any sense at all. One pushes the other,” McLellan said. “It used to be five guys would just stand up on the bench and just get ready to go, now 10 guys stand up and they wait for which unit’s going to go. That’s a great sign.”

Evening out the consistency of results, as well as the reconciliation of expected and actual goals against – the Kings have suppressed shots but squandered those efforts through glaring mistakes across multiple campaigns now –– have remained points of emphasis even as the offense and power play gained explosiveness.

Also providing intrigue is the distribution of the goaltending workload with Petersen in the minors and Pheonix Copley filling in for him. McLellan intimated that No. 1 netminder Jonathan Quick’s responsibility would increase during the period that Petersen was piecing together his game.

Related Articles

While their swings haven’t been as dramatic, the Hurricanes have also been a streaky club that’s managed to stay afloat in the standings, earning 31 points to the Kings’ 30 thus far. They’ve won their past three matches, but had dropped eight of their prior 10. Like the Kings, they’ve lost four of their previous five games that went to overtime.

Forwards Martin Necas, Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov have all produced at a point-per-game pace or better for a top-heavy Carolina attack. Former San Jose defenseman Brent Burns has spearheaded their offense from the back end after arriving via trade.

Carolina at Kings

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Crypto.com Arena

TV/Radio: Bally Sports West/IHeartRadio