The Dallas Stars scored three goals in one minute and 17 seconds during the second period to seal the fate of the LA Kings in a post-Halloween blowout.
Goal Breakdown
First Period
DAL Roope Hintz (4) ASST: Jamie Benn (4), Jason Robertson (7)
Second Period:
LAK: Kevin Fiala (3) ASST: Carl Grundstrom (2), Drew Doughty (5)
DAL: Jason Robertson (5) ASST: Miro Heiskanen (2), Roope Hintz (7)
DAL: Tyler Seguin (3) ASST: Denis Gurianov (1), Miro Heiskanen (3)
DAL: Roope Hintz (5) UNASSISTED
LAK: Arthur Kaliyev (4) ASST: Viktor Arvidsson (4), Philip Danault (3)
DAL: Joe Pavelski (5) ASST: Jamie Benn (5), Jason Robertson (8)
Third Period
NO GOALS
STATS:
Goals
LAK: 2
DAL: 5
Shots
LAK: 32
DAL: 40
Powerplay
LAK: 1/3
DAL: 3/4
1. Special Teams
No NHL team can expect to win the Stanley Cup without half-decent special teams, and that goes for both sides of the ice. You need to score on the power play and kill penalties every once in a while. The main problem tonight against Dallas was that only one of them happened, and it turned out to be the one that the LA Kings didn’t need the most.
The Kings went 1/4 on the penalty kill in a minimalist showing of what they could do when they are a man down. This year, the Dallas Stars have turned in a 9/34 performance on the power play, good for 26.5% on the season.
The LA Kings were running an uphill race from the jump, and today’s outing was not a good example of what they can do down a man. I might add that Dallas scored two power play goals in the second period – on the only two chances they had. The Kings are running at a 75% penalty kill this season, and there continue to be many things to clean up.
2. Is Fiala finding his footing?
An oddity has occurred in the LA Kings fandom: Has Kevin Fiala been a disappointment? I’d argue no because the numbers support the opposite. In the game against Dallas, Fiala had one goal and ten assists, good for 11 points in ten games. For those wondering, that’s unfortunately good for 16 goals, but 80 assists or so in an 82 games season.
80+ assists are fantastic, and it would be great for any team to have a 96-point scorer on their team, but that’s not what Fiala was traded for in the offseason. Coming off of a 33-goal season, it was expected that Fiala would be a top-line scorer for the Hollywood heroes. However, Fiala hasn’t quite found a groove on this Kings team. It would be safe to say that there is some trepidation amongst the faithful regarding what can be done moving forward.
A bright spot to this is that there seems to be some chemistry between Fiala, Carl Grundstrom, and Rasmus Kupari over the last couple of games. All three players registered points against St Louis on Halloween. This developing chemistry could give the Kings some much-needed depth as the season wears on.
3. Breakout years all-around
For years, the Los Angeles Kings have been the team that had players on the verge of a breakout season. So far, it seems that eventually has arrived, and the LA Kings are starting to see consistent offensive contributions from a few of their younger starts.
Arthur Kaliyev was a steal for the Kings in the second round of the 2019 draft (in an Athletic redraft recently, Kaliyev was moved from 33rd to 8th) and had finally been showing some of the amazing upsides he was supposed to have when he was drafted.
This year, Kaliyev is striving to be an excellent player in the NHL. In the 11-game sample size, the 4th liner has tallied 6 points, drawing even with goals and assists. This projects a 48-point season for the 21-year-old. While not stellar, it’s exceptional for a player who has really gone through a trial by fire with Los Angeles.
The real star, however, is Gabe Vilardi. The unprecedented step in Vilardi’s development has been exactly what the LA Kings have needed. While probably not sustainable, Vilardi is on pace for sixty-four goals and 40 assists, with his current 13 points in 12 games. Rob Blake gave Vilardi the time he needed to develop, and it seems he might live up to that 11th overall draft slot if he keeps playing well, especially taking top-line minutes with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe.
The LA Kings are back at it on Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks. Puck drop is at 7:30 pm local time.
Featured Image Credit: Ray Carlin / Associated Press