Takeaways: LA Kings 4, Jets 1 – Keep on winning

Photo Credit: Alex Cave

The LA Kings have picked up at least one point in eleven straight games now after their Saturday matinee victory over the Jets, 4-1.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

LAK: Viktor Arvidsson (21), ASST: Trevor Moore (16)

Second period:

LAK: PP Alex Iafallo (11), ASST: Phillip Danault (32), Sean Walker (10)

WPG: PP Pierre-Luc Dubois (25), ASST: Kyle Connor (47), Neal Pionk (21)

Third period:

LAK: Drew Doughty (7), ASST: Adrian Kempe (22), Anze Kopitar (40)

LAK: EN Viktor Arvidsson (22), ASST: Mikey Anderson (15), Drew Doughty (40)

Stats

Goals:

WPG: 1

LAK: 4

Shots: 

WPG: 26

LAK: 29

Power-plays:

WPG: 1/6

LAK: 1/2

Here are the takeaways from Saturday’s 4-1 matinee victory:

Fantastic penalty kill

The penalty kill for the LA Kings was bad last season and looked to be trending in that same direction after the first two months of the season. Since the calendar turned to 2023, the Kings have killed 83 out of 101 penalties, good for 82.2%. A big turnaround. Saturday’s game was an example of how the Kings’ penalty kill has improved so much.

Blake Lizotte got called for a match penalty with 5:50 remaining in the second period as the Kings were up 2-0. Remember, a team can score as many times as they want on a five-minute major power play.

While the Jets got their shot attempts on the five-minute major, the Kings did a good job keeping everything to the outside, letting Joonas Korpisalo see the puck and making saves, denying shooting and passing lanes, and not allowing easy zone entries. After 4:26 of great penalty killing, Pierre-Luc Dubois scored with 33 seconds left on the major. The Kings went into the locker room with the lead thanks in large to the great penalty kill, a moment where the game could’ve gotten out of hand. If you only give up one goal on a five-minute major, you’ll take that any day of the week. For the afternoon, the Kings went 5-for-6 on the penalty kill.

Two or less

Since the Kings traded Jonathan Quick to Columbus and acquired Vladislav Gavrikov and Korpisalo, they have not allowed more than two goals in a game. Gavrikov has been a good pickup while Korpisalo has given LA another viable option in net to go alongside Pheonix Copley.

The Kings are one of the best teams in defensive analytics, but couldn’t get saves from either Cal Petersen or Quick. Pheonix Copley came in and pretty much saved the Kings’ season which allowed Rob Blake to make a hard, but excellent trade. While neither Copley nor Korpisalo has been named the number one goalie, head coach Todd McLellan has gone with a goalie rotation and so far it’s working. They’ve given the Kings a chance to win every night.

Chasing Dionne

For 17 seasons Anze Kopitar has been relied upon to be a two-way center and shut down opposing teams’ best players. At age 35, it doesn’t look like father time is ready to tap on his shoulder just yet. In 72 games, Kopitar has 66 points (26-40) and has points in five of his last seven games (1-7=8). After recording another assist on Doughty’s goal in the third period, Kopitar is getting closer to a record that has been held for a long time by Marcel Dionne.

Marcel Dionne is the all-time assists leader in LA Kings’ history with 757. Kopitar is now at 742 and is 16 assists away from becoming the all-time assists leader in LA Kings’ history. While he won’t surpass Dionne this year, he’ll most likely break it next season.

But wait, there’s more!

While this milestone has nothing to do with Dionne, Kopitar is now 22 points away from passing Luc Robitaille to hold second place for all-time points in Kings history. We’ve been lucky to watch him don a Kings uniform for 17 seasons.

UP NEXT: The LA Kings are right back at it tomorrow night for the second night of a back-to-back against the St. Louis Blues. The game starts at 7:30 pm PT and can be seen on Bally Sports West.

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