Joe Patarino 
The LA Kings picked up their first win of the 2023-24 season with a convincing 5-1 win on the road in Winnipeg on Tuesday.
(Stats and terms via Natural Stat Trick)
5-on-5 Stats
After a first period that saw the Winnipeg Jets out-attempt the LA Kings 20-13, LA took complete control in the second period. The visiting Kings out-attempted Winnipeg 20-5 in the middle frame, building a 2-0 lead.
Overall, here’s how things shook out
| Team | CF% | xGF% | SCF% | HDCF% |
| LA Kings | 50.0 | 68.8 | 54.8 | 80.0 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 50.0 | 31.2 | 45.2 | 20.0 |
There were 16 penalties in this game so there wasn’t quite as much 5-on-5 play as we’d normally expect, and we didn’t see the normal line combinations get as much time together. Here’s how each of the LA Kings lines performed:
| LW | C | RW | TOI | CF% | xGF% | SCF% | HDCF% |
| Kevin Fiala | Pierre-Luc Dubois | Alex Laferriere | 11:13 | 56.5 | 53.5 | 63.6 | 75.0 |
| Trevor Moore | Phillip Danault | Arthur Kaliyev | 9:10 | 52.2 | 78.2 | 53.9 | 80.0 |
| Quinton Byfield | Anze Kopitar | Adrian Kempe | 8:55 | 40.0 | 43.7 | 40.0 | 0.0 |
| Trevor Lewis | Blake Lizotte | Carl Grundstrom | 5:33 | 37.5 | 10.9 | 0.0 | – |
To the eye test, the PL Dubois line looked like the best of the bunch, and that checks out. Kevin Fiala, while not at his peak, was definitely better in this game than the first two.
On the back end, it wasn’t a great night for the Mikey Anderson and Drew Doughty pairing. But fear not, Vladislav Gavrikov and Matt Roy were there to pick up the slack.
| LD | RD | TOI | CF% | xGF% | SCF% | HDCF% |
| Mikey Anderson | Drew Doughty | 13:28 | 34.6 | 33.9 | 27.3 | 0.0 |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | Matt Roy | 9:21 | 78.3 | 89.9 | 86.7 | 85.7 |
| Andreas Englund | Jordan Spence | 3:19 | 40 | 41.8 | 0.0 | – |
Gavrikov and Roy out-attempted the Jets 18-5 and held an outstanding 13-2 edge in scoring chances. The duo was on the ice for just one high-danger chance against all game.
It was another game where Andreas Englund and Jordan Spence each spent more time apart from each other than with. I’m not sure yet if this is by design, or simply because with so many penalties early in the season, things have been shuffled around. Englund himself sat for five minutes after his fight with Dylan Samberg.
Back to Gavrikov and Roy. Their most common forward opponents were the top line of Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. The Kings’ stingy pairing held a 12-6 edge in shot attempts against Scheifele.
Special Teams
For the second straight game, the LA Kings were perfect on the penalty kill (going 4-for-4). Cam Talbot was excellent in this one, making seven saves – all of which were considered scoring chances per Natural Stat Trick.
LA had plenty of zone time on their power plays, especially in the second period, but really didn’t come up with much in the way of shots. In their five power play opportunities, they scored one goal on just two shots – only one of which was graded as a scoring chance. Though it’s worth noting, the Dubois goal came just seconds after a power play had ended.
Individual Stats
Shot Attempts For/Against
Unsurprisingly, we see Gavrikov and Roy among the leaders here. Also unsurprisingly, we see Englund and Trevor Lewis toward the bottom of this.
It was a rare off-game for Blake Lizotte (more on that later). Quinton Byfield has been really good early this season, but that whole line couldn’t get much going in this game.
Scoring Chances For/Against
A similar picture is painted here as above. Gavrikov and Roy were excellent. The Dubois line was strong while the Lizotte and Kopitar lines had off nights.
We’re only three games into the season, but there is a trend at the bottom of these lists. Englund and Lewis are the bottom two on the team in CF% (40.9% and 44.4% respectively). They’re also the two lowest in xGF% (each of these stats does not include Bjornfot, who has played just one game). We’re seeing some level of contribution from most of the LA Kings roster, but not much from these two quite yet.
Shot Contributions
A fitting return to Winnipeg for PL Dubois. He got the scoring started in the second period and was among LA’s better players on Tuesday. He led in overall shot contributions with ten, setting the pace in shot assists with five.
Dubois’ linemate, Alex Laferriere was among the beneficiaries of those shot assists as he again led the team in shot attempts with seven. His four shots on goal at 5-on-5 also led the team. He continues to show he belongs not only in the NHL but playing with some of the top players.
It was a welcome return to the lineup for Arthur Kaliyev. His four shot attempts tied him for third on the team. He fit nicely playing alongside Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore, scoring a goal and an assist. If he can use his offensive brain and bring the work ethic that he did against the Jets, he could be in line for a nice production increase.
Speaking of Moore, he had another good game, netting two goals and an assist to earn himself the game’s third star. Moore’s two goals at 5-on-5 this season lead the Kings, as does his three overall.
Between the pipes
That collective sigh you heard just as the final buzzer went in Winnipeg was the city of Los Angeles breathing easy, at least for one night, that the goaltending came up big. Talbot did just that. He was huge in the first period, making 14 of his 27 saves in the opening 20 minutes. Talbot may not have been quite as busy in the second and third periods, but this game could have gone much differently had he not stood on his head in the first.
Per EvolvingHockey, Talbot finished with 1.69 goals saved above expected (GSAx).
Up Next
The LA Kings will travel to the State of Hockey for a date with the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. With how well Talbot played against Winnipeg, you’d imagine he’d be the favorite to get the nod against his former team.
(Main Photo Credit: Fred Greenslade, The Canadian Press)