Kings preseason notebook: young forwards and power play finding footing
Alex Hutton
Host · Writer
The Los Angeles Kings lost to the Utah Mammoth 6-3 on Tuesday night in their second of four preseason games and the first of two at Crypto.com Arena. Here are a couple of the major takeaways from the contest.
Young Forwards Trying to Take Advantage of Opportunity
While the Kings did dress a handful of their established players in this game, the best individual plays came from up-and-coming skaters. Forward Martin Chromiak made a great move on a breakaway late in the second period to score a goal, and Kenny Connors made a tough pass to set up Taylor Ward for a third-period goal. The latter two, along with their linemate Liam Lefebvre, played their best hockey in the final frame.
“I think it was just the pace,” Lefebvre said. “We were trying to push the play up ice, you know, create some chances in the offensive zone. And I thought we did a little bit of a better job at that in the third than the previous periods. So it was definitely good to build on that.”
At the same time, the third period wasn’t enough to overcome the first two, during which the Kings were outshot 27-11 and many of those same young players didn’t impose themselves in the way that head coach Peter Laviolette wanted.
“If I’m being honest, I thought that we were slow out of the gate with the game,” Laviolette said. “A lot of the younger guys that are in here are trying to make an impression — or guys that maybe weren’t here last year — and I think that the game goes quick.”
As the game went on, Laviolette appreciated the improvement, and noted the slow start as a learning opportunity for many of the players who skated tonight.
“In the third, there [were] moments where you notice the young players — Lefebvre, you notice Chromiak, and he got going in a couple shifts, and Kenny Connors had a nice play,” Laviolette said. “So you started to notice some guys a little bit more. But you can’t wait. In training camp and in the NHL, in a regular season game when the puck drops at minute number one, you got to be ready. And I thought that we just watched a little bit too much in the first period.”
Top Units Play Together
Many of the veteran players who did play in this game got chances to share the ice together. Four members of the presumed top power play unit — Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe, Artemi Panarin and Brandt Clarke — appeared, and the Kings went 1-for-4 on the man advantage.
“I think we were moving around in the zone really good,” Clarke said. “Filling in spots really well and got some good shots … but I think our breakouts just have to be more crisp.”
The Kings’ only power-play goal came in the second period, when Clarke deflected in a feed from Kempe. Clarke found himself playing low in the sequence, an unusual spot for a defenseman on a power play, and capitalized.
Clarke indicated that his role and movement on the power play are largely dependent on Panarin, who previously played for Laviolette with the New York Rangers.
“What they’re saying to me is I got to read off Bread,” Clarke said. “He’s gonna be all over the place. He’s gonna carry the puck. He’s gonna do his thing. So I’m just gonna fill in. If he comes in my spot, I’m gonna roll for him. And if some guys roll on the other side, and I can kind of pop in the middle there, get a high tip, or even maybe a low play to me in the slot if that’s an option too. So I think that’s what it is. It’s filling in spots. It’s being ready for the puck, and it’s just capitalizing. And I think that’s what I did there.”
Laviolette praised Clarke’s goal as one of the positives from the game, and largely concurred with his defenseman about areas to improve.
“I thought where we struggled with it was just on the breakouts coming through the neutral zone,” Laviolette said. “It didn’t seem clean, and I think that’s a timing thing that you get to the more you do it. We’re trying to work it in, incorporate it in practice as much as we can, but I thought that that could have been cleaner … so we’ll continue to work on that, but it was good movement on it.”
The likely first line of Byfield, Panarin and Kempe also played together for much of the even-strength portion of the game.
“I thought they were good,” Laviolette said. “They competed hard and they generated offense. They played the game with purpose. And so for me, that was a positive watching them and the chemistry inside of that.”
The Kings continue their preseason tomorrow at 7 p.m. on the road against the Anaheim Ducks.
