Kings are trending in wrong direction
The Kings will play back-to-back games against one opponent with nothing to lose tonight, the Chicago Blackhawks, and another one near the top of the standings on Saturday, the Dallas Stars.
That will wrap up a whirlwind Midwestern road trip that will unfold in just four nights, but as the Kings proved once more in a 3-1 loss to the Blues in St. Louis on Wednesday, their offense has been anything but a force of nature.
“There were definitely opportunities to execute a little cleaner around the net that we weren't able to do,” Kings interim coach Jim Hiller said.
Lumbering play with the puck on the back end has hampered their ability to generate speed up the ice. Meanwhile, the elusiveness of consistent finishing or forechecking, with the general exception of their second forward line, has become an entrenched issue.
THE SCORE Today: Kings at Blackhawks, 5:30 p.m., BSW
In the 2024 calendar year, the Kings' offense has placed 30th among 32 teams in goals per game with a commensurate ranking in five-on-five goals per game. From the start of the season through Dec. 8, while their record road winning streak was alive, they led the NHL in goals per game, and all the way through the 2023 portion of the season they sat third in five-on-five goals per game.
Despite those precipitous declines, they've been loath to involve offensefirst players like winger Arthur Kaliyev, defenseman Brandt Clarke and forward Samuel Fagemo in their game plan or even their lineup. Kaliyev has recently been scratched in favor of a seventh defenseman. While initially that was Clarke, he has been back in the minors with Fagemo.
Though sparing ice time and limited opportunities in offensive situations such as power plays have contributed, Kaliyev has not recorded a point in 18 appearances or scored a goal in 27. Fagemo has logged a meager 34 minutes across just four games for the Kings despite notching nearly a goal per game in the minors (35 goals and 52 points in 39 games) and was actually waived, lost and later reclaimed.
Clarke, who had four points in his first four games after the All-Star break, including a dramatic overtime game-winner in Boston, has been relegated to the minors in favor of a defense corps that has been well below average as a group offensively and on zone exits. That's been thanks in no small part to multiple defenders who have required fortuitous mishaps to score at all.
One team that hasn't had trouble scoring recently is Chicago. The Blackhawks beat Arizona, 7-4, and the Ducks, 7-2, the latter behind a historic five-point performance by rookie Connor Bedard.