The Los Angeles Kings suffered from a slow start and collapsing finish, falling to the San Jose Sharks in a 7-2 rout on Monday night, LA’s largest losing margin of the season.
The Kings’ defense, featuring Jordan Spence and Jacob Moverare, who allowed 0.365 on-ice expected goals against according to MoneyPuck, couldn’t figure out spacing right from the jump. LA gave the Sharks back-to-back breakaway chances early in the first period, to which San Jose scored on one only two minutes from puck drop. The lackluster start also consisted of multiple undisciplined plays in the first period, allowing San Jose to carry a power play to the second period.
The Sharks’ cast of youngsters catalyzed the win, as 22-year-old goaltender Yaroslav Askarov made 22 saves with an assist; 18-year-old and No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini scored twice with an assist; and 19-year-old Will Smith tallied two helpers.
Los Angeles was likely optimistic heading into the matchup when finding out that center Mikael Granlund — the Sharks’ leading scorer — wouldn’t play due to an upper-body injury. Granlund scored twice against the Kings in the teams’ first matchup this season.
The Kings’ penalty-conceding woes continued as they racked up 12 minutes of sin-bin time and allowed two power-play goals. Los Angeles faltered further in the third period, giving up a whopping five goals after starting the frame tied. The Sharks went on a 5-on-3 chance after an unsuccessful Jim Hiller challenge, capitalizing shortly after.
Los Angeles’ second-period performance was its lone bright spot. The first line performed well, with Adrian Kempe subtly contributing to the scores and tallying helpers on both. Blueliner Brandt Clarke only proved to be put back on the power-play unit by scoring a smooth goal from the right side, his third of the year. Speaking of the power play, the Kings went 0-for-2, and the five-forward unit is now 1-for-9.
Anže Kopitar scored LA’s second and final goal, hammering rookie Askarov in the crease and poking it through.
David Rittich completely fell apart, with -5.32 goals saved above expected. Only saving 14 of 21 shots, Rittich appeared fatigued after making his fourth consecutive start. With Darcy Kuemper still injured and Erik Portillo looking ready to make the leap to the NHL, it wouldn’t be surprising if Hiller goes with a different look next time out.
Games like this display the Kings’ gaping holes. In games where they started slow, they’ve typically been able to storm back late, but that wasn’t the case against the Sharks. LA played 40 competitive minutes — only 20 of which were truly win-worthy — to allow San Jose to take significant control.
The Kings’ neutral-zone presence wasn’t strong, allowing the Sharks to split their defenders and create plenty of opportunities off the rush. San Jose seemed to tire out Los Angeles’ blue line as the game progressed.
The Kings took down the Sharks in the teams’ first matchup but have now dropped the last two bouts. Considering the parity between the teams in the Pacific Division, every game matters and the loss raises greater concern for Hiller’s crew. San Jose proved that it shouldn’t be underestimated despite sitting at the bottom of the division, and its abundance of young talent can wreak havoc on the Kings.
LA may have some decent wins and a winning record, but many issues need to be addressed. Power-play woes, poor discipline and zone unawareness, in conjunction with lineup instability, have been the root of the team’s inconsistencies.
Big picture, the Kings’ offense just isn’t producing. Changing the power-play unit to an all-forward look was meant to inject life into the offense, but LA hasn’t scored more than two goals in a game since November 16.
The Kings’ schedule will only get harder as they’ll take on the league-best Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Jets have the best goal differential in the NHL, so Los Angeles’ offense must wake up.