LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings aren’t just winning, they’re taking down top teams in the process.
The Kings dominated the league-leading Minnesota Wild in a 4-1 result on Saturday, limiting their offensive production for the duration of the game. The Wild were playing the second game of a back-to-back, of which LA took advantage. The Kings entered on a four-game winning streak, while the Wild entered with five straight victories.
Minnesota and Los Angeles have been some of the best defensive teams early in games and displayed this tendency once again. The Wild couldn’t get much going in the first while Adrian Kempe put the Kings in front with under a minute to go in the first off a feed from Anže Kopitar, who skated in his 1,400th career game.
The Kings rolled out with 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the second consecutive game with Trevor Lewis sidelined, a tactic the team heavily employed last season. Goalie Darcy Kuemper returned to the crease following a lengthy injured reserve stint and benefited from LA’s sound defensive performance, making 22 saves.
“We like the challenge of playing against top teams, you have to be at your best, you need everybody, so those are fun as a group and good measuring sticks,” Kuemper said postgame. “We feel like we’ve got a lot to prove and I think we did a great job with it.”
Notably, the Kings’ power play — which has struggled substantially so far — did something it hasn’t done all season. The unit’s second group scored its first goal of the season, with blueliner Jordan Spence running the offense. Interestingly enough, the second unit started the power play over the usual first group.
Brandt Clarke didn’t receive any power-play minutes as he hit the boards hard and briefly exited the game, but Fiala played on both units. Now back with a defenseman present on the power play, head coach Jim Hiller isn’t shying away from shaking things up.
“We had a plan to have [Fiala] play on both units tonight, and so he started on [the second] unit, and I thought he was really good,” Hiller said. “That gave us a little more danger on the flanks with him and [Laferriere] together, and then [Phillip Danault] had a great screen.”
Spence set up winger Alex Laferriere, who continued his breakout campaign with his 12th goal of the year. Laferriere’s score matched his goal total from last season, except it only took 27 games instead of 81.
“Our role is just to be a shooting power play,” Laferriere said.
Against his former team, Fiala shined. On top of tallying an assist on Laferriere’s goal, he created organic offense using his stout puck-moving ability and cerebral positioning. His passing was spot-on, too.
Because of the back-to-back, Minnesota’s top goaltender Filip Gustavsson rode the bench while soon-to-be-retiree Marc-André Fleury received the starting nod.
Trevor Moore scored two empty-net goals for LA while the Wild broke the shutout bid late, as Yakov Trenin put one away off a rebound.
The Kings’ five-game winning streak can be attributed to strong forechecking, late-game firmity and outstanding defense. The last time Los Angeles allowed more than two goals in a game was to the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 25, but the team has been lights-out ever since.
The winning streak includes victories over other contending squads like the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars. And on top of that, the Kings are winning in different ways. For example, against Dallas, LA didn’t play a good first period but overcame it, while on Saturday, the Kings set the tone early.
Mikey Anderson and Vladislav Gavrikov, as a duo, have catalyzed the team’s defensive prowess, shutting down opposing offenses and giving LA’s goaltenders easy nights regularly. In the absence of Drew Doughty, the blue line hasn’t missed a step. Against a Wild team featuring league point leader Kirill Kaprizov, LA laid down the hammer. In 11 games this season, the Kings have allowed one or fewer goals.
“We’re a really solid team. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but when I say that, that’s a real compliment to our players,” Hiller said. “A lot of depth, very solid.”
As a 15-day road trip approaches, LA will look to strengthen its position in the playoff race and extend its winning streak. The Kings’ next test will be a 4:30 p.m. bout with the New York Islanders on Tuesday on Long Island.