The LA Kings looked to build off their Saturday win against Edmonton, as the Dallas Stars came to town on Monday. Dallas currently holds the second-highest point total in the NHL, behind only Colorado, but the Kings, 3-1-1 in their past five games entering Monday, were hoping to prove they can play with the best of the West.
The Kings remained at odds with injuries, as key players like Trevor Moore, Joel Armia and captain Anže Kopitar remained sidelined. Dallas, on the other hand, has depth of scoring talent. Forwards Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston all had over 50 points entering tonight’s game, paired with other scoring threats down the lineup like Roope Hintz and Matt Duchene.
Dallas got on the board early in the first period, as a bad Adrian Kempe turnover led to Johnston being left alone in the slot, firing a snapshot past Darcy Kuemper. From there, both teams struggled to generate offense, despite a good start to the second from the Kings. LA did succeed in suppressing the Stars’ offensive attack, allowing a total of only nine shots on goal through two periods.
Struggling to break through, it seemed the Kings would need to make something happen on special teams to get on the board. Lo and behold, two consecutive power play opportunities in the third period resulted in a goal, as Corey Perry found Quinton Byfield on a beautiful behind-the-back pass, for his 500th career assist and the game’s tying goal. Byfield let Perry lead the fistbump line at the bench to celebrate the milestone as well.
“Very happy for him. You know how wonderful of a career he’s had, and how big a part of our team he is this year,” said Drew Doughty, regarding Perry’s assist.
Despite Dallas’ initial go-ahead goal in the third being reversed because of an offsides call, a fortuitous bounce off Mikey Anderson’s backside on a hapless backhander from above the circles got behind Kuemper. Roberston was credited with his 27th goal of the year, good for the team lead. LA couldn’t find the equalizer late and fell short 3-1 as the Stars would add an empty-netter.
“I thought we played well. We played well for a while. We’ll keep playing well and expect that it will turn,” said LA head coach Jim Hiller, when asked how to keep the season from slipping away. “I’m not worried about the effort, or the structure. If we keep going like this we’re going to win games.”
While he might be right, continuously outplaying opponents but still finding ways to lose raises questions regarding the team’s roster construction. With the season now past the halfway point, the Kings cannot sit around and wait for internal improvements, especially as players like Kopitar and Doughty get older.
If Los Angeles decides to press forward with Hiller and his coaching staff, decisions need to be made sooner rather than later on whether the Kings need an injection of speed and a scoring touch into the top-six. While battling injuries is a valid excuse, even while healthy, this current roster is not separating itself in the standings, and losing while outplaying their opponent significantly should raise alarm bells for Ken Holland and the Kings’ front office.
LA will need bounce-back performances in a very important Pacific Division matchup against Vegas on Wednesday night.