LOS ANGELES — Goals remain elusive for the Los Angeles Kings, who have allowed fewer than three goals in their seventh straight game.
Tuesday night’s game against the Seattle Kraken was a different model, but ultimately produced similar results, with the Kings allowing their most shots on goal in more than a month in a 3-2 loss to the Kraken.
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“Forecheck is good,” head coach Jim Shearer said. “Physical, stealing pucks. To their credit, they had guys in and out of the net, but we played well. I thought, both of the goals we scored were pretty good goals. Just didn’t get the random goals that we’ve had a hard time doing this year.”
The Kings took 37 shots in the game, their most since Nov. 13, but Kraken goalkeeper Joey Daccord performed well, stopping 35 of them. This was the first of seven consecutive games where the Kings allowed fewer than three goals and more than 30 shots on goal.
The Kings also controlled the game for much of the game but were unable to create as many high-danger scoring chances as they would have liked. The Kings only took four shots on goal throughout the game.
Late in the second period, the Kings kept the Kraken inside their own zone and the Kraken defensemen were stranded on the ice for more than three minutes. Despite facing tired defenders, only one shot found the net and Daccord stopped.
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Moments later, the Kraken added salt to the wound by scoring their third goal of the season.
“I thought we had some really good looks leading up to that,” Shearer said. “It felt like we shouldn’t have been down 3-0 in that game.”
The Kings also continued to struggle with power-play goals, going 0-for-2 on the night. The Kings have failed to score on their last 10 power plays.
Kevin Fiala’s unassisted backhand into the net gave the Kings the lead, and Andrei Kuzmenko’s finishing goal cut the lead to one, but it wasn’t enough to spark a comeback.
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Kuzmenko only scored three goals in his first 24 games and has scored four goals in his last seven games.
With this loss, the Kings have lost six of their last seven games, two of which came in overtime, and maintain an overall record of 15 wins, 12 draws, and 9 losses.
“If you win five in a row or lose five in a row or whatever, it gets forgotten,” Fiala said. “That’s in the past. For us, I think we’ll take away the good things and hopefully analyze the bad things and do better.”
Needless to say, the three-day break couldn’t come at a better time for the Kings. For a struggling club, it’s an opportunity for a mental reset in the second half of the season.
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“I want the players to be able to relax and refresh themselves,” Shearer said. “From September to now, because of the schedule and how busy the schedule is, 85 per cent of our games have been within one goal. It’s been taxing on the body and mentally, so I’m sure these players need a break.”
The Kings will be immediately tested when play resumes on Saturday as they take on the rival Anaheim Ducks. The last game against the Ducks was a heartbreaking penalty shootout, with the Kings blowing a two-goal lead late in the third quarter.
Highway showdowns are always intense, but the stakes are a little higher this time considering where both teams sit in the standings. As frustrating as the last seven games have been, the Kings need to capitalize on that frustration for good.
“Obviously not very happy,” Fiala said. “I mean, things aren’t going to go the way we all want, but it happens to everybody. Not just the players, but the whole team. So we’ve got to do something about it, who can pull us out. There’s no one else. It’s happened before.
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“It’s a sign of character for the players and the team to get out of this. I’m not worried about it. I’m sure we’re going to get out of this, but like I said, it’s unacceptable. Now, the way we’re playing, we’ve got to get better.”