The Los Angeles Kings earned their bye to the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs when the Vegas Golden Knights lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
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The Kings will be in the spring tournament for the first time since 2018, when they were swept by the Golden Knights in the first round of the Western Conference. They haven’t won a series since winning the Stanley Cup in 2014, their second in three seasons so far.
Drew Doughty suffered a season-ending injury on March 7 against the Boston Bruins. Los Angeles (43-27-10) went 6-7-3 in its first 16 games following the injury, but won five of the next six, including four in a row to secure its spot. in series.
The Kings’ return to the playoffs was made possible by a well-balanced offense, a good defensive structure, the contribution of young players who are taking the lead and the solid performances of Jonathan Quick et Cal Petersen.
Anze Kopitar is on track to lead the Kings in scoring for a fifth consecutive season, having amassed 66 points (19 goals, 47 assists) in 80 games. Adrian Kempe leads Los Angeles with a career-best 34 goals, as well as a career-best 53 points. In his first season with the Kings, Phillip Danault scored 26 goals, by far his highest total in a season, and his 50 points are approaching his best campaign of his career (53 points with the Montreal Canadiens in 2018-19).
Trevor Moore also set new personal bests with 16 goals, 31 assists and 47 points, and Viktor Arvidsson had a solid season, being acquired from the Nashville Predators on July 1, 2021. He scored 20 goals, his best performance since his 34-goal season in 2018-19.
The defender Sean Durziwho has 27 points (three goals, 24 assists) in 62 games, is one of the rookies who made a significant contribution to the team with forwards Arthur Kaliyev (27 points; 14 goals, 13 assists in 78 games), Rasmus Kupari (12 points; five goals, seven assists in 55 games) and Quinton Byfield (10 points; five goals, five assists in 38 games).
Quick looked young again in his 15th NHL season, posting a 22-13-9 record with two shutouts, a 2.58 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. Petersen was 20-14-1 with three shutouts, a 2.90 GAA and .895 save percentage.
Following the injury to Doughty and then the announcement of an operation to Mikey Anderson on April 11, the Kings added depth to the blue line before the trade deadline by acquiring Troy Stecher of the Detroit Red Wings.
Here’s a look at what led the Kings to the playoffs:
Most Valuable Player: Kopitar leads the Kings with 66 points, 47 assists, 22 power-play points and a 57.2 percent completion percentage in 1,492 face-offs. The captain also leads the Kings forwards (minimum 10 games played ) with an average ice time of 20:46, 3:19 on the power play and 1:44 on the penalty kill.
Dark Hero: Durzi stood up in Doughty’s absence. After recording 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) in 40 games before Doughty was injured, the 23-year-old defenseman has 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) in 22 games since. His average ice time also dropped from 5:36 p.m. to 11:12 p.m. Seven of his points have come on the power play, where he’s been used an average of 3:21 per game since Doughty’s injury, compared to 1:58 before March 7.
Memorable moment: Quick celebrated his 700th NHL game by making 30 saves and allowing just one goal in five rounds of shootout in a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers on March 13. Los Angeles came from behind in the third period to end the Panthers’ five-game winning streak after Martin Frk scored the tying goal with 32 seconds left in regulation.
Number to remember: 6.6. The Kings are second in the NHL in shots allowed per game (28.4) and tied for fourth with an average of 35.0 shots on goal per game. This plus-6.6 differential is good for fourth place in the league and explains part of their success. The Kings are 34-15-8 when shooting more than their opponents, 8-10-1 otherwise, and 1-2-1 when shot is tied.
Point d’interrogation : Defense will be in focus due to the absence of Doughty and the uncertain status of Mikey Anderson. The Kings have shown a lot of confidence in Durzi as well as two other rookies, Jordan Spence (average ice time of 19:39 in 22 games since his NHL debut on March 10) and Jacob Move (16:11 of ice time in 15 games since the Doughty injury). The Kings will also need veterans Matt RoyOlli Matta, Alexander Edel and Stecher take more on their shoulders, as does the young Tobias Bjornfot21 years old.
The Kings will go all the way because…: If Quick continues to shine and the young players take another step in the playoffs, anything goes for Los Angeles. Quick, Kopitar and Dustin Brown were key elements in the 2012 and 2014 conquests. Maatta (Stanley Cup title with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017), Danault (Stanley Cup final with the Canadiens last season), Arvidsson (final Cup final with the Predators in 2017) and Edler (Cup final with the Vancouver Canucks in 2011) also have plenty of playoff experience.
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