February 23rd, 2017
The Kings are still trending in the wrong direction. The Bruins came in to Staples Center on Thursday night and defeated the Kings 4-1, handing LA their 6th loss in their last 8 games.
LA is now 4 points behind Calgary for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 22 games left to play. The Kings have two games in hand on Calgary, but it feels like they’ve been using that excuse to feel better about themselves for a few months now.
The Bruins scored four minutes into the game off a turnover from Jake Muzzin, which led to a 2-on-1. Brad Marchand streaked down the right wing and beat Peter Budaj with a wrist shot on the short side. The Kings answered with a goal from defenseman Kevin Gravel, the first of his NHL career, in the final two minutes of the 1st period. Gravel’s goal was set up nicely by rookie Adrian Kempe, who collected his 2nd NHL point on the play.
Boston would answer in the 2nd period on a goal by David Pastrnak, who broke a tie with a power play goal five minutes into the period. Patrnak broke his stick on a one-timer from the left side, which fluttered past Peter Budaj. The Kings pressed in the final 90 seconds of the game, pulling Budaj for the extra attacker. However, the Bruins would score two empty-net goals, which came from Dominic Moore and David Krejci, in the final 65 seconds.
Jeff Carter knows the Kings need to score more goals to get it done. “We didn’t have it tonight,” Carter lamented. “You’ve got to score goals to win. There were games … where we weren’t good enough to win. And games where we were good enough but we didn’t score enough goals.”
As well as Peter Budaj has played this season, the Kings style requires elite goaltending to win. They may get it from Jonathan Quick before the season is over, but that looks like it’s about two weeks away. The Kings need to win now, or else the playoff race will be over by the time Quick comes back. That also means LA needs to get more offensive production from its veteran leaders.
LA is allowing the fewest shots per game in the NHL, and the 5th fewest goals per game. However, only 7 teams have scored fewer goals than the Kings, and their power play is just 23rd in the league. It seems like the Kings hit a handful of goal posts every game, but they need to find a way to finish, or else their season will be finished soon.
Help doesn’t seem like it’s on the way either. General Manager Dean Lombardi said he doesn’t expect the team to make any big moves before the March 1st trade deadline. On one hand, the Kings control their own destiny, with 14 of their last 22 games at home, and 4 games against Calgary. Still, it’s hard to have any confidence that the Kings are going to make the playoffs given how they’ve played.