It’s no longer 2014.
On Friday, there were no signs of the ultra-competitive matchups from a decade ago between LA and Chicago, as the Kings defeated the Blackhawks 5-0.
It was the road team who struck early, and they did so with volume. PL Dubois’ power play goal opened the scoring just over three minutes into the game. It was LA’s first on the man-advantage in almost two weeks. The Kings went on to add three more goals in the opening frame, including a pair of tallies from Anže Kopitar. LA’s captain now sits only four points shy of 1,200 in his career.
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With another goal in the middle frame, coach Jim Hiller saw his team never relent and instead lock the game down with plenty of time remaining in regulation.
Cam Talbot picked up his third shutout of the season as part of the victory, as well. The veteran netminder has amassed an impressive .935 save percentage in the month of March – returning to early-season form and getting hot at just the right time.
Playing From Ahead: Perhaps the most impressive part of Friday’s win was LA’s continued pressure on the offensive end of the puck. Instead of retreating, the Kings were aggressive on the forecheck and generated a plethora of chances. Preserving the shutout for Talbot serves as an important moral victory in addition to the two points. Further, LA has a 20-3-5 record this season when leading after one period, showing they’re most comfortable when playing with a lead.
Youthful Scoring: Alex Laferriere, Quinton Byfield, and Jordan Spence all had multi-point games against Chicago. This trio of young players have made significant strides in their development thus far in 2023-24, and Friday’s game was a clear manifestation of their individual progress. Spence’s goal was his first of the season, something that had been a long time coming.
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Right Back At It: LA headed to Dallas following their victory in the Windy City; they’ll next take on the Stars Saturday at 5:00 pm Pacific. That matchup will provide a very tough test for the Kings, as they’ve only managed a 2-5-2 record this year when playing the second leg of back-to-backs. Adding to that complexity is the fact they’ve also dropped the first two games of the season series against the Stars by scores of 4-1 and 5-1.
Stat Sheet Takeaways: LA’s least-used forward played 11:36 while their most-used forward logged 17:58 of ice time. This relatively small gap in TOI is important for the Kings heading into tomorrow’s back-to-back, where Hiller will need all hands on deck.
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Lead photo via Jamie Sabau
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