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The Los Angeles Kings picked up a 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks at home yesterday, marking their third win in a row.
The Kings maybe didn’t start quite as well as they would’ve liked and didn’t get a ton going through most of the opening frame. That said, they did pick up the pace in the last five minutes or so with a bit more pressure, but couldn’t convert.
Los Angeles did come out hot in the second period though and opened the scoring about seven minutes into the frame on a power play, as Drew Doughty ripped a one timer through traffic to beat Lukas Dostal. Anaheim did end up getting one back on a power play of their own later in the frame, despite the Kings controlling the period. However, Los Angeles had quite a few quality chances to re-take the lead after that and eventually, Phillip Danault found Alex Iafallo in front for a tap-in with under 30 seconds to go, putting the Kings back ahead through 40 minutes.
Viktor Arvidsson then extended the lead early in the third period, taking a pass from Arthur Kaliyev to beat Dostal. Then after dominating the entire first half of the frame once again, Kevin Fiala made an excellent play off an individual effort, protecting the puck against two defenders and going to the backhand to score in-close, putting the Kings up 4-1 and cruising to the win.
It was a really strong performance for the Kings, and one of the more complete efforts this season. After somewhat of a slow start in the first period, they dominated much of the back 40 minutes and if it weren’t for some big saves from Lukas Dostal, Los Angeles could’ve had a few more.
Phoenix Copley also continues to be rock solid. He’s taken full advantage of his opportunity and at this point, he’s become the Kings’ clear starter, if even possibly just for the short-term. He’s posted a .912 save percentage through six games and while the team is undoubtedly playing better in front of Copley than they were for many, many games when Jonathan Quick or Cal Petersen were in net, he’s been exactly what the team needed.
It’s also hard to argue with the results of the forward lines we’ve seen over the past couple games (with each of the top three lines scoring last night). The Kings have outshot their opponents 41-25 in both of the last two games, but it’ll be interesting to see what sticks.
Fiala - Kopitar - Kempe has been the frequent top line option, and Kempe is a better fit on the wing anyways. Then using Alex Iafallo on the second line makes for what should be one of the most defensively reliable lines the Kings could possibly create, and as a result, we’re seeing them used for a lot of defensive zone starts. That said, taking Arvidsson off the line in favour of Iafallo could slightly reduce their ability to create offense.
On the other hand, Blake Lizotte also has the speed and puck control to potentially be more than a fourth-line center, and with Arvidsson and Arthur Kaliyev on the third line, they have the ability to drive quite a bit of offense.
It’s inevitably going to be tough to create chemistry when the lines are being mixed around a lot, but hopefully, we see some stability when it comes to line construction.
Jordan Spence was also back in for his second straight game, with Sean Walker as the odd-man out. While he’s not getting much of a role (as expected), playing under 13 minutes last night, Spence has been solid.
With the three-game winning streak, the Kings are creating a bit of space within the Pacific Division, in terms of points percentage. They’ll be back in action for a back-to-back set before the break, beginning with the Calgary Flames tomorrow.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM DECEMBER
Kings earn important home win over Coyotes
Kings end homestand with 4-2 loss to Hurricanes
Big first period propels Kings to win over Sens in first game of road trip
Kings suffer blowout loss against Maple Leafs
Kings split back-to-back with win over Canadiens, OT loss to Blue Jackets
Kings rebound to end road trip with win over Bruins, re-sign Trevor Moore
Trevor Moore scores second straight shootout winner as Kings beat Sharks 
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