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The Los Angeles Kings dropped the final game of their four-game homestand last night, losing 4-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Sean Walker came into the lineup in place of Alex Edler, while Jonathan Quick started his fifth straight game.
The Kings found themselves down early, as Tobias Bjornfot got caught standing still at the other blue line and Carolina went down on a 2-on-1, with Brady Skjei taking a pass and beating Jonathan Quick. Los Angeles didn’t get a ton going through the frame, managing only six shots, and with just 19 seconds to go in the period, Martin Necas ripped a shot past Quick on a power play, making it a 2-0 game.
The Kings gave up some pretty good chances in the second frame, allowing 15 shots overall. Sebastian Aho ended up converting for the Hurricanes after taking a pass on a rush later in the period and despite Los Angeles managing 14 shots themselves, they remained down by three through 40 minutes.
Los Angeles did press in the third period and got on the board midway through the frame off a power play goal from Arthur Kaliyev. However, Andrei Svechnikov reinstated the three-goal lead only minutes later, as he was allowed an easy entry despite about four Kings’ players being back, and after driving to the net, his pass went in off Drew Doughty’s skate. One positive was that Samuel Fagemo did score his first NHL goal off a nice, individual effort late in the game, but the Kings still fell 4-2.
It’s a tough way for the Kings to end the homestand. They may have managed four points across the four games but picked up only a single win, in which they didn’t really put together a full 60-minute effort. Then last night, they were outplayed through most of the game and despite a push in the third period, it wasn’t anywhere near a consistent effort.
The Kings continue to give up avoidable goals in almost every game, from getting caught up ice on an odd-man rush on the first goal, to allowing Andrei Svechnikov to walk right towards the net on the fourth goal. Los Angeles’ goaltending is also a huge question mark at this point, considering going with a 36-year-old Jonathan Quick for 60-plus games can’t be the solution. That said, until their defensive issues are sorted out, it’s questionable as to how much of a difference anyone else would make in net.
Los Angeles is now going on a six-game Eastern Conference road trip, which seems like it may be a bit of a turning point, for better or worse. The good news is they’ll be facing four non-playoff teams, which makes their path to picking up points a little easier.
At the same time, they’ve won just two of their last eight games. While the Kings cling to third place in the Pacific Division, they need to find a way to start turning things around.
It does sound like the Kings will be getting Alex Iafallo back for their road trip, which will be a welcome boost up front.
They’ll begin the road trip on Tuesday, when they face the Ottawa Senators once again.
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