Who cares if it was against the best team in the NHL, a bounce-back game from the Los Angeles Kings is inevitable. Following an embarrassing beatdown at the hands of the San Jose Sharks on Monday night, the Kings hosted the league-leading Winnipeg Jets. Not only did they welcome them into Crypto.com Arena but they skated them off the ice with a 4-1 win.
“It’s one game in a long list of games but I mean it’s a really big game for our team, I think just knowing that we can bounce back like that and knowing that we can dominate top teams like that, so yea I think it’s a huge confidence game for us,” said forward Alex Laferriere.
The lack of consistency within this group is what has kept them from excelling, but last night was proof that the Kings are capable of being a top team in the NHL and putting together complete 60-minute efforts against elite teams.
“It’s an example maybe of how good we can be […] it gives us an example of what is possible if we all play together, a certain style of play,” said head coach Jim Hiller.
The Kings entered this game with a completely new look to their forward lines, and throughout the game, multiple different line combinations were being thrown out on the ice. This was another illustration of just how dialled in the Kings were, as it did not matter who was playing with who; all five guys were in sync.
This team is so confusing but what a performance from start to finish to takedown the best team in the league and not only that but to be able to win because they were the better team. This is proof that this team is capable of this type of game it’s just been that lack of…
— Raz Devraj (@razdevraj) November 28, 2024
This was an opportunity for the Kings to prove themselves and they did in multiple ways. They went two for three on the penalty kill against the best power play in the league, limited a team that averages 29.57 shots per game to 14, and more than doubled them in scoring chances.
There wasn’t one period that anyone could point out and say the Kings weren’t the stronger team. It was a combination of discipline, simplicity, purpose, and effort; four things the Kings have had trouble sticking to this season.
Committed to the Forecheck
In order to beat a highly-skilled team like the Jets, you need to slow them down right from the beginning in their own end. Being hard on the forecheck…
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