Lackluster power play sinks Kings in Freeway Faceoff finale

ANAHEIM, Calif. — For the league-leading 20th time in their 48 games played, the Los Angeles Kings found themselves in overtime. 

Similar to the first 19 times they went to overtime, the Kings had ample chances to finish the game in regulation in the Freeway Faceoff finale against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night at Honda Center. The Ducks gave the Kings six power-play opportunities, with five of them coming in the second period alone. 

The Kings went 1-for-6 on the power play en route to their 2-1 loss in overtime against the Ducks. 

“I didn't think we executed well at all,” head coach Jim Hiller said. “I mean, that's a nice five-on-three goal. That's a high level of execution. But outside of that, I didn't think we executed. We didn't generate enough rubber at the net. We had some shots that were wide, that were blocks and high tips. But no, we didn't attack inside enough. If there was a chance for us to win the game, that would have been it. We didn't execute that.”

The lone goal for the Kings came on a five-on-three power play just over five minutes into the second period to tie the game. The Kings worked low to high, with Andrei Kuzmenko at the goal line sending a pass to the top of the left faceoff circle to Kevin Fiala.

Fiala stalled for enough time for Adrian Kempe to slide to the right faceoff dot to receive the pass and fire it to the back of the net. Kempe brought his finger to his lips to shush the Honda Center crowd that was voicing its displeasure with the officiating. 

Unfortunately for the Kings, it would be their offense that ended up being shushed the rest of the game. 

The Kings only generated eight shots on goal in six power-play opportunities and just 18 in the whole game. Despite having half the amount of power plays, the Ducks generated the same amount of shots on their three chances. The Ducks outshot the Kings 33-18 overall.

“I don't think we were as fluid as we wanted to be in that situation,” Brandt Clarke said. “They kept taking penalties and kept giving us another chance to kind of redeem ourselves. I don't know, it just didn't seem fluid. It didn't seem like we were getting pucks on net.”

In the overtime period, Fiala had the game on his stick on a breakaway, but a backchecking Beckett Sennecke lifted his stick at the moment of truth. In the same motion as the stick lift, Sennecke was able to deliver a breakout pass to Mikael Granlund, who raced down the ice to deliver the game-winner to the top right corner of the net. 

This loss brings the Kings to 4-7 in games ending in the overtime period, and 7-13 overall in overtime and shootouts. 

It’s now the sixth overtime the Kings have played in their last nine games, with five of them being divisional rivals that are also battling for playoff positioning. 

“It's almost part of the evening for us these days,” Hiller said of the frequent trips past regulation. 

The Kings are now 19-16-13 and are in a four-way tie for third place in the Pacific Division with the Seattle Kraken, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks. Given how air-tight the division is, the Kings cannot afford to hand out a point to divisional foes. Yet it’s been the story of their season.

“We're playing well, but obviously it's not well enough,” Hiller said. “So, where are the other areas that we can improve? Where can one individual player block one more shot? Can one guy win one more faceoff? You've got to do more, because what we're doing isn't enough. Like that's clear. So that falls on everyone, you know, coaches included.”

The glaring issue for the Kings has been their offense. They score the third-least goals on a per-game basis.

The team believes they’re getting their chances, but aren’t getting the results. 

“Capitalization is first and foremost on the priority list right now, and it's not working out for us as we'd want to,” Clarke said. “I think moving pucks up there quicker, finding our fourth man, winning battles down low, which guys are doing to their full effort, but I think there's situations like that where it's just got to be a little more crisp.”

The Kings continue their 19-game skid, with a 5-8-6 record in that span. Before this stretch, the Kings were playing to a .603 point percentage. Now, their playoff aspirations are getting put into question. 

“They're angry,” Hiller said. “They're frustrated. They're emotional, as they should be. So you've got to take all that, wear it, and then you've got to start fresh the next day. Tomorrow's a day off, obviously. You've got to come back, good practice Monday, and that's all you can do. They know that, too. They're professionals. That's why they're here. They understand how the game works. You just have to clear your mind and get swinging again for the next game.”