Fresh off a loss brimming with disappointment and frustration, the Kings hit the film room for a long look at the Minnesota Wild, whom they’ll host Saturday and again on Monday.
On Thursday, they squandered a late lead, allowing three unanswered goals in the span of 2:34 to downcycle a 3-2 edge into a 5-3 defeat by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Cody Ceci and Corey Perry spoke afterwards. Perry said the team had to “learn from” its mistakes multiple times. Ceci emphasized the importance of the points they left on the ice, which rang prophetic at the end of the night when the Kings were one of five teams separated by one point in the race for the final wild-card berth in the West.
Another King blurted out a more frank assessment in the hallway.
“I can’t believe that just (expletive) happened,” the veteran player exclaimed.
But it’s quite believable given the Kings’ situational stats under coach Jim Hiller in his two seasons since the interim tag was lifted from his title.
The Kings had a losing record last year when tied after two periods – they won eight of 20 games when level through 40 minutes and just four of 13 on the road – and this year they have taken only three of 13 such contests and one of six at home. They were deadlocked 2-2 at Thursday’s second intermission after a middle frame where they squeezed out just one shot.
Blowing leads is also nothing new for Hiller’s crew. Though they’ve largely slammed the door in the regular season, last year’s playoffs were the stuff of nightmares.
They led 4-0 in Game 1, only to need a heroic tiebreaking goal from the recently departed Phil Danault to win.
In Game 3, they were up 4-3 when they conceded an equalizer. Hiller compounded matters with a foreseeably futile coach’s challenge, which gave the Oilers a power play and, 10 seconds later, the game-winning, momentum-turning goal.
The Kings led 3-1 after two stanzas in Game 4, only to give up three unanswered tallies and lose in OT. There was scapegoating of Quinton Byfield’s failed clear – the buildup to and aftermath of which have undoubtedly impacted the promising pivot’s cratered confidence this season – but it was a group effort to fritter away the game and the series, and one that started behind the bench.
Even in their utterly lifeless Game 5 loss, the Kings scored first, as they did in Game 6, holding leads of 1-0 and 2-1 before being eliminated for the fourth straight year by Edmonton.
As Hall of Famer Helene Elliott wrote in her Substack column, which laid out a persuasive case for Hiller’s dismissal both after the playoffs and presently while acknowledging his roster’s shortcomings, the Kings’ performance under Hiller is that of a team that lacks the ability to finish plays and games alike.
A counterargument to Elliott might not get any easier to make after the Kings welcome the Wild, whose sojourn in Southern California will encompass a game at Honda Center and two at Crypto.com Arena.
They have the third-best points percentage in the NHL this season and the second-best since Oct. 26. They’ve also been the league’s second-stingiest team defensively in front of goalies Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt. In December, they had a top five offense, and on the year they have had a top 10 power play.
The rich got richer, too. A team that already boasted potent scorers Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy along with Olympians like Joel Eriksson Ek, Jonas Brodin and Brock Faber, a former Kings prospect, added Quinn Hughes via a blockbuster trade last month.
Minnesota at Kings
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV: FDSN West