The LA Kings dropped a 4-1 decision on Thursday night to the Seattle Kraken and are 0-2-0 to start the year.
Scoring
1st Period
Jaden Schwartz (1) (Power Play), Assists: Jordan Eberle (1), Andre Burakovsky (1)
Alex Iafallo (1) (Power Play), Unassisted
2nd Period
Brandon Tanev (1), Assists: Will Borgen (1)
Alex Wennberg (1), Assists: Matty Beniers (2), Oliver Bjorkstrand (1)
3rd Period
Adam Larsson (1) (Empty Net), Unassisted
Three takeaways from the contest:
Brandt Clarke’s Debut
The 19-year-old became the 14th player drafted by the Kings to make their NHL debut under head coach Todd McLellan. The former eighth overall pick in 2021 was a healthy scratch in the team’s opener but couldn’t have been more excited for his debut on Thursday night.
“This is the moment I have dreamt of for so long. I’ve been watching the NHL my entire life, and now that I’m officially going to be in it, it’s kind of crazy to think. This is gonna be something I never forget,” he said to the media.
Clarke put together as solid of a debut as anyone could have asked for without hitting the scoresheet. He wasn’t a liability in his own zone and created chances offensively. Per Natural Stat Trick, he accounted for a 57.40 xGF%, fifth-best on the team.
However, McLellan noted in the postgame presser that he would like to see the young defenseman shoot the puck a little more, which should come as he becomes more comfortable.
Early return on the powerplay is positive
The Kings powerplay was so anemic last year that there were running jokes on Twitter if they could decline the penalty. With assistant coach Marco Sturm taking the head coaching job with the AHL’s Ontario Reign, Los Angeles brought in former Islanders assistant coach Jim Hiller.
The 53-year-old ran a successful powerplay during his time with Mike Babcock in Toronto, and his powerplay conversion got better in each of the three seasons with New York.
In the preseason, their puck facilitation on the powerplay was noticeably better, which has carried over into the early stages of the regular season.
Alex Iafallo’s wraparound attempt went five-hole on Martin Jones just four seconds into the Kings’ powerplay chance approaching the mid-way point of the first period.
The Kings are 1-for-8 on the man advantage through the first two games, but the scoring chances have certainly been there.
0-2-0
In the preseason, Todd McLellan was asked what he was looking for from his team within the first few games of the regular season, and he emphasized a better start. If you recall, the Kings started 1-5-1 through the first seven games last year before righting the ship.
Welp, Los Angeles, while not near as drastic (yet), finds themselves without a win through the first two games. Their breakout passes just haven’t been crisp, and they haven’t been able to sustain a lot of offensive zone pressure.
“Well, it’s a losing streak to start the season already because we’re at two, and we haven’t put one on the board yet, but it is early,” McLellan said after the game. “As I said, we’re trying to figure out who we are, how do we want to play the game. For the media that was there this morning or yesterday, it doesn’t happen automatically, you get to recreate yourself every year.”
The Kings put together a much better third period, so hopefully, some positive momentum can carry over into the next game.
Up Next: The Kings will look to notch their first of the season in Minnesota for a showdown with the Wild on Saturday.
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