Kings hope to pull even in Game 2 against Avs — The Fourth Period
Los Angeles might think tight helps them — but Colorado is too efficient. For all the talk about avoiding playoff series fatigue by not facing the Edmonton Oilers for a fifth consecutive postseason, they face an opponent that doesn’t need volume, just a mistake or two to capitalize on. LA needs more chaos, not less, they didn’t lose because they got run over — they lost because they never made Colorado uncomfortable. Until that aspect changes, this series is being played on one team’s terms. Los Angeles lost on approach, this was a coaching game because D.J. Smith went safe while Jared Bednar trusted his team to push.
Guess which one dictated pace?
Top players must tilt the ice — not just play “responsible.” Too many Kings forwards were on the perimeter; there wasn’t enough inside touches and not enough second effort.
The oddsmakers and the public-at-large think the Kings need a miracle to beat Colorado. While the consensus may prove to be right, there is another way – they actually need the Avalanche to defend, something that didn’t happen enough in Game 1.
Scott Laughton (a player who has shown leadership since landing in Los Angeles at the trade deadline) summarized the level needed as the path to victory,
“We have some more to give offensively, in their zone, especially holding on to pucks, making it harder on them to come 200 feet,” he sad.
The Game 1 five-on-five LA offensive script was perimeter, shot, out – no second chances, no grind and no chaos around Wedgewood. That’s not playoff offense. And if Anton Forsberg is going to be your best player every night, that’s a dangerous place to be.
But on to Game 2.
Despite losing the puck possession battle, Los Angeles showed they can defend Colorado but can’t generate enough offense.
In his off-day comments, Smith acknowledged his team can’t win by playing a clean, respectable road game; they must tilt the ice. The path is clear – longer offensive zone shifts, more second chances, more recovery of pucks and more wear on the Avalanche defense.
As much criticism that the Kings blueline has taken, the bigger issue was not defense deployment. It was that LA’s forwards didn’t generate enough sustained pressure to force Colorado’s defense to work.
It may take more than a small tweak – inserting Andrei Kuzmenko for Mathieu Joseph for more offense or Alex Turcotte for Sami Helenius in order to get more speed – to get impact in the offensive zone. If Turcotte is healthy enough to go, I’d strongly consider adding him because LA needs more pace and puck support than pure passenger minutes.
With Colorado’s home ice advantage, the Panarin-Anze Kopitar-Adrian Kempe line will see a lot of the MacKinnon line in Game 2 and while they held their own, they need to flip the ice. If Kempe can’t unlock his rush game again early on and can’t get inside to be dangerous, it may force Smith to make a significant move.
Panarin scored the lone goal in Game 1, and his skill will be less of a factor if Kopitar’s line is heavily engaged with the MacKinnon line. I’d move Trevor Moore, a straight line forechecker and better defender up to the Kopitar line. Kempe’s partnership with Kopitar remains but the line should have more edge and bite, sometime Smith noted in his post-game press conference.
Panarin, the lone goal scorer in Game 1, would shift to the Quinton Byfield-Alex Laferriere line because more offense needs to run through him. Byfield has the size to play inside and hold pucks a beat longer while Laferriere brings some net-drive and doesn’t need the puck a lot to help that line function. It’s a big offensive bet but when the odds are stacked against you, it’s a bet that needs to be considered.
Smith can’t wait until the third period of a one-goal game to make that move. If the script looks like Sunday early, he can’t wait until the Kings trail to switch things up. If he runs back the same look and waits until late to create chaos again, he’s not adjusting, he’s hoping … and you don’t hope against the Colorado Avalanche.
