The Kings had their share of positives and negatives throughout the season. While the positives are easier to bring into the offseason and next season, the negatives make it much more challenging. For the Kings to continue their success in making the playoffs, they may need to adapt their Offensive game, special teams, and Overtime Play.
Offense
This was the most apparent issue for the Kings this season, and it was the opposite of how the defence played for the Kings this season. The Kings’ goals per game ranked 4th-lowest in the NHL, averaging 2.68. The Kings also scored the 4th-fewest goals in the entire season, with 225. At the same time, the Kings did make changes to help their offence, such as acquiring Artemi Panarin, who became a point-per-game player for the Kings in the short time he spent with them in the regular season.
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While this aspect is not the easiest to fix, it is definitely the Kings’ priority to improve their offensive game.
Special Teams
The second aspect the Kings could improve on is both the penalty kill and the power play. The power play fits into the offence aspect for the Kings, but it did not generate any additional offence most of the time. The Kings were ranked 28th on the power play and 30th on the penalty kill.
The Kings’ power-play percentage was 17%, and the penalty kill was 74%; both need to improve next season. Both of the Kings’ special teams need to improve next season, as being near the bottom of the NHL does not allow them to succeed.
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Overtime
The Kings set an NHL record for the most overtime losses in a single season with 19 and tied an NHL record for most overtime games played in a single season with 31. While the Kings did end up making the playoffs due to the points they earned for reaching overtime, if they had won half of those games, their first-round matchup could have been very different, and this is an aspect they need to improve on.
The Kings need to be better in 3-on-3, and they also shouldn’t be going to overtime 31 times in an 82-game season. This factor can be altered by the improvements to their offence, which, if they can produce more offence, can lead to more regulation wins.
Overall, the Kings’ biggest area for improvement is their offence, and with the addition of Artemi Panarin, they are heading in the right direction. Still, it does not solve the entire problem, and heading into next season, the Kings’ biggest focal point for improvement has to be their offensive game, as improvement there can help their play on special teams and in overtime.
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