Has Kings' Quinton Byfield Flipped The Script On A Poor Regular Season?

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to say that Quinton Byfield has not lived up to the hype of a second overall pick, in fact it’s a realistic statement.

Taken with the second overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Byfield has appeared in 333 career games with the Los Angeles Kings and has been a regular in the lineup for the past four seasons.

The 23-year-old has eclipsed 50 points twice, with his career high of 55 coming in 2023-24. This season, Byfield has 20 goals and 24 assists for 44 points in 73 games played. So there’s potential for a third straight 50 point season but it would require six points in the last six games. Which is incredibly doable with his recent play.

In his last 10 games, the Kings center has registered 11 points, in the form of seven goals and four assists, including five multi-point efforts. After a very lacklustre majority of the season, it’s refreshing to see Byfield perform well, especially while the Kings need it most.

Throughout the season, ‘Q’ had multiple offensive droughts, including a 10-game span where he failed to record a point. The month of December was also a nightmare for him as he registered just two points in 12 games.

Coming into this season, there was a high amount of hope that Byfield would begin to reach his potential as he prepared to replace Kings legend Anze Kopitar as the team’s first line center. As of now it’s unclear that he will be able to fill that role, but if he can keep his hot streak rolling to finish the season and into the playoffs, maybe it becomes a regular occurrence next season.

Quinton Byfield Calls Game In OT, Propels Kings Over Maple Leafs

Quinton Byfield Calls Game In OT, Propels Kings Over Maple Leafs The Kings used a Quinton Byfield goal in overtime to down the Maple Leafs on a night that meant everything for the Kings’ playoff lives.

In the Kings most recent victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, Byfield scored perhaps the most important goal of the season. As the Kings played in overtime for a whopping 31st time, the 23-year-old buried his second of the night to propel L.A. to a crucial victory in a wild 7-6 game at home.

The line of Alex Laferriere – Byfield – Trevor Moore has performed well as of late, in large part thanks to Byfield.

Interim Head. Coach DJ Smith even had some reassuring words on the play of Byfield and his line.

“That line has been really good. Q gets two tonight. I mean, when your top two lines score like that, typically you win that game going away, you just don’t like the way you won. But, Lou Lamoriello told me you never critique a win. And you know, you play 10 games, the best teams in the league win six or seven times out of 10. And you critique those four or three losses, you start picking on the wins, before you know it you’re critiquing everything. So we’re just going to take the two and we’re going to move on.”

– DJ Smith on the play of Byfield’s line and emphasizes that all wins count the same

Thanks to the heroics of Byfield, the Kings improved to 31-26-19 and are now tied with the Nashville Predators (36-31-9) for the second wild card spot in the west. Both teams have 81 points and teams like the Sharks, Blues, and Jets are hot on their trail.

The next six games could very well be the most important stretch of hockey in Byfield’s young career. If he can stay hot and help drag the Kings into the postseason he could completely change the narrative of his 2025-26 season.

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