Coasting atop the wave of a four-game swell, the Kings will seek their fifth and possibly sixth consecutive victories on a swing through St. Louis with games against the Blues on Monday and Wednesday.
Fresh off a two-game sweep of the Arizona Coyotes, the Kings’ veterans have been reinvigorated this season. Center Anze Kopitar is tied for eighth in scoring and sixth in assists league-wide. Winger Dustin Brown is in the top 20 for goals and tied for third in power-play goals, and defenseman Drew Doughty is tied for fifth in scoring among rearguards.
Doughty has posted eight points during his five-game point streak. He has also upped his output on the power play, and is now tied for sixth on power-play points by a defenseman.
“I guess what most people are looking at is I’m getting points, but that’s just my teammates being in good spots, making good plays to me, and when I make it to them, they’re making good plays off of it,” said Doughty, who has long prioritized his defensive play and overall intensity above his stats. “So I definitely feel really good.”
While the Kings’ core of experienced players from their Stanley Cup years flagged as a group over the past two largely non-competitive seasons, perhaps no skater saw as drastic of a swing in production and reputation as Doughty. This season, Doughty felt the Kings were “looking a lot better” and, despite some struggles, headed in the right direction as an organization.
“I definitely feed off the momentum. When I’m grumpy, I’m not playing my best,” Doughty said. “When I’m mad and engaged in the game … I play much better. When we’re having fun, all of us are better players.”
The Blues split a series with the Kings in St. Louis earlier this season, the back half of which saw the Kings rack up six goals, one of two six-goal efforts for them in 2021.
St. Louis enters the game in first place in the West Division, but the standings can be somewhat misleading as the Blues have played more games than six of the teams below them. Vegas and Colorado, which are in the Nos. 2 and 3 positions, each had multiple games postponed due to COVID-19-related issues.
The Blues had significant turnover on their roster during the summer, most notably the departure of captain Alex Pietrangelo and the acquisition of the power-play savvy Torey Krug on defense.
The Blues are the fifth-most penalized team in the NHL, and they rank 24th on the penalty kill and 26th on the power play.
Their issues have been mitigated in large part by an excellent offense at even strength. The Blues are tied for fourth in the NHL in five-on-five goals.
Veteran forward David Perron, in his third stint with the franchise, has led the team in scoring with 19 points. Former Kings forward Brayden Schenn leads the team in goals with nine, and the lighting-fast Jordan Kyrou ranks second in both categories.
Goalie Jordan Binnington was a breakout star who spurred the Blues’ 2019 turnaround from dead last to Stanley Cup champs.
NEXT
Kings at St. Louis
When: 5 p.m., Monday; 6:30 p.m., Wednesday
Where: Enterprise Center (no in-person attendance).
TV/Radio: Fox Sports West, iHeartRadio
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February 22, 2021 at 05:02AM
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Reinvigorated Kings will try to keep win streak going against Blues - LA Daily News
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