#LAKings Kings hope to continue road success in Toronto (Daily News)
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Last season, the Kings season-high win streak of seven games went a long way toward the team qualifying for the playoffs, and during a current six-game road trip theyll face four of the six opponents from that tear.
Its going to be a long one. Weve got to chip away every game and every day that were here on this trip, winger Viktor Arvidsson, who scored two goals Tuesday, said before the team traveled to Toronto for its next match Thursday.
That streak banked up wins that helped erase the six-game winless skid that preceded it. This season, the Kings are looking more for consistency than outright salvation, having ramped up their production but not yet toned down some error-prone elements of their game.
They started their string of away games with a 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. It was the seventh time this season that the Kings scored three or more goals while allowing two or fewer. Thats the sort of complete game by everybody, as Coach Todd McLellan called it, that the Kings have striven for and attained frequently when at their best. One such effort was their last meeting with Toronto, which they won 4-2 on Oct. 29.
We should be able to do that on a nightly basis, its in the DNA of our team, said McLellan, echoing the sentiments of Arvidsson, who called for commitment to a two-way, three-zone, 20-man game.
The win in Ottawa offered a glimpse of goalie Phoenix Copley, who fended off 31 shots in his Kings debut and his first NHL victory since March 19, 2019. The Forum Reports Jon Rosen remarked that Copley, an American, continued an uninterrupted torrent of starts by US-born goalies for the Kings that dates to 2018.
Im just taking it day by day and doing everything I can to help this team when I get the chance, said Copley, who has become the Kings backup while Cal Petersen hones his skills in the minors.
The Kings also saw the return of winger Alex Iafallo, whose early assist meant his streak spanned from Oct. 11 to present, with the caveat that he missed 23 contests between Games 4 and 5, with at least one point. McLellan had emphasized less Iafallos statistical production and more his meticulousness as something the Kings missed.
I just try to play a 200-foot game, just trying to stay consistent. Just making good defensive plays, winning wall battles thatll just help push the team forward, Iafallo said.
Defenseman Sean Durzi also extended his career-best point streak to six games over which he has compiled a goal and eight assists.
Thats been part of a trend for the Kings, who have developed their defense corps from one of the least productive ones in the NHL, scoring 238 points combined over the past two seasons, to one of its most prolific. Their 66 points from the blue line this season place them on pace for 193. That leap has been aided by the return of Drew Doughty from the injuries that caused him to miss most of last season, Durzis surge and an uptick in output from defensive-minded defensemen like Mikey Anderson and Matt Roy.
Another offensive-oriented Kings rearguard, top prospect Brandt Clarke, was loaned Wednesday to Canada’s national team for the upcoming World Junior Championships. Clarke had been snubbed previously, having been excluded from the roster two years ago and from both groups assembled last season for the initial tournament and the rescheduled one after COVID concerns pushed the event to the summer.
The Kings next test will be one of the leagues rising powers, the Maple Leafs, whose upward momentum has been spearheaded by winger Mitch Marner. He carries a 20-game scoring streak, the longest in Toronto franchise history dating to 1917, into the match. On Tuesday, he became only the fourth active player to compile a string of 20 or more games with at least a point. His string is the sixth longest in the past 30 years.
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The Leafs are on a points streak of their own, spanning 12 games, of which theyve won nine. During Marners rampage, Toronto has lost just twice in regulation. Center Auston Matthews has also picked up his play since he last faced the Kings. Then, he had complied just two goals and five assists, but last years Hart Trophy winner has amassed 11 tallies and 12 helpers in his past 18 outings.
Kings at Toronto
When: 4 p.m. Thursday
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
TV/Radio: Bally Sports West/IHeartRadio
https://www.dailynews.com/2022/12/07...ss-in-toronto/
Its going to be a long one. Weve got to chip away every game and every day that were here on this trip, winger Viktor Arvidsson, who scored two goals Tuesday, said before the team traveled to Toronto for its next match Thursday.
That streak banked up wins that helped erase the six-game winless skid that preceded it. This season, the Kings are looking more for consistency than outright salvation, having ramped up their production but not yet toned down some error-prone elements of their game.
They started their string of away games with a 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. It was the seventh time this season that the Kings scored three or more goals while allowing two or fewer. Thats the sort of complete game by everybody, as Coach Todd McLellan called it, that the Kings have striven for and attained frequently when at their best. One such effort was their last meeting with Toronto, which they won 4-2 on Oct. 29.
We should be able to do that on a nightly basis, its in the DNA of our team, said McLellan, echoing the sentiments of Arvidsson, who called for commitment to a two-way, three-zone, 20-man game.
The win in Ottawa offered a glimpse of goalie Phoenix Copley, who fended off 31 shots in his Kings debut and his first NHL victory since March 19, 2019. The Forum Reports Jon Rosen remarked that Copley, an American, continued an uninterrupted torrent of starts by US-born goalies for the Kings that dates to 2018.
Im just taking it day by day and doing everything I can to help this team when I get the chance, said Copley, who has become the Kings backup while Cal Petersen hones his skills in the minors.
The Kings also saw the return of winger Alex Iafallo, whose early assist meant his streak spanned from Oct. 11 to present, with the caveat that he missed 23 contests between Games 4 and 5, with at least one point. McLellan had emphasized less Iafallos statistical production and more his meticulousness as something the Kings missed.
I just try to play a 200-foot game, just trying to stay consistent. Just making good defensive plays, winning wall battles thatll just help push the team forward, Iafallo said.
Defenseman Sean Durzi also extended his career-best point streak to six games over which he has compiled a goal and eight assists.
Thats been part of a trend for the Kings, who have developed their defense corps from one of the least productive ones in the NHL, scoring 238 points combined over the past two seasons, to one of its most prolific. Their 66 points from the blue line this season place them on pace for 193. That leap has been aided by the return of Drew Doughty from the injuries that caused him to miss most of last season, Durzis surge and an uptick in output from defensive-minded defensemen like Mikey Anderson and Matt Roy.
Another offensive-oriented Kings rearguard, top prospect Brandt Clarke, was loaned Wednesday to Canada’s national team for the upcoming World Junior Championships. Clarke had been snubbed previously, having been excluded from the roster two years ago and from both groups assembled last season for the initial tournament and the rescheduled one after COVID concerns pushed the event to the summer.
The Kings next test will be one of the leagues rising powers, the Maple Leafs, whose upward momentum has been spearheaded by winger Mitch Marner. He carries a 20-game scoring streak, the longest in Toronto franchise history dating to 1917, into the match. On Tuesday, he became only the fourth active player to compile a string of 20 or more games with at least a point. His string is the sixth longest in the past 30 years.
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The Leafs are on a points streak of their own, spanning 12 games, of which theyve won nine. During Marners rampage, Toronto has lost just twice in regulation. Center Auston Matthews has also picked up his play since he last faced the Kings. Then, he had complied just two goals and five assists, but last years Hart Trophy winner has amassed 11 tallies and 12 helpers in his past 18 outings.
Kings at Toronto
When: 4 p.m. Thursday
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
TV/Radio: Bally Sports West/IHeartRadio
https://www.dailynews.com/2022/12/07...ss-in-toronto/