When the Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2012, their success on the penalty kill was a key part of that. This time around, they haven’t been nearly as good shorthanded and captain Dustin Brown has an idea why.
As Jon Rosen of L.A. Kings Insider shared, Brown believes rhythm and chemistry are key to the Kings PK.
“I think when you get into penalty kills, it’s more about rhythm,” Brown said. “Me and [Anze Kopitar] have PKed together for five, six, seven years and it makes a big, big difference. I think you’ve seen some of the goals we’ve given up this year in the playoffs in particular, sometimes it’s with guys that haven’t PKed together. And there is just that little indecision. Everyone is capable.”
The Kings went 3-for-3 on the kill in Game 1 but have killed penalties 81.9 percent of the time in the postseason (15 goals allowed on 83 power plays). Compare that to their 92.1 percent rate in the 2012 playoffs and you’ve potentially got a big weakness.
Add in that the Kings haven’t scored a shorthanded goal in the postseason and that’s a lot of time shorthanded. Much like most of their postseason, L.A. has been streaky killing off penalties. Now they have to hope they’ve figured out something that works and stays that way.