The Los Angeles Kings found another forward combination to boost their offense in a tight game, but it’s unclear whether Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala and Quinton Byfield will remain together Wednesday night against the visiting Vancouver Canucks.
Kempe joined Fiala and Byfield in the second period Monday night against the visiting Vegas Golden Knights and the trio helped rally Los Angeles to a 5-2 victory.
The Kings scored four unanswered goals in the third period — the last three with Kempe, Fiala and Byfield on the ice together.
“They made a big difference and looked really good doing it,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “I don’t know if we’ll see it again, or if we’ll see it again next game, or whenever, I’m sure at some point, but we’ll talk about it as a coaching staff.”
Hiller first moved Kempe with Fiala and Byfield in the second period when the Kings were struggling to generate offense. Hiller thought Kempe gave the line a spark the last few shifts of the period, so he stayed with it in the third.
“We don’t usually do that and we felt like we had them going,” Hiller said. “They had some energy, so let’s give them a run.”
Byfield, who finished with a career-high four assists against Vegas, said Kempe fits in seamlessly with him and Fiala.
“(Kempe) is one of the most underrated players in the NHL,” Byfield said. “Just being able to get him on our line, he plays a 200-foot game, plays the game the right way. … Just playing with those two guys, high-skill guys, you kind of just want to get them the puck.”
Kempe has spent most of the season on a line centered by Anze Kopitar, but Hiller has been having difficulty adding a productive left wing.
“I don’t like to say it’s a hole, but we were just trying to get that line, who carried us in many ways for the first half of the season, to just get some traction again and get feeling good about their game,” Hiller said. “It just hasn’t happened a lot lately, so that’s the reason to move things around a little bit.”
While the Kings have a six-point lead over Vancouver for third place in the Pacific Division, the Canucks are battling with the Calgary Flames for the Western Conference’s final wild-card spot. The Canucks had a one-point edge until Calgary pulled off a 3-1 victory Tuesday at the Washington Capitals.
After winning its final three games prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, Vancouver has dropped its first two games coming out of the break while scoring just two goals.
“We have guys double-clutching right now,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “These next two days, we’re going to have to figure it out here with practice, get some confidence in some guys.”
Elias Pettersson, who scored at least 32 goals for the Canucks in each of the past three seasons, was credited with an assist in the 2-1 loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday. But he also went his 11th straight game without a goal, leaving him stuck on 11 for the season.
“I’d rather him just rip a puck right now,” Tocchet said. “He’s not moving his feet. I thought (against Utah), some shifts he was moving his feet and it looked like we had some glimpses, but 6-on-5 there at the end, it’s the same thing, waiting.”
–Field Level Media
