Over the past week, Todd McClellan has used the expression for a push for perfection multiple times. This statement usually follows the idea that achieving perfection, the way he describes it, is impossible for the Kings or any other team in the league. Even when things are going well, perfection cannot be achieved, and things can always be improved, refined, or done better.
“There is no such thing as perfection, and while that is all we want to be, there is no such thing.”
However, this home was perfect for the Los Angeles Kings as a team.
The Kings played four matches and the Kings scored four victories with a total of eight points in the standings. It was impossible to deal with more than eight points given the timeline in front of them. While some elements of the game weren’t perfect, not every player was perfect every night, the team as a whole, in terms of wins and losses, was perfect.
Kind of reminds me of that famous scene from Remembering the Titans.
“With all due respect, you asked for more of us, you asked for perfection,” said Julius Campbell’s defensive tc Williams. “I’m not saying I’m perfect, because I’m not, and never will be, and neither of us are. But we won every game we played. [on this homestand], so this team is perfect. We went up to it [ice] That way tonight and if that’s the case for you coach [McLellan]This is the way we want to leave it.”
Prove to me that the quote wasn’t said in the locker room after Saturday’s win. The words are in parentheses, you ask? Voice difficulties, just don’t want to misquote anyone.
None of the LA Kings have been perfect over the last four games. Not the power game, not the penalty kicks, not the goalkeeping, not covering the defensive zone, not creating chances, not burying those chances. But the Los Angeles Kings, out of the four games they’ve played, have been perfect. And that team perfection comes from striving for perfection within specific elements of the team game. In Los Angeles last week, that was what the Kings had been coveting as they worked on certain areas of their game while training. The results they got on the ice reflected their aspirations.
After allowing four goals in 5-on-5 against Florida during a runaway 5-4 win to start Homestand, the Kings responded by allowing exact 5-on-5 goals during victories over Minnesota, Chicago and Detroit. If you subscribe to the predicted goals stat, for and against, the Kings didn’t finish this season’s game with the xGA under 1 before Tuesday’s game against Minnesota. According to Natural Stat Trick, they have achieved the achievement in each of their last three games, and finished below that streak with the fewest three totals for the season in the three wins.
Looking at the special teams, the Kings got what they needed from the penalty kick in their victories over Florida and Minnesota, allowing no goals in the few chances they had in this situation. When that unit struggled, with three goals against Chicago and Detroit, the power game escalated, turning twice — essentially three times — to make the difference in a one-goal win over the Red Wings. The victories over Minnesota and Chicago were closer than they should have been due to a power game that was not transformed by design. In a perverse fashion, Saturday’s win over Detroit was a tough win Contrary to the reasons, the power game ran as designed and was as productive as you want it to be. To match the theme, perfect results though not perfect but improved process.
In terms of the ice offensive end, each of the Kings attack lines contributed multiple goals except for the fourth line which was on the ice for one goal versus zero goals. Every Kings player was on the right side 50 percent in terms of scoring chances, about the same with high-risk chances. Finishing with equal strength left little to be desired over the last three matches, but chances and chances have been consistent there, a sign of a diversion ahead.
As Kings continue to build consistency, their goal will always be perfection, even if that goal is out of reach. On nights when parts of the game are imperfect, it will be up to other aspects of the team to pick up the slack. That’s what good teams do and that’s what we’re starting to see from the Kings in this past home.
Looking into the future, the landscape changes quite a bit, with the setup moving from home to four straight divisional matches down the road. Northern Canada awaits, with Calgary finally having a seven-game losing streak yesterday, followed by big event Edmonton Oilers, who finished fifth in the NHL in both goals scored and goals allowed, and finally the Vancouver Canucks, who seem to have found neutrals after their worst start in the league. The trip ends in Seattle, where the Kings will be looking for a better result than their 4-1 home snowmobile defeat in October against Kraken, a night that was as disjointed as the team looked in the early rounds. Last season’s Kings were much better on the road than they were at home. Judging from this household caliber, we hope it won’t prove otherwise with important dividing points. Line.
Post match feedback from Ontario this evening and then tomorrow morning Skating in Calgary for the Kings, before the first game of the season against Darryl Sutter and the Flames!
