Los Angeles Kings Must Sort out Road Troubles to Stay Afloat

The Los Angeles Kings can’t seem to shake off their road woes in 2014-15.

Even a surging power play, which ranks eighth in the league and accounted for 14 goals over 14 games in December, has failed to mask the team’s persistent issues away from Staples Center.

After 38 games, L.A.’s road record sits at 27th in the NHL. Its home record, meanwhile, is good for third. That’s a worrying split. 

If the Kings can’t right the ship in enemy territory sooner rather than later, clinching a playoff berth in the Western Conference could become too steep a mountain to climb.

Poor Starts

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For head coach Darryl Sutter’s club, the key to success is scoring first.

When L.A. manages to open the scoring, it’s 13-1-4 (13th) on the year. When the opposition nets the first goal, the Kings are a putrid 5-11-4 (24th).

Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to find the scoresheet before opponents of late, as NHL.com’s box scores indicate that they potted a single first-period marker while conceding six throughout their road games in December.

In 2014-15 overall, their goal differential is negative in the opening frame and positive in the following two. 

A minus-four mark might not strike anyone as noteworthy, but its importance swells when considering how the Kings fare in tight matchups. In one-goal games, they currently rank 29th in the league with a win percentage of 23.5.

That’s really, really bad.

Going forward, L.A. must set the tone early in its games, suffocating the other team with its puck possession while limiting gaffes on the defensive end.

Controlling shot attempts is nothing new to the Kings, who have gradually worked their way back up to third in the league in Corsi percentage. However, they've undermined this advantage by conceding quality scoring chances on a nightly basis.

At five-on-five, the Kings offense is actually more productive on the road (2.35 goals per 60 minutes vs. 2.04 at home), but its goals-against average dips from 1.47 to 2.35 outside friendly confines. Clearly, the Kings aren't playing "Kings hockey"—hard-nosed, diligent, responsible hockey—as visitors.

A looser, lazier game is yielding more offense for both teams...and that's just not how L.A. butters its bread. Trying to run and gun with opponents will inevitably lead to losses.

Defense, as it always has been under Sutter, is the top priority.

Against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dustin Brown's lack of focus affords Cody Franson a free shooting lane: 

Elsewhere, the Kings should look to establish a measure of roster stability. Set the lineup and stick with it for at least four or five games, allowing players to jell and develop—or renew—chemistry.

Regardless of the on-ice configurations, though, L.A. simply must put forth greater intensity and attention to detail early in games for its road record to match its home showings.

At roughly the halfway mark of the season, the Kings haven’t yet shown an ability to claw back from deficits. Therefore, it’s paramount that they avoid them as much as possible, playing tough and sound hockey from the moment the puck drops in order to preserve a fighting chance.

Failing to smooth out this rough patch could see the Kings drop right out of the postseason picture.

Special Teams

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Mirroring the club’s all-around performance, the Kings’ special teams have been sparkling at home and dreadful on the road this season.

A slight decrease in effectiveness is understandable away from home, but L.A.’s night-and-day outings on the power play and penalty kill are startling:

	Home	Road
Power Play	27.4% (2nd)	12.1% (25th)
Penalty Kill	86.2% (7th)	75.4% (26th)

Makeshift linemates Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter and Marian Gaborik are riding hot streaks due primarily to the man advantage. The problems come from the point men—namely Jake Muzzin and Drew Doughty—who are spoiling the Kings’ efforts.

Drew Doughty isn’t a power-play stalwart or true quarterback, but he must nonetheless be more decisive.

On zone entries, he has to ensure that the team is moving in sync. Pass when there’s a viable option, carry the puck in when everyone’s covered—just make sure the group is advancing together.

Offsides or dump-ins when the Kings are stationary are regrettably familiar sights.

Once play settles down in the offensive zone, the point men must not hesitate to shoot. Doughty and Muzzin frequently fake shots when penalty-killers aren’t screaming in their direction, which results in little other than blocked shots or stalled movement.

Alec Martinez is a fine example of a point man who takes a simple approach. A couple of crisp passes create a shooting window against the Arizona Coyotes, and he immediately fires a bid into a dangerous area for a Jarret Stoll deflection goal:

The puck cannot die on anyone’s stick. If it remains in motion, better shooting opportunities will surface and seams will open up for incisive passes.

Where the penalty kill is concerned, a return to fundamentals is required. Players must understand their responsibilities and not try to accomplish too much on their own.

Running around in hopes of stopping everything actually generates more harm than good.

Against the St. Louis Blues, Stoll doesn’t hold his position, creating a sizable gap for Vladimir Tarasenko to exploit:

Stoll isn’t going to win the race for the puck, but tracking back anyway puts Doughty in a position to fail. He shouldn’t find himself as high as the dot in this situation, but he’s forced to creep out because Stoll’s pursuit vacated the area.

In the end, there’s too much ground to make up, and Tarasenko blows a shot by Jonathan Quick.

Those are blemishes that should be easy to clean up.

Beyond improving the personnel choices, shoring up the penalty kill’s numbers on the road boils down to basics—taking smart angles on entries, keeping an active stick, maintaining lane integrity, etc.

Excelling in the little things would greatly help the Kings’ cause away from home.

Outlook

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Some may file this issue under the “same old regular-season Kings” umbrella, but recent history suggests that lifeless road performances could represent the club’s undoing.

In 2011-12, the Kings’ road record was 18-13-10 (10th), and they went 10-1 on hostile ground in the playoffs to win their first Stanley Cup.

In 2013-14, their road and home records were identical (23-14-4, sixth on the road), and their ability to deliver the goods with no regard for location was evidenced by three Game 7 victories on enemy soil. They earned their second championship last year.

The campaign sandwiched in between ended with a humbling Western Conference Final exit. Any guesses as to how L.A. fared on the road? It finished 22nd in the league at 8-12-4. In the postseason, it lost eight of nine away from Staples Center.

The numbers speak volumes.

Sutter’s men must find a way to carry their home swagger with them to opponents’ arenas.

Falling short in this department could mean the difference between playoff heartache and glory. Moreover, it could mean not reaching the playoffs at all.

Unless otherwise noted, statistics courtesy of Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com, NHL.com and Hockey-Reference.com.