DJ Smith first game as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings is in the books, and it was a 4-2 loss to league leader Colorado Avalanche.
Although the score didn’t go LA’s way – neither the shot clock nor the time of puck possession – the Kings looked slightly different on the ice with Smith now calling the shots.
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For starters, the Kings saw three players make their NHL debut in this competition. Defender Angus Boothright winger Jared Wright and center Kenny Connors were quite visible in what was their first taste of action on The Show.
Before Monday’s match, this trio, who have spent this entire season in the LAH with the reign of Ontario. With this, they are also the first players to make their NHL debut among Kings players drafted in 2022 or later.
Even though the Kings were short-handed due to injuries, this stat speaks volumes about DJ Smith and the confidence he has in the young players in the organization.
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With the injection of youth into the Kings roster, not only did the roster look different on paper, but they played differently as well.
THE defense-focused mindset was still there, but there was a lot more pushback against the mighty Avalanche. There was a clear increase in the team’s aggressiveness, especially on the forecheck, and a noticeable speed in the run.
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“What we wanted to establish is a feeling of work ethic, a feeling of physicality, a feeling that we’re not going to sit back, we’re going to come get you,” the coach said. Smith told reporters after the match. “I think we did all those things tonight. So you definitely need points, but at this stage you can’t criticize the effort, and we’re going to need them every game.
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“Now, it didn’t look good at the start. We made some mistakes, we gave up too many odd runs, but what you saw from this group was a real forechecking effort, a real effort to get the puck, to chase, to hit people, and you’re going to see that all the way through,” added the interim coach.
Taylor Ward (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
Smith also wasn’t afraid to make changes to the Kings’ lineup throughout the game. Alex Laferrière started the match on the right wing with Alex Turcotte in the middle and Warren Foegele on the left wing. But later, Smith brought Laferrière back into the middle and Corey Perry was pushed back to that line on the right flank.
Additionally, there was a relatively even distribution of ice time for the majority of the team’s forward group. Anze Kopitar’s line with Artemi Panarin and Adrian Kempe on his flanks had a positive influence on the match, despite the lack of a score from them.
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Additionally, the Kings’ bottom six players earned regular ice time in the second half of the contest and imposed their will physically, particularly the fourth line of Samuel Helenius, Jeff Malott and Taylor Ward.
As Smith said after the game, it’s too late for moral victories. However, there are some promising developments from a Smith-flavored performance.
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