Kings faring well despite Powerplay inconsistencies

The King's powerplay has been okay this year. It's just okay, though. Their even-strength play (7th most goals scored at even strength) and a recent surge of solid penalty killing have carried them to new heights.

Last season, the Kings' combination of Anze Kopitar, Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala, and Drew Doughty produced 32/56 (57%) of the team's powerplay goals. Pierre Luc Dubois and Quinton Byfield combined for 13 goals, spending time between both units.

The second unit is where things got scarce. The second unit mainstays of Phillip Danault (3g), Arthur Kaliyev (3g), Trevor Moore (2g), and Jordan Spence (1g) combined for just nine goals.

With these stats in mind, the Kings were a respectable 22.6% on the powerplay, mainly relying on a dominant penalty kill (2nd in the league).

While still in its infancy this season, the Kings have been as top-heavy on the powerplay as in recent memory. Fiala has scored half of the total powerplay goals this year (4/8), while no member of the second unit has found the back of the net yet.

Since Jim Hiller entered the Kings organization, an emphasis on right-handedness on the top unit has been prevalent. In 2022-23, Viktor Arvidsson put up elite numbers on the powerplay as a righty (10g-15a-25p), and the team also had Gabriel Vilardi (5g-4a-9p). The Kings had the fourth-best powerplay in the league that year (25.3%).

The last time the Kings had that high of a powerplay ranking was when they led the league during the 2001-2002 season (20.7%).

In 2023-24, Viktor Arvidsson was the only right-handed forward on any unit, and his one goal during his injury-shortened season possibly facilitated the opening for Drew Doughty (right-handed shot) to almost match his career season high in goals. Nearly half of his season goals were on the powerplay (7).

The trend is so far matching the difference between the last two seasons, when the powerplay went from 4th in the league to 11th. The straw that stirs the drink has been having a solid right-handed forward in the mix.

Alex Laferriere will potentially see big numbers this year, and by big numbers, I mean unexpected numbers. Given the current state of affairs in LA, he can get top powerplay unit time while being a top-nine forward.

The team is working with him to create the mid-to-high slot bumper shooter role as was on display against Nashville. The play worked with Fiala (a lefty) against Minnesota.

Fiala scored on the second look of the play, but it was the initial shot for the play the Kings are trying to pull off. Laferriere himself ended up getting the primary.

There's no question, Laferriere is having an unexpectedly great season so far, particularly at even strength. What's going for Laferriere is that he isn't afraid of getting into the hard areas of the ice, as he reflected on the other day:

For someone willing to put themselves into the dirty areas of the ice, the bumper should be a welcomed sight. Dirty areas and being a high-volume shooter would be quite the combination.

Currently, per Moneypuck.com, Laferriere ranks 46th in the league in powerplay shots on goal per 60 with 15.26. With some practice in the bumper, given time, things should improve for Laferriere on the powerplay (1 goal).

Some finish will have to play a part in that, and his 24.2 shooting percentage (all situations) tells me he'll come back down to Earth soon.

Arvidsson was elite on the powerplay for the Kings, and his void is felt. The Kings powerplay will not likely see the heights it once saw when deploying two powerplay-dominant righties.

Laferriere will get the full opportunity as the next-best righthanded shot and the only option outside Akil Thomas and Trevor Lewis.

Suppose Laferriere starts to produce at a league-average rate for a top powerplay unit forward, and Arthur Kaliyev comes back into the fold down the road. In that case, I expect a massive improvement in both unit's productivity.