The Los Angeles Kings spent part of today working on their 5-on-3 power play, a direct response to back-to-back 2-1 defeats in which they could not cash in on extended two-man advantages. The session turned into a reset of sorts, with the unit getting extra attention after a problem that has gone unsolved through the season's first 2 minutes and 51 seconds of 5-on-3 time.
That is why the search around the Kings is so focused now: this is not a vague special-teams issue, but one tied to two one-goal losses and a chance to change both of them. Adrian Kempe did not soften the verdict after the latest game, calling the 5-on-3 work unacceptable and saying the group needs to move the puck more and get shots on net.
The numbers explain the frustration. Against Florida, the Kings gained clean possession on only one of four 5-on-3 zone-entry attempts. In Vegas, they did better at the start, establishing possession on all four sequences, and Quinton Byfield won the first faceoff to help create that early control, but the result stayed the same: no goal. For a unit built around quick movement and clean looks, the improvement in entry play meant little when the finish never came.
Today’s work was aimed at the part of the advantage that still matters most once the puck is set: movement and shots. Artemi Panarin, who often rotates up top while Kempe moves around on the 5-on-3, said those are the two keys to making the setup work, and the players who handle those situations put in a lot of work on the unit. Panarin has described 5-on-3 play in stark terms: you score, or you do not.
That is the problem the Kings have not been able to escape. Good 5-on-3 teams usually do not pile up much time in the format because they finish chances before the clock keeps running, and the Kings have gone the other way, collecting minutes without a goal. Unless that changes soon, their margin for error in tight games will keep shrinking.
