LA Kings’ playoff dreams hang in the balance as DJ Smith’s revamped squad battles lingering issues. Missed opportunities and special teams’ woes cost Los Angeles in a narrow 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens—can renewed energy and a shot-heavy attack translate into wins when it counts most? Eddie Garcia explores the team’s shift in mentality, the impact of Scott Laughton’s debut, and Anze Kopitar closing in on franchise history. Breakdown includes Darcy Kuemper’s performance in net, Quinton Byfield’s return, and Brandt Clarke’s high-usage night. Eddie Garcia addresses controversial officiating calls, analyzes the playoff standings race with the Seattle Kraken and Edmonton Oilers, and details changes coming to LA Kings broadcasts. Are the Kings truly poised for a late-season surge, or will familiar issues stall their postseason push?
00:00 LA Kings Fall to Canadiens
Recap of the Kings’ 4-3 loss, DJ Smith’s coaching impact, shot totals, and persistent issues with special teams and finishing.
12:40 Scott Laughton Debut & Player Analysis
Breakdown of Scott Laughton’s first game as a King, Kopitar’s near-record, Byfield’s return, detailed player notes, and line combinations.
24:03 Playoff Standings & Broadcast Updates
Kings’ playoff standings update, what the latest results mean, and news on changes to the Kings’ television broadcast situation.
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26 Comments
Next week will tell us if we even have a chance at the playoffs. GKG!!!
Well I guess who cares , if they won’t they would still have to go 13-7 , now 14-6 , THEY ARE NOT GOING TO DO IT ! However if 5hey are then they still are I’d say , 13-7. & 14-6 , what’s the difference.
Well smith is worse then hiller , THE ONLY THING WE HAVE SEEN POSITIVE is they played inspired ONE GAME for KOPI in his 1500 game ! The other two they CHOKED IN THE LAST 5 minutes ! The talent is %100 there ! THE FITNESS IS NOT ! THEY DO NOT EVER PLAY 60 ! Smith is the first coach in 5 years to loose to the Canadians ! They wasted Laughton getting a game winner in his debut .
SERIOUSLY! In 1980 USA hockey was it a bunch of kids , or was it herb brooks ! you could swap any one player or several , you swap herb brooks for another coach and it doesn’t happen ! The most important part of the team is the coach ! Smith is as bad as holler , maybe worse
Gonna be completely honest here and I hate to say it, but I think we win this game if Forsberg was in net.
THE COACHING SUCKS ! F ck a system/strategy! In hockey and soccer , a coach must push the players at some point before and during the season harder then think they can do , and get more out of them they will give you on their own ! So for the players the games are the easy/fun part ! These are like someone going into work work or hung over and just doing their best , they can’t co the only thing fans ask , compete the entire game , win or loose , it’s how you play the game that matters , these guys only ever win on talent ! Which there is a ton of ! Never on effort ! They are pathetic because coaching is epically bad !
I woulda said years ago , these guys don’t care ! However in 50 years of being a fan , I can tell you they do care ! However THEY DONT HAVE THE FITNESS LEVEL OF THE 31 other teams , to compete for 60 minutes ! Because they have had and still have epically bad coaching , that doesn’t make practices that are harder than game , or accountability.
I'm sorry to say this but Turcotte over Laughton is ridiculous, just from a face-off percentage. Don't get me wrong I like seeing the younger guys get ice time. I like Conners, but for this run for this year they need to play the best possible players to just get in.
Only to lose to Colorado in 4.
I applaud Kenny for the moves he's made, sure you can criticize for Ceci and Dumolin but that was choice C and D. Luc needs to go or he has to give Kenny full control. Byfield needs to be traded in the off-season, he's not it and will never be, get ride of Moore also.
Slafkovsky was fr a beast in this game😅Tough to play against a team when they've got players like that
They suck , they are unfit , nobody crashes the net , no defense shoots the puck , no defense pinches , they may get a lot of shots , none dangerous. Garbage team
It's over the kings are not making the playoffs. This is all on the front office. They should of fired Hiller, after the playoffs last year. They waited too long, and now wasted a season.
Dean—calm down bro.
Canay Dee…..yens
Moore needs to go
ditch 35
Vilardi trade was the biggest joke. They keep Byfield and Turcotte who are bust, trade Villardi who is a big body, goal scorer, and PP player. Clown show front office
If the kings keep making all of these poor decisions, which i have no reason to believe will stop.
You need to vote with your wallet.
5 decent tickets, parking , food etc can be around 700-800.
For this?
No chance.
DJ Shortened the bench in the 3rd period…thats why they lost. They took the lead, and immediately DJ shortened the bench to 3 lines to shore up the win, but I've said before and I'll say it again when you shorten the bench, you can't win in the NHL. All 4 lines need to contribute…..And although Danault didn't have a goal in the game (not the only way a player contributes to the game) he was out there shutting down Kopi and our top line while our top line was gassed
Sadly I just don't think this team has it in them….maybe next year! GKG!
Dumoulin’s poke attempt instead of the taking the body led to the tying goal if I remember correctly.
Byfield sucks on entry, skates with flair but no sustenance. He’s a bust.
This has been a weird season so far.
I wonder where Trevor Moore will play next season?
The problem with the Kings is Kopitar as captain. Everyone dances around it but it is clear as day. The Kings have never won a playoff series since he has been captain. Nine seasons as captain zero wins. How many times have we been scored on and then in a minute, scored on again…answer, too many. Great player but no captain.
Would love a video on our scouting, besides, maybe Clarke and Kempe, haven’t seen anything but busts! Byfield and Turcotte, how long can we keep going? Maybe some fresh scouts depending on their history!
The only thing remaining is to be sure that the last 4 or 5 points needed for Kopitar to pass Marcel Dionne. I'm not going to use the "T" word, but the highest possible is the most important thing to do.
the Kings " dominated" until that bad call in the 3rd then they gave up…