The feel-good vibes of the Kings’ coaching change proved ephemeral and they appeared to be seeking a spark from another set of personnel adjustments, this time to their forward lines, ahead of Thursday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils.
After shutting out archrival Edmonton, 4-0, on Saturday, the Kings hustled to Buffalo to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday and then gave up a touchdown to the Sabres on Tuesday in a 7-0 trouncing that doused the Kings’ first two-game win streak since December in whiteout.
“Obviously we don’t want to give up seven [goals] and not score any. Having a performance like that doesn’t feel great, but, again, we’ve got a great group of guys here,” defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “We’ve been going through it and guys have stuck together, so I don’t think there’s any concern about the group we have here.”
Newly promoted coach Jim Hiller and freshly hired assistant D.J. Smith reacted swiftly to an effort every bit as salty as a beef-on-weck sandwich in Buffalo. Kings blogger Zach Dooley reported that against the backdrop of some injury developments for the Kings, Hiller and Smith were overhauling the forward lines.
Incoming was Viktor Arvidsson (back). He hasn’t played an NHL game since late April, when the Kings were eliminated from last year’s playoffs. Outgoing was Carl Grundstrom, who sustained a lower-body injury on Tuesday and returned to Los Angeles, Dooley reported. Moving around were Kevin Fiala (up to the top line) and Adrian Kempe (down to the third line), with Arvidsson slotting into Fiala’s second-line spot and Arthur Kaliyev or Jaret Anderson-Dolan filling Grundstrom’s vacancy on the fourth line.
It was another tweak in a series of pulled strings and pushed buttons for a team in desperate need of sustained intensity as it will seek to avert its 15th loss in 20 games on Thursday.
“We had to find a way to bring emotion, and we didn’t, and it cost us,” forward Philip Danault said…
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