The Kings have not only a new coach but a new motto: “Let’s [freaking] go!”
Jim Hiller, who coached the Kings to a 4-0 triumph over rival Edmonton in his debut, said his club made a decision on Day 1 that “it was time to get moving again.”
As they shuffled onto Buffalo for Tuesday’s matchup with the Sabres that will kick off a four-game road trip, Hiller expressed no concern about his group’s ability to maintain its enthusiasm even after the novelty of a coaching change faded.
“It never ends, it just never ends. That’s the NHL. If you take it a little bit easy … you run the risk of losing that confidence again,” said Hiller, who was an assistant for the Kings during a calamitous month that saw them win the fewest games in the NHL. “None of us want to go through that again. So, I think it’s pretty easy to have a good day again.”
The Kings might get another boost in Buffalo as Viktor Arvidsson traveled and has been inching closer to a return. Arvidsson underwent his second back surgery since May of 2022 back in October, sending him on another months-long recovery journey.
Even without Arvidsson, the Kings looked rejuvenated after a nine-day pause. Captain Anze Kopitar wasn’t the only ailing skater. Trevor Lewis appeared more spry and scored a goal against the Oilers Saturday, in a match where Vladislav Gavrikov (knee) regained significant mobility and effectiveness.
Gavrikov’s partner Matt Roy played a nearly flawless game that saw him contribute an assist while dominating defensively. He and Gavrikov blocked three shots each to equal the individual total of Drew Doughty (six). In total, the Kings stymied 25 Edmonton shot attempts, with 19 of those blocks coming from their defensemen.
“Blocking shots isn’t fun, [but], when you do it collectively, it becomes fun,” Hiller said. “It becomes something where you don’t want to let the next guy down, ‘I’ve got to block mine [because] he blocked his.’ That, in the end,…
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