Kings Fall to Mammoth 6-3 as Young Forwards and Power Play Show Progress
The short version
- Kings lost 6-3 to the Utah Mammoth in their second preseason game at Crypto.com Arena.
- Martin Chromiak and Taylor Ward scored, with Kenny Connors assisting on Ward's goal.
- Brandt Clarke scored the Kings' lone power-play goal off a feed from Adrian Kempe; the team went 1-for-4 on the man advantage.
- Coach Peter Laviolette cited a slow start, with the Kings outshot 27-11 over the first two periods.
- The Kings play their next preseason game Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Anaheim Ducks.
Los Angeles dropped its second preseason game, but a strong third period from its young forwards and a power-play goal from Brandt Clarke gave coach Peter Laviolette positives to build on.
The Los Angeles Kings fell 6-3 to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena in the second of their four preseason games. Despite the result, several young forwards made their case in the final frame.
Martin Chromiak scored on a breakaway late in the second period, and Kenny Connors set up Taylor Ward for a third-period goal. Ward, Connors and linemate Liam Lefebvre had their strongest stretch in the third, which Lefebvre attributed to pushing the pace and creating more offensive-zone chances.
Head coach Peter Laviolette said the team was slow out of the gate and noted that Los Angeles was outshot 27-11 over the first two periods. He pointed to the third-period improvements from Chromiak, Connors and Lefebvre but stressed that players cannot wait to get going once the puck drops.
The Kings went 1-for-4 on the power play with four members of the presumed top unit — Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe, Artemi Panarin and Brandt Clarke — in the lineup. Clarke scored the lone man-advantage goal in the second period, deflecting a feed from Kempe from a low position, and said his role involves reading off Panarin and filling open space.
Laviolette praised the goal and the movement on the power play while citing breakouts through the neutral zone as an area needing cleaner execution. He also liked what he saw from the likely top line of Byfield, Panarin and Kempe at even strength, saying they competed hard and generated offense.
Los Angeles continues its preseason Wednesday at 7 p.m. on the road against the Anaheim Ducks.