Jim Hiller had been a lifer in hockey and he’s now reached the pinnacle of coaching as the Kings’ bench boss, but he might have a future endorsing smoothies and shakes the way he expertly whipped, pureed and liquefied his lines to salvage a challenging road swing.
He chopped, grinded and stirred all four forward trios and all three defensive pairings in a 4-1 victory over the Canadiens in Montreal on Thursday.
“A little bit of blender work,” Hiller told reporters after the game.
The Kings came away with six of 10 points during the five-game Eastern portion of their season-opening, seven-game trip, which now shifts to Anaheim and then Las Vegas.
They had been in a three-game winless stretch, and had also lost the services of two players on the trip when defenseman Joel Edmundson joined wife Ebony for the birth of their first child and goalie Darcy Kuemper’s stellar start gave way to an eight-goals-allowed overtime loss and a lower-body injury. Kuemper’s status declined Saturday, from day-to-day to being placed on injured reserve, while Edmundson rejoined the group.
After beginning the campaign with a pair of stellar starts, an improbable season-opening win in Buffalo and an overtime loss in Boston, Kuemper was touched up for eight goals in Ottawa and unable to play in the next two games, beginning with a 6-2 loss in Toronto. David Rittich had to start both ends of the back-to-back set, including the win in Montreal.
Not only was it a rebound game for Rittich, who snagged 26 of 27 shots, but for several Kings as the lineup sheet was adorned with red ink and whiteout. Defenseman Jordan Spence, who started the year in place of the injured Drew Doughty on the top pairing but found himself in the press box as a healthy scratch in Toronto, recorded an assist and turned in what Hiller described as his best effort of the season. The Kings’ newfangled defensive pairings paid off overall as Mikey Anderson added a goal, his new partner Vladislav Gavrikov produced two assists and even rough-and-tumble Andreas Englund sealed the deal with a late goal, the second of his career.
“Any time Engy buries one, you’re pretty excited,” Hiller told reporters.
Up front, Alex Turcotte continued to expand his role and contributions alike, and he will carry a three-game points streak into Sunday’s clash on Katella Avenue.
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“What really predicated (the lineup changes) was Alex Turcotte’s play,” Hiller told reporters. “We moved a few other pieces around; I thought it really worked.”
Though the Kings had their playoff clinch delayed by a game last year by the Ducks, it’s the only game they’ve lost out of the past 10 Freeway Faceoffs, winning nine games by a 36-16 aggregate score.
KINGS AT DUCKS
When: 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Honda Center
How to watch: Bally Sports West, Victory+, KCOP (Ch. 13)