It was a disappointing defeat for the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night as the Pittsburgh Penguins came back from a 2-0 deficit. The Penguins went on to win it 4-2 in a game that highlighted several issues within the Kings’ team.
According to the Kings’ head coach, Jim Hiller, Pittsburgh’s goaltending “was the difference in the game.”
Hiller talked about the scoring chances the team had, but credits Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs, who posted a .938 save percentage and stopped 30 out of 32 shots from Los Angeles.
“You’ve just got to find a way to put it in the back of the net and again, give the goalie credit,” Hiller told reporters after the game.
“Three posts, we beat him on those, so three posts and then some really good saves by him where we had what we like to call him Grade-A’s when you’re kind of that tight with the goaltender and he beat us,” Hiller said.
“Even (Alex Laferriere) at the end on the shorthanded (chance) had a good look right from in tight and the goaltender made the save,” he added.
There’s no doubt Silovs played a solid game. He didn’t allow many rebounds and swallowed up several opportunities thrown his way.
However, the defining moment from this game was the special teams battle, and the Kings’ bench boss touched on that, too.
“We haven’t won the special teams battle yet this season,” Hiller said. “That’s an important part of any hockey game, it’s the special teams battle.”
“Hard to win if you don’t win the special teams battle, so that’s the one. We could have scored a power-play goal, we had our opportunities there and then we gave one up. If you can point to one area, that’s the area you’re going to point to,” he added.
For context, Los Angeles is tied with the Ottawa Senators for taking the most penalties in the league, with 25 in the first five games of the season. Against the Penguins, they only took two, yet Pittsburgh took advantage of one.
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Furthermore, what hurt the Kings even more in this contest was their own power play. On the two opportunities they had, the team generated next to no chances and struggled to get a clean entry into the offensive zone.
To put the icing on the cake, Pittsburgh’s game-winning goal came shorthanded by Filip Hallander for his first career NHL goal.
Los Angeles is now 1-3-1 to open the 2025-26 campaign, and they currently sit sixth in the Pacific Division. As Hiller said, “We’re in a hole and we’re in a funk.”
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