Kings take off for Canada road trip trying to extend streak

The Kings crossed the Canadian borderline seeking to proceed their newfound occurrence against a brace of old-line franchises, arsenic they volition sojourn the Toronto Maple Leafs connected Monday and the Montreal Canadiens connected Tuesday.

This four-game travel volition spot the Kings question to 4 Canadian cities, opening with Toronto, which has won 5 consecutive games aft a stammering commencement to their season. They’ll adjacent look the East’s worst squad by record, Montreal, which was the archetypal hostile the Kings defeated connected their four-game winning streak, with each 4 victories coming astatine home.

“There is emotion. I’ve recovered that the squad has a small spot much tone to it implicit the past small bit. … There is simply a small much beingness and a small much vigor to the group,” Kings Coach Todd McLellan said.

McLellan said that winger Brendan Lemieux and halfway Blake Lizotte were much vocal, arsenic was second-year defenseman Mikey Anderson. The Kings are missing aggregate veterans, including alternate skipper and chatterbox Drew Doughty arsenic good arsenic rearguard Sean Walker.

McLellan has seen players similar winger Arthur Kaliyev and guardant Rasmus Kupari go much assured and assertive up front. Those developments, arsenic good arsenic the instrumentality of seasoned winger Andreas Athanasiou, were well-timed since winger Viktor Arvidsson and guardant Gabe Vilardi stay successful COVID protocol, portion guardant Lias Andersson traveled with the squad but volition not play against Toronto, per McLellan.

In the precocious stages of Friday’s triumph implicit New Jersey, McLellan showed spot successful immoderate younger players, including Kaliyev, who scored a extremity for the 2nd consecutive game.

“They had vigor and they deserved to beryllium retired there,” McLellan said. “The young players played a bully crippled and they had immoderate vigor near successful the tank, they were managing it reasonably well, they got america backmost into it and truthful we balanced the minutes.”

Mikey Anderson, 22, and Tobias Bjornfot, 20, person present formed a antiaircraft pairing that has held its ain contempt the comparative inexperience of some players. Anderson has shown poise beyond his years and held his presumption steadily, enabling Bjornfot to measurement guardant a spot offensively.

“He has bully legs. It’s there, you’ve got to usage them. Early connected successful the year, I’m not definite that helium was prepared to deed the gas. Now, he’s prepared to deed it, some offensively and defensively,” McLellan said of Bjornfot.

Kale Clague, 23, played his archetypal crippled without signaling a constituent connected Friday, but helium has exhibited a higher comfortableness level connected defence and has capably played 21 oregon much shifts successful each crippled this season. His Corsi and Fenwick numbers are some firmly supra 60 percent, trailing lone Doughty among Kings’ defensemen erstwhile it comes to the 2 cardinal possession metrics.

Toronto enters the enactment arsenic the NHL’s hottest team, with the Kings and Edmonton Oilers some having won 4 straight. Forward Mitch Marner and halfway John Tavares person been point-per-game players for the Leafs. Defenseman Morgan Reilly precocious signed an eight-year, $60 cardinal declaration hold and leads each Toronto blue-liners with 8 points, each from assists. In goal, erstwhile King Jack Campbell has posted sparkling figures with a 1.88 goals-against mean and a .936 prevention percent crossed 10 games.

For Montreal, Nick Suzuki has topped the squad successful scoring with 12 points successful 13 games. Former Kings winger Tyler Toffoli has heated up with 4 points successful his past 3 games.

Kings astatine Toronto

When: 4:30 p.m. Monday

Where: Scotiabank Center

TV/Radio: Bally Sports West/iHeartRadio

Kings astatine Montreal

When: 4 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Bell Centre

TV/Radio: Bally Sports West/iHeartRadio