The Los Angeles Kings found a way to win a game they shouldn't have needed to find a way to win on Thursday night. They might have a change in coaching strategy to thank for that.
After blowing a 5-1 third-period lead, the Kings defeated the Ottawa Senators 6-5 in overtime behind Quinton Byfield's game-winner. But almost as interesting as the wild swings of the game was something Drew Doughty revealed after it ended.
"It's the first year in my whole career that we've ever actually worked on three-on-three," the Kings' captain said. "A lot of credit to the coaches in that area. We worked on it in camp. We worked on it before the season started, and they had a bit of a game plan, which we didn't really have before either. So a lot of credit to them for making us work on it."
If the Kings ever had an offseason where they needed to improve that aspect of their game, it was this past one. They lost an NHL-record 20 overtime and shootout games in 2025-26, a huge part of the reason they finished with the Western Conference's second wild-card spot and were swept out of the playoffs in the first round. First-year head coach Peter Laviolette came in and wanted to make sure the Kings didn't post those numbers again.
"There's definitely a method to the madness, and there's got to be a buy-in to that, and I think the players bought in," Laviolette said. "There's a lot of review that went through it, and there's things that we talk about prior to games and then after games — the overtime games — and reviewing that. And I think the players have done a really good job of executing them."
#first #laviolette #wild
After blowing a 5-1 third-period lead, the Kings defeated the Ottawa Senators 6-5 in overtime behind Quinton Byfield's game-winner. But almost as interesting as the wild swings of the game was something Drew Doughty revealed after it ended.
"It's the first year in my whole career that we've ever actually worked on three-on-three," the Kings' captain said. "A lot of credit to the coaches in that area. We worked on it in camp. We worked on it before the season started, and they had a bit of a game plan, which we didn't really have before either. So a lot of credit to them for making us work on it."
If the Kings ever had an offseason where they needed to improve that aspect of their game, it was this past one. They lost an NHL-record 20 overtime and shootout games in 2025-26, a huge part of the reason they finished with the Western Conference's second wild-card spot and were swept out of the playoffs in the first round. First-year head coach Peter Laviolette came in and wanted to make sure the Kings didn't post those numbers again.
"There's definitely a method to the madness, and there's got to be a buy-in to that, and I think the players bought in," Laviolette said. "There's a lot of review that went through it, and there's things that we talk about prior to games and then after games — the overtime games — and reviewing that. And I think the players have done a really good job of executing them."
#first #laviolette #wild
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