Kings trying to turn performances into points ahead of divisional swing

The Los Angeles Kings feel like they’re playing the right way, but the points aren’t coming. Over their next stretch of games, bucking that trend becomes all the more important.

While dealing with several injured forwards, the Kings have lost 11 of their last 16 games, dropping them out of the top three in a tightly-contested Pacific Division, but three straight games against divisional opponents give them a chance to get back into position.

“[We] talked about, last couple games, maybe not getting as many bounces as we deserve,” forward Jeff Malott said. “It’s a long season, so [stick] with it, [do] the right things, and [control] what you can control, I guess.”

The team’s frustrating losses reached a new level on Monday against the Dallas Stars, in which the Kings outshot the Stars, only to lose on a fluky backhanded shot late in the third period which snuck through basically the entire defense.

“We played really well, especially given the circumstances, against Dallas, and didn’t get rewarded for it,” defenseman Brian Dumoulin said. “But it just speaks to our room and how competitive we can be in every one of these games.”

Now the Kings will look to turn their fortunes around with three consecutive division games, including back-to-back contests this weekend against the rival Anaheim Ducks. While the Kings obviously want to win every game, they’re not pretending like games within the division don’t mean something extra.

“The stock answer [is] they’re worth two [points], but there’s no question that within the division — and I think Anaheim specifically, because we got them coming up for a pair — because those are the teams that you’re battling most directly with, you know?” head coach Jim Hiller said. “It’s a swing, and they’re important.”

Before facing the Ducks, the Kings will face the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights, whom they have faced once this season, winning 6-5 in a road shootout in their second game of the season.

“They have guys that can score. They’re very balanced as a team,” Dumoulin said. “They have the same thing throughout their defensemen, where they have balance. They have offensive guys. They have defensive guys. They have good structure too. They’re just a team that can play in those one-goal games. They probably find themselves in them a lot. So we have to be comfortable with that also.”

The Kings have only had one winning streak of longer than two games this season. If they could get their second across these next three games, it would be a huge step in the right direction for what has been an extremely grinding season.

“We feel like we’ve been in a street fight since day one this year,” Hiller said. “I don’t suspect it’s going to change right through 82 and then the playoffs start, right? So it’s just really been a street fight mentality. There hasn’t been a lot of time to relax or enjoy or to breathe. It’s just been one after another, and it’s been up and down. So we’re not looking too far past tonight.”