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May 23, 2024, 06:15 PM ET
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Jim Hiller is sticking to the hard-nosed, defense-first philosophy that got the Los Angeles Kings to the first round of the playoffs – and no farther – in each of the past three seasons.
General manager Rob Blake introduced Hiller as the Kings’ permanent head coach Thursday, retaining the former Kings assistant who took over for the fired Todd McLellan in February and led Los Angeles to its third consecutive third-place finish in the Pacific Division and third straight early postseason ouster.
“Where Jim always seemed to come to the top was in the aspect that we’ve had time together,” Blake said. “We’ve seen him work … (and we’re) very comfortable, very confident in Jim’s approach to challenges. His presence in front of the group is very important to us. The way he can command the room and drive home the point that we make, the direction we want to go together, confident he can drive that home.”
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With Blake and Hiller returning after weeks of speculation about their futures, the Kings’ playoff struggles clearly won’t lead to a reboot or a rebuild. Los Angeles was eliminated by Edmonton on May 1 in five games.
The GM and his first-time head coach remain committed to the style they’ve embraced with their 1-3-1 neutral zone trap. The system has made the Kings a nightmare to face, but LA’s players sometimes chafe at the regimented strategy – and even Hiller acknowledges it hinders the Kings’ offensive production.
“We’ve started the process of looking at everything about our game,” Hiller said. “We are a top defensive team in the National Hockey League. Have been for some years now. The identity of the LA Kings is a checking team that’s difficult to play against. We feel we have to find some areas where we can create more offense, but not at the expense of what our identity is, and what we’ve taken some time to create.”
Only two teams allowed fewer goals than the Kings (210) during the regular season, but Los…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40205984/kings-change-defense-first-philosophy
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Publish date : 2024-05-23 23:16:42
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