They’re Paying for Slow Starts

It’s not uncommon for teams to have a subpar record in games when opponents score first, but the Kings have been carrying that to extremes.

The last five times the Kings have fallen behind, not only have they lost, they have been outscored, 22-5, and shut out three times.

“A lot of games when we’ve played well, we started right off the bat really well,” center Eddie Olcyzk said. “But when it takes us a while to get our legs and to get playing like we can, we seem to struggle. We have to find a way to win when we don’t get off to a good start.”

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Enforcer Matt Johnson has been relatively quiet since he was ejected from the Kings’ 3-0 loss at Tampa Bay on Nov. 19. In three of the Kings’ last four games, Johnson has not had any penalty minutes. He did not play against Detroit last Saturday.

Johnson was ejected after a run-in with Tampa Bay’s John Cullen, which happened one game after Chicago’s Bob Probert waved a stick at him in the Kings’ 4-2, fight-marred victory on Nov. 17.