The Los Angeles Kings kicked off their preseason on Monday in Utah, a game that saw them fall 3-2 in overtime.
The result doesn’t matter and ultimately you don’t want to take too much from a single preseason game but there were still some standout performers to discuss in today’s post game plus’ and minus’ article.
Pluses:
Alex Turcotte:
It would be tough to find a bigger plus from this game than Alex Turcotte. I’ve said it once and I’ll continue to repeat it throughout the article, we can’t make definitive judgements off a single preseason game, but boy is it tough not to be excited by Turcotte’s performance.
Serving as the Kings’ number one center, Turcotte matched up against NHL regulars like Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz and Lawson Crouse all night and more than held his own.
Turcotte didn’t just survive against legitimate top-six talent on Monday, he thrived.
He was noticeable everytime he was on the ice with his motor and positioning and grew into the game with his playmaking.
Early on he appeared to be throwing the puck around a little bit, not really trying to find a specific pass in the offensive zone, but by the end of the game he was splitting seams and passing through layers to set up teammates.
If he continues to play this way consistently, there’s no world where he should be a fourth liner come game one.
Erik Portillo:
We know Erik Portillo is an extremely toolsy goalie with his size and elite athleticism and we know he can perform at the pro level, but he showed Monday he can perform against NHL talent too.
I won’t pretend to know a lot about the technical side of goaltending and discuss his positioning or edge work in net, but he stopped the pucks he should have and a few he shouldn’t have which is always good.
The two goals he allowed weren’t his fault and he shut the door otherwise.
By this time next year he’s going to be an NHL goalie, maybe sooner if there are some injuries in LA.
Minus’
Samuel Fagemo:
Yes, this is a little harsh, and again, don’t take too much from one preseason game, however, Samuel Fagemo was very mediocre in this game.
He wasn’t bad, but for someone on the outside looking in for an NHL roster spot, he needs to be excellent in every opportunity he gets.
He was only really noticeable on the Kings’ 5-on-3 power play when he was being fed one-timers but didn’t do much at 5-on-5.
In his defense, playing on a line with Francesco Pinelli and Jeff Malott wasn’t a great place for him and had he replaced Trevor Lewis next to Turcotte and Akil Thomas, things might have been different, but he needs to standout if he wants to make the NHL roster.
Against Vegas I want to see that Thomas-Turcotte-Fagemo line, as I still have some faith in Fagemo, but he really needs to turn things around.
The D-Core:
Like Fagemo the Kings D-core wasn’t bad on Monday, they just weren’t particularly good either.
All of the problems we knew existed for each player was still there and reared their heads at times.
Joel Edmundson, Andreas Englund and Jacob Moverare are all slow and limited with the puck on their sticks.
Brandt Clarke is incredibly skilled but still has work to do physically and in the defensive zone, etc.
It’s probably unfair to expect anything more from these players, as most of them simply are who they are, but no one standing out isn’t a great sign.
It does further reinforce my opinion that there’s no reason to play Edmundson or Englund over Moverare, although Edmundson will certainly get that spot given his contract.
If/when Edmundson goes down with injury that should be Moverare’s spot.
