LOS ANGELES - Even after getting his bell rung with a slap shot and leaving the ice in a pool of blood, Mikey Anderson was right back in the Los Angeles Kings' lineup Saturday no worse for wear. He played his usual effective 20 minutes of shutdown hockey and displayed a quick bit of humor afterward.
When asked about the Kings and what's been behind their defense continuing to consistently make its way onto the scoresheet without Drew Doughty, Anderson instantly quipped, "Getting rid of him."
Wearing a big smile as soon as he said it, Anderson had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek. But there was reason to smile and answer that way. The Kings enjoyed a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets before venturing on the road again, and it included more direct contributions from a Doughty-less back end.
Vladislav Gavrikov scored for the second straight game. Joel Edmundson's point shot got him an assist when Alex Laferriere had a near tip-in for the insurance goal in the third period. Brandt Clarke capped the win with an empty-net goal to wrap up his 22-minute night. Even Andreas Englund got into a scrap with the Blue Jackets' Mathieu Olivier.
And while Anderson didn't get on the scoresheet, the sixth-year King got in the way of shots two nights after turning his head at the last moment to take Filip Hronek's rocket off the side instead of a direct shot to his visor or, worse, his face. A bruise and small cut behind his left ear that required five stitches is the only thing left from having to leave Thursday's tight loss to Vancouver. Initially, he thought he was struck in the face and would hear ringing in his ears.
"They did a good job," Anderson said of the repair work by the Kings' staff. "Got a little haircut."
The Kings are 9-4-3 and -- while one can focus on the fact only two of their wins (Vegas and Minnesota) came against teams of high quality, or that the Golden Knights have a better points percentage -- they're sitting atop the Pacific Division. If they're bound to take up residence in the mushy middle as many forecasts pegged, they've resisted moving in through the first month of the season.
It was easy to conclude the Kings would be average when Doughty went down with a fractured left ankle during a Sept. 25 exhibition game against the Golden Knights in Las Vegas. Their longtime star and leader of the defense likely missing from the lineup for the first half of 2023-24, if not into the second half of the schedule. The Kings were forced to adjust without the 34-year-old they've leaned on for 25 minutes a night and more, including last year where he made it onto Norris Trophy ballots in his 16th season.
Well, the defense corps hasn't fallen apart without him. And it has thrived even with the Kings playing a riskier game (for them), shifting away from a 1-3-1 neutral zone trap and backed by good but not exceptional goaltending to cover up mistakes made.
"All (our) D try to do the best," Gavrikov said. "Mikey especially. I think he has stepped (up) while Drew is out. Try to help him as well. Eddy plays big minutes for us as well. We got to do it all together. It's not easy but we always got to find a way."
There have been unexpected elements to lift Los Angeles beyond what they count on from usual suspects like Anže Kopitar, Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala. Most notably, the Kings have gotten a combined 15 goals from Alex Laferriere and Warren Foegele; the former a 23-year-old second-year forward who's their top goal scorer and fast becoming an indispensable piece, the latter a 28-year-old winger with a serious motor on his third team who's showing to be a sage signing by general manager Rob Blake.
But it's the blue line's capability without Doughty that is helping the Kings survive the loss until his return. Steadier play in their own end has come out of an up-and-down first couple of weeks. Combine that with the team's longstanding defensive mindset and the netminding of Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich, and the Kings' 2.88 goals against per game now ranks ninth.
Anderson's ice time is up over 2023-24 but still largely in line with his career usage. But Edmundson is playing more than ever in his 10-year career on average. Clarke, who took the spot that opened when Matt Roy left for Washington in free agency, has mostly been Edmundson's partner and has topped 20 minutes in half of his last 10 outings. The Kings have benefited from increased depth that Hiller has lauded, with Jordan Spence playing up to four minutes more on average to fill the right side along with Englund, Kyle Burroughs and Caleb Jones stepping in on occasion. Of their regulars, only Edmundson has been outscored (15-14) while he's been on the ice in five-on-five play.
The counterbalance to their defensive work has been a surprising amount of offense produced without Doughty. Clarke's 13 points in 16 games stand out as he grabbed Doughty's first-unit spot on the power play while displaying some playmaking flourishes at even strength. But they've gotten 11 goals and 38 points from the group.
There isn't a singular talent like Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche. Or even Doughty, who's had consecutive 50-point seasons. But they didn't count on a defense-first, defense-second and defense-third type like Edmundson, a signing heavily criticized over the summer, being the contributor he has been in having three goals by mid-November.
If you ask Hiller, he's found a lot of value in the 6-foot-5 defender, whose size and experience Blake coveted.
"He's got more points than we would have expected to," Hiller said. "What he does have - we've all seen that - is a big bomb from the point. He shoots it hard. Probably the hardest shot on our team. He's found the back of the net a few times and there's tips.
"But more than that, he's a big, strong guy. When you stop plays in the corner, when you go in and you put your stick and you pin somebody and the play just stops, it's easy for everybody else to get in behind and get organized. Now we're OK. When (play) keeps moving around and everybody's got to figure out who's got who, that's where it gets difficult. That's one of his strengths. He goes in there and he pins, stops, slows everything down. People can get organized. Obviously, it's the size and strength that allows him to do it."
The defender playing larger than any other on the Kings in the first few weeks has been Gavrikov. He's been an all-around force and it's been handy in a contract year as his two-year extension after the 2023 trade deadline is up soon.
On Saturday, Gavrikov got on the scoreboard with a wrist shot that took advantage of the traffic Kopitar and Trevor Lewis provided. It gave him points in four consecutive games and seven for the season, but offense isn't why he's making $5.875 million and will be among the more highly-paid defensive defensemen for his next contract.
It's the left-shooting Gavrikov's ability to play on Anderson's right on the Kings' top pairing. It's terrific play-driving metrics along with a 14-7 edge in five-on-five scoring when he's on the ice. It's a meager 1.54 expected goals against per 60 minutes of even-strength play, per Evolving-Hockey - the best among Kings regulars.
And while Saturday's game wasn't Gavrikov's best analytically, it is plays that aren't measured by numbers, like the late shift where he broke up a play and drew a penalty to cut off the Blue Jackets' attempt at a comeback with the goaltender pulled.
"The easiest thing to notice is his intensity," Hiller said. "I think he's played with a level of intensity more consistent than he has in my time here anyways - I guess it would be the same time as him, we traded for him when I was here. His level of intensity night after night has been extremely high. It starts there and I think probably that's the easy one to see.
"But it's the quality of his stick. It's the plays, it's the shots he breaks up. It's the poke checks just to subtlety knock the puck off a guy's stick. It's getting down and closing pass lanes quickly. He doesn't have to block the pass because he closed it with his body. He's doing a lot of things defensively that are really, really difficult and he's executing really well."
The Kings have compensated for Doughty's absence by having some consistent matchup pairings, but also moving defenders like Gavrikov between sides and deploying shifts where the six defensemen each night could wind up playing with each other. It's never a good time to lose their longtime leader on the back end, as Anderson put it, but the injury occurring in the preseason allowed them the time to adjust and create a new working paradigm.
And it's allowed some like Gavrikov to stand out a little more than usual.
"Maybe he's just getting seen with it a little bit more," Anderson said. "He's always had a good stick. He's got a good reach. I think he defends well. Offensively, obviously he's got a good shot. Good release (and) everything. Maybe now everyone just sees it a little bit more because now he gets to play against first lines more.
"But I think it's just the same Gavy. It obviously goes up a little bit, but I don't think he's really changing anything. He's just been consistent doing what he needs to do and he's helping us."