Kings Forward Finding Success in New Role

The Los Angeles Kings received criticism for their NHL Trade Deadline performance. Needing an offensive boost, the team sent a mid-round draft pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for winger Andrei Kuzmenko.

After a few weeks with their newest forward, the Kings are content with their deadline addition. Kuzmenko might not be the big-name acquisition fans hoped for, but he is finding his role with the team and succeeding.

The Kings figured out that Kuzmenko thrives on the power play. The Russian-born sniper has been known as a streaky scorer since making his NHL debut, and that skill set is perfect for this situation.

Kuzmenko's first seven games in Los Angeles were a tough adjustment. He generated multiple shots on goal but had no points to show for it. Despite the team giving him some opportunities on the power play, but found no success on the second unit.

Something clicked three games ago on the first unit. Against the Carolina Hurricanes. Kuzmenko occupied the left wall and hash area, and his right-handed shot is a huge advantage. He's also utilizing his vision, making an excellent cross-ice pass that helped set up Adrian Kempe for a goal.

He made a similar play on the man advantage two games later against the New York Rangers. Moving in from the left wall, he fed Kevin Fiala with a beautiful back-door pass for his 27th goal of the season. That makes two power-play points in the last three games and four total points.

His power-play production is fueling his success with the team. He's now up to eight goals and 16 assists in 54 games. After a rough start, Kuzmenko is producing like the complementary scorer and power-play specialist that the Kings needed. His production is helping the Kings become the hottest team in the league at the perfect time.