Kings’ Quinton Byfield exits game with upper-body injury

According to Kings team reporter Zach Dooley, Byfield went down during Los Angeles’ team practice on Monday and described himself as “a little tight” afterward.

Byfield, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, is in the third season of a five-year contract that carries a salary cap hit of $6.25 million. It’s a pivotal year for Byfield, who takes over as the Kings’ top center following the retirement of franchise legend Anze Kopitar.

So far, the Kings’ struggles have gone hand-in-hand with Byfield’s, as the Ontario native has just two points (a goal and an assist) in six games while skating to a minus-6 rating on an average of 21:03 of time on ice per game.

The underlying metrics suggest improvement is ahead, though, as the Kings are controlling 65.47% of the expected goals while Byfield is on the ice at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Prior to Tuesday night’s game in Washington D.C., the Kings entered play as the only team in the NHL that has yet to win a game. Los Angeles earned points in overtime losses to San Jose and Vegas, but lost each of their other four games in regulation, including three losses which came by margins of at least three goals.

Byfield is not alone in his offensive struggles to this point in the season, as the Kings do not have a player producing at a point-per-game pace, and only defenseman Brandt Clarke has more than four points. Just seven skaters on the team entered Tuesday’s game with more than one point.