Byfield ‘in a good spot’ for Kings with playoffs approaching 

CHICAGO -- Quinton Byfield is in a good place, and as a result, so are the Los Angeles Kings.

He “has been our best player for quite a while now,” captain Anze Kopitar said.

That’s high praise for a 22-year-old, but it’s fitting with the way Byfield has played this season, back in his natural center spot on Los Angeles’ second line.

“I think my game is in a good spot,” said Byfield, who has 44 points (19 goals, 25 assists) in 70 games for the Kings, good enough for fourth on the team behind forwards Adrian Kempe (58 points), Kopitar (57) and Kevin Fiala (50).

This after he struggled out of the gate, not scoring his first goal until the 14th game of the season. In fact, on Dec. 12, 29 games into the season, he had 11 points (three goals, eight assists).

But he’s been on fire lately, scoring in six straight games from March 5-15, and has 10 points (eight goals, two assists) in the Kings’ 11 games since March 5. And it’s been contagious; his left wing, Fiala, has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in the same span.

It's been a boon for the Kings (40-21-9), who have won four in a row entering their game against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN). The Kings are second in the Pacific Division, five points behind the Vegas Golden Knights and two points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers.

“It’s really great to see him confident on the ice and doing all the things that he’s been doing,” Kopitar said. “I guess we just had to wait a little bit longer than anticipated but he’s been a force for this team. He’s been winning us games.”

Selected No. 2 by the Kings in the 2020 NHL Draft, Byfield was expected to take some time to develop into a full-time NHL center, but it didn’t help that his first few seasons were marred by injuries and illness. He sustained a fractured ankle in a preseason game that cost him three months during his rookie season, 2021-22. He was ill to start the 2022-23 season missing the first month and losing 20 pounds. He also played most of that season with two sprained wrists.

In his first three NHL seasons, he played a total of 99 games and had eight goals and 25 assists. Last season, he stayed healthy, playing 80 games while getting 55 points (20 goals, 35 assists).

Byfield said he got through it thanks to those around him.

“Just to be able to talk to my family, my teammates as well, they’re always good sports, always trying to keep it light,” he said. “It was hard to do but just being with the right people around you made it a lot easier. I think that really helped but yeah, it was tough and hopefully that’s all gone and just keep striving forward.”

Jim Hiller, who took over as Kings coach on Feb. 2, 2024, said Byfield has made great strides with his maturity and confidence, “especially for a big player.”

“He’s a tall guy (6-foot-5, 225 pounds) and everybody expects you to be big and physical. You’re young, you’re just really growing into your body and trying to survive in the League. It’s hard to impose your will when you’re doing those two things but now, he has enough confidence, you can see him play more physical and he just feels like a bigger presence.”

Some of that confidence started to come last season, when Byfield was playing right wing on a line with left wing Kempe and Kopitar at center. The 37-year-old Kopitar, who won the Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2012 and 2014, has been one of the steadiest two-way centers in the League throughout his career.

“He plays the right way, does everything correctly,” Byfield said of Kopitar. “When he’s taking face-offs, he’s going to win every draw, so there are a lot of ways you can set up there. in the D zone he always wanted to be the low guy, take control of the line. That’s something I want to do. Every time you go to the D-zone, I try to be the low guy, play my position correctly.”

Byfield said being on the wing also helped him learn more about playing center.

“When I was centering before I would just throw it up the wall, (like), ‘That’s yours, why aren’t you getting it out?’” Byfield said with a laugh. “Now I know it’s such a hard play. You have (defense) pinching down on you, you don’t know what’s going on.

“Now I understand the side of a winger, where they like to get pucks from the wall, where they’re going to be, where they are in the defensive zone. I know how hard it is to cover the middle of the ice, get it to your point man. I kind of found a new respect for them, and it just makes it easier for me to put pucks in better places for them as well.”

Byfield is hitting his stride. Now he wants to help the Kings advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2014, when they won their last Cup.

The Kings have been knocked out in the first round for three straight seasons, each time by the Edmonton Oilers, who they could play again in the first round.

Byfield thinks things will be different this time around.

And why not? The Kings tied their franchise record for home wins in a season at 26 with a 3-1 victory against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. They have a 15-game home point streak (12-0-3) and have won seven straight at home. Since the NHL returned from the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Kings are 11-4-2 with 24 points, the second most in the NHL behind the St. Louis Blues (28). This for a team that was 10-7-3 in mid-November.

“There were a lot of doubters at the beginning of the year for whatever reason, but I think at the beginning of the year we knew what we had, and we know how good of a team we are,” Byfield said. “We’re really happy where we are as a team, but I think our home record says it all (26-3-4).

“We want to get better on the road (14-18-5) so we have to figure that out, but other than that, we’re in a really good spot and excited for the playoffs.”