Elliotte Friedman decodes LA Kings’ ‘very creative’ strategy behind thumping 7-2 win over Boston Bruins

The LA Kings had about as good of a weekend as you can have in the NHL. Los Angeles crushed both the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins 7-2 a piece on Saturday afternoon and Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena.

They've now won eight of their last nine games (8-1-0) and with 87 points are just five back of the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights (92 points) with one game in hand.

Entering the weekend they knew both of their opponents were coming from the east coast, dealing with lots of travel and the time change. They made the most of that and stepped on their throats en route to blowout wins.

Sportsnet NHL insider Ellitote Friedman spoke about the scheduling advantage LA had this weekend and applauded them for taking full advantage of it. Here was what he had to say during Monday's edition of "32 Thoughts: The Podcast".

"The funny thing about that is that they played the, they played the game against the Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon, California time. I don't know if the Hurricanes were still dizzy from riding the Ferris wheel at Santa Monica Pier, but they were not ready to play that game," Friedman said (4:18).

"And then the Bruins actually played late Saturday night in San Jose. And I'm just wondering if the Kings looked at this and said, 'Hey, we can schedule this also a little bit earlier on Sunday.' San Jose-LA, not that far, but not ideal, not ideal for the Bruins. And they say, 'Hey, the NHL is not telling us no, we're scheduling it. We'll pound these guys too.'

"Very creative scheduling by the Kings, you're always looking for an advantage, and it looks like they got back-to-back advantages on the weekend," Friedman added.

It was a full team effort from the LA Kings who got contributions throughout the lineup with 10 different players scoring goals over the weekend.

The LA Kings have been virtually unbeatable on home ice this season

One of the most difficult things to do in the NHL this season has been to beat the LA Kings at Crypto.com Arena.

The Kings have a sparkling 25-3-4 home record on the campaign and have not lost in LA in regulation since January 20's 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Vancouver Canucks, and Buffalo Sabres are the only other teams to have won in regulation at Crypto.com Arena in 2024-25.

Los Angeles' dominance on home ice makes it even more important that they finish as the two seed or higher in the Pacific division to ensure they start their first-round series at home. They are currently tied for second place with the Edmonton Oilers at 87 points, though they have a game in hand on their division rivals.

The LA Kings are back in action at home against the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. The puck drops at 10:30 p.m. EST at Crypto.com Arena.