them score just eight goals in five consecutive defeats. They’d endured a stretch a month earlier where they dropped six of seven games and deposited just nine pucks in the process. Their power-play was low-capacity, too, lower still on the road, and overall their goal-scoring woes spanned the better part of two seasons.

Yet since the March 7 trade deadline passed and bargain-bin pickup Andrei Kuzmenko cemented pieces into place on their attack, the Kings accumulated more points in the standings than any other team. They were also the league’s No. 2 offense, stingiest defense and even became a top-10 man-advantage unit on the road as part of an overall uptick in power-play potency.

Quinton Byfield, whose sizzling chemistry with Kevin Fiala (as well as Alex Laferriere and, briefly, Adrian Kempe) was building before the deadline said there existed a mix of elements that had been gaining steam within the Kings’ existing group and a switch that flipped once Kuzmenko arrived.

“I think it’s a little bit of both. It was building to that, beforehand we were getting a little unlucky. Right now, everybody’s feeling good about themselves and their ability to score,” said Byfield, who lauded Kuzmenko’s playmaking ability despite his longer-standing reputation as a goal-scorer.

Last year, not only did the Kings struggle offensively in the spring —— they scored one goal in two home games, losing both, and they were the only postseason qualifier that didn’t convert on a single playoff power play —— they were also torched on the penalty kill, despite having enjoyed tremendous regular-season success. They cranked up the pressure, aggression and attention to detail alike, revamping the PK rather than resting on their laurels.

Another key audible by the Kings was pulling the plug on their eight-year commitment to Pierre-Luc Dubois after one season before which they sank piles of both assets and cash into his acquisition.

They got goalie Darcy Kuemper back for him, and both distressed assets delighted with career years. Dubois was reinvigorated by Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carbery, while Kuemper burst forth with the Stanley Cup-quality goaltending he provided Colorado in 2022 and was voted the Kings’ team MVP.

“It’s fun watching our top unit on the power play right now, it’s really exciting,” forward Trevor Moore said. “Then our penalty kill, I don’t even know where we are in the league, but it just feels more aggressive and it feels so confident. When you have Darcy in net, it makes a world of difference.”

There’s also the intrigue of former Kings flanker Viktor Arvidsson and one-time Oilers forward Warren Foegele switching places in free agency this offseason. Arvidsson was a vital but oft-injured figure in the Kings rise from irrelevance these past three years, but Foegele has stepped in to give them an incredibly sturdy two-way winger.

That isn’t the only script that’s already flipped in this series.

For the first time in four years, the Kings have home-ice advantage, which during the season was immense as they won a franchise-record 31 home games and had the best home points percentage in the NHL. They’ve been back in California since April 16, while Edmonton had to travel to begin the series.

Only the St. Louis Blues, who lost Saturday’s Game 1 of their series with the Winnipeg Jets, were hotter down the stretch in terms of points percentage than the Kings.