The Los Angeles Kings have been riding a hot streak, and captain Anze Kopitar points to Quinton Byfield as the driving force behind their recent success.
“(Byfield) has been our best player for quite a while now,” Kopitar told NHL.com’s Tracey Myers.
“It’s really great to see him confident on the ice and doing all the things that he’s been doing,” Kopitar added. “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.”
The Kings selected Byfield with the second overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. After three struggling seasons to start his NHL career, the 22-year-old center broke through with a career-high 55 points last season.
Byfield has continued his development this season with 44 points in 70 games while centering the Kings’ second line and averaging over 18 minutes of ice time per game.
Los Angeles has won nine of its last 10 games.
During this hot streak, Byfield has scored seven goals, including two overtime winners. His recent production is even more notable considering he failed to find the back of the net in his first 13 games this season.
“I think the confidence, you can see it,” Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson said, according to The Athletic’s Eric Stephens. “Just the way he moves out there. He touches the puck. He wants it on his stick. He makes some plays. Yeah, he’s been really fun to watch and someone we’re going to want to have keep going in that direction. It’s awesome.”
The Kings currently hold the second spot in the Pacific Division with 89 points.
