Liam Lefebvre was one of the names that kept popping up all weekend in San Jose, and for good reason. The Kings’ second-round pick from June made an impression in two very different ways: first with a fight against a much bigger opponent, then with a two-goal third period that helped put away the Ducks on Sunday.
The 19-year-old Montreal native said the turnaround from Saturday to Sunday started with the message from the coaches.
“I think the coaches had a little word for us on how we needed to bounce back, and I thought we did a great job of just getting in their face early, not letting up odd-man rushes and really just playing the way that we wanted to play. So it was a good rebound game for us for sure.”
That response showed up in the details. Lefebvre said the Kings cleaned up the rush chances that hurt them the night before, when San Jose scored more goals but, in his view, did not actually play better than LA. Sunday, he said, was the sharper performance.
“I think the biggest thing was the odd-man rushes. Last night we gave up 12 or 13 odd-man rushes and that led to a lot of goals.
So we cleaned that up. They really didn’t have much off the rush, and that kind of killed everything for their offense tonight.”
His scoring touch came from the kind of areas every forward wants to live in. Both goals came from close range, one on a rebound and one off a deflection, and Lefebvre said that’s no accident.
“Yeah, definitely big. I think whenever you can get to that area, it’s the most dangerous place on the ice. So the more I can get there, the better, and then just utilize my frame to take away the goalie’s eyes and find those pucks.”
He also pointed to an earlier sequence with Kenny Connors, when the Kings nearly cashed in before Lefebvre’s first goal.
“For sure. I saw Kenny there going back door.
Tried to find him there. He almost got it, but no, it was good to make some plays with him out there.”
Lefebvre’s first weekend in the Rookie Faceoff also gave him a taste of a faster, heavier game than what he’s used to in the QMJHL or the Memorial Cup.
“Definitely a step above for sure. I think the execution, the physicality is a notch ahead. But that first game allowed me to adapt, and then today I was ready to go and was able to do what I wanted.”
He said Andrew Lord’s description of Game 1 as a learning experience fit with what he took away from the two days.
“I think it’s those little details that the coaches are preaching to us. At the junior level it’s a little bit different obviously, but to hear it from the pro guys. I think it’s good to learn from that and take that back with me this year and really try to apply that as much as possible and get ready for this level.”
The Kings also changed their approach early on Sunday, and Lefebvre said the shot volume was part of that. LA finished with 49 shots on goal.
“100 percent. I think yesterday we tried a [few] too many passing plays, shied away from those shots, and today we just got them on net and were able to get some in the back of it.”
And about that fight on Saturday, Lefebvre made it clear he wasn’t backing down when a teammate needed him.
“He’s definitely a big guy. But whenever one of my teammates goes down, I’m going to be there to step up for him.
So I saw him go down and then had to answer to that for sure. Just trying to be a good teammate out there.”
That earned him some recognition from the room, too.
“A couple of the guys were giving me some taps for that, some props. It was a good part of the game - but the result was not what we wanted, so we just had to focus on that.”
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