Rather than make a major move, Holland folded. The cards he was holding and the deficit he faced in the standings told him he didn\u2019t have a winning hand.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThese are the decisions that I have to make,\u201d he said. \u201cCertainly where we are in the standings, I have to make some philosophical decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where they are after giving up third-period goals just 49 seconds apart Saturday in a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens<\/a> is sixth in the eight-team Pacific Division, four points out of a wild-card berth with 20 games remaining.<\/p>\n Read more: Kings can’t hold on to third-period lead in loss to Canadiens<\/a><\/p>\n So Holland decided draft picks for next season and the season after were more valuable than immediate help this season. That\u2019s a big change in philosophy from just a month ago, when Holland traded away part of the future \u2014 a prospect and two draft picks \u2014 for forward Artemi Panarin<\/a> just ahead of the Olympic break.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n But before Panarin had played his fourth game with his new team, the Kings fired coach Jim Hiller<\/a> and lost wingers Andrei Kuzmenko<\/a>, Kevin Fiala<\/a> and Joel Armia to injuries.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Fiala was healthy and Armia was healthy, we\u2019d be looking at our team different,\u201d Holland said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I did the deal before the deadline. We don\u2019t have a lot of key pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to continue to try to push to qualify for the playoffs,\u201d he continued. \u201cAt the same time, behind the scenes, we\u2019re trying to get some [draft] picks, looking to the future.\u201d<\/p>\n So Holland called off the cavalry.\u00a0If the Kings are going to make a run at a fifth straight playoff berth, they\u2019re going to have to do\u00a0it\u00a0with an interim coach and the guys they\u00a0already\u00a0have.\u00a0Holland made\u00a0only\u00a0a few cosmetic moves\u00a0ahead of Friday\u2019s trade deadline, shipping out forwards Corey Perry and Warren Foegele<\/a> for draft picks and adding Scott Laughton and\u00a0Mathieu Joseph,\u00a0depth pieces,\u00a0neither of whom are signed beyond this season.<\/p>\n Montreal forward Juraj Slafkovsky scores on Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper during the third period Saturday. (Mark J. Terrill \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n And if that sounded like a lack of confidence, D.J. Smith, the interim coach, said it was well-earned.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s up to the players and the coaching staff to get the team in a spot where the [general] manager feels that he’s got to really help the group to try to win,\u201d he said Saturday. \u201cObviously we didn’t do that enough and it’s unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n But if the Kings\u2019 breathing is shallow and their pulse faint, they aren\u2019t dead just yet despite seven losses in their last nine games.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to win,\u201d Holland said. \u201cIt\u2019s the National Hockey League. We\u2019re [four] points out of a playoff spot. Maybe the narrative changes if you\u2019re 15 points out of a playoff spot. But we\u2019re [four] points out of a playoff spot.\u201d<\/p>\n Panarin \u2014 wearing the No. 10 sweater Perry had before he was traded to Tampa Bay \u2014 helped the Kings take a first-period lead Saturday, battling Montreal defender Mike Matheson for the puck entering the Canadiens\u2019 zone. That allowed Adrian Kempe to skate in and take the puck off Matheson\u2019s stick and feed Anze Kopitar at the far post for the tap-in.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n That goal gave Kopitar 1,304 points for his career, just three shy of Marcel Dionne\u2019s franchise record.<\/p>\n Samuel Helenius thought he had doubled the lead less than two minutes later but the goal was waved off by goalie interference. And the Kings\u00a0should\u00a0have had more after a period in which they outshot the Canadiens 16-1.<\/p>\n That proved costly when Montreal’s Jake Evans drove a slap shot by Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper from the top of the left circle to tie the score in the second period.<\/p>\n Juraj Slafkovsky put Montreal in front less than five minutes before the second intermission, lifting a wrist shot over Kuemper\u2019s glove from the slot. But Laughton, making his Kings debut, got that back two minutes later, lining a low wrist shot from a tough angle off the pads of Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes. Jared Wright got his first NHL point with an assist on the play.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n![\"Montreal](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/245cb1a2106148472dee060b2860f6af.jpeg\"\/)
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