With the trade deadline having came and went, the Kings returned to game action against a familiar opponent on Saturday evening. Starting off this last chapter off the season in winning fashion, the Kings snapped their five-game skid by defeating the St. Louis Blues 2-1 in overtime. Going up against the Blues for the third time in eight days, the Kings officially closed out their season series against the Central Division foe with a 1-1-1 record and are now 32-20-9 on the season.
It was almost a disastrous start for the Kings as a Drew Doughty tripping penalty gave the Blues a power play just 28 seconds into the game. Then, the Blues thought they took a lead after 10 seconds of power play time when Brayden Schenn’s shot in the slot bounced off of Darcy Kuemper’s mask, went over the 6-foot-5 goalie and bounced onto the goal line. The referee blew the whistle, deeming that the puck had crossed the goal line and awarded the Blues a 1-0 lead. The sequence proceeded to be reviewed and was officially ruled no goal as defenseman Mikey Anderson swatted the puck off the goal line before the puck completely crossed, keeping the game scoreless. The Kings eventually killed off the penalty, but the Blues held the advantage of play for the first 14 minutes of the game, holding the Kings to just two shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes. While unable to get the puck on the Blues net more than a pair of times in the first period, the Kings made one of those two shots count. With 5:25 remaining in the period Drew Doughty’s point shot was deflected in the slot by captain Anze Kopitar and beat Joel Hofer over the shoulder to give the home team the 1-0 lead. Kopitar’s tally now gives him two goals in the last three games, while Doughty’s helper is his sixth point in his 13th game of the season. Shots favored the Blues 7-2 after 20 minutes, but it was the Kings who led 1-0 on the scoreboard.
The second period produced no offense from either side, but it did provide an opportunity for the Kings newest member Andrei Kuzmenko to showcase his elite play on the power play. Acquired yesterday morning from the Philadelphia Flyers along with a seventh-round draft pick in exchange for a third-round draft pick, Kuzmenko, the former 39-goal scorer two years removed supplied his new team’s man advantage with play making and multiple scoring chances around the Blues crease, including putting an in tight shot off the cross bar.
The Blues evened the score at 1-1 4:16 into the third period when Nick Leddy cracked a one-timer just inside the blue line, through traffic and past Kuemper's glove side. It was Leddy’s first goal of the season in game 15 for the Minnesota native. The Kings tilted the ice in their favor in the final 10 minutes of the game, totaling 11 third period shots. Unable to beat Hofer in the period despite multiple grade A chances around his crease, the team’s went to a second consecutive overtime session.
Overtime did not last long on this occasion. After losing the opening draw, Quinton Byfield continued to press the Blues as they brought the puck back into their defensive zone. Byfield eventually took the puck away from Dylan Holloway along the boards, quickly turned towards the Blues net and attacked. Closing in on the net on a 2-on-1 with Adrian Kempe, Byfield roofed a beautiful shot short-side high over the shoulder of Hofer for the game-winning goal and his 13th goal of the season. Staying hot, Byfield’s goal gives him 13 points (2-11=13) in his last 12 games.
Kuemper stopped 19 of 20 shots and earned his 19th win of the season.
