The Week That Was
It was a .500% week for Kings as they went 1-1-1 across three home games. Picking up three of a possible six available points, the now 32-20-11 Kings have moved into third place in the Pacific Division ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Kings opened their week on Tuesday against the division leading Vancouver Canucks, continuing their five-game home stand. Still without Mikey Anderson, Adrian Kempe, Carl Grundrstrom and Viktor Arvidsson due to injuries, the Kings played a low-scoring game and earned one of a possible two points. The Kings did take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission thanks to the team’s leading goalscorer Trevor Moore finding the back of the net for the 24th time this season. A great pass by linemate Phillip Danault set up a backdoor Moore with 9:06 to go in the first period giving the Kings a lead that they would hold onto for 25:42. The Canucks responded late in the second period after an extended shift in the offensive zone and a fresh Elias Pettersson off of the bench weaved his way through the Kings slot, ripped a shot and evened the score with his 30th goal of the season. Following a scoreless third period, the Canucks found the back of the net 1:36 into overtime on a 4-on-3 man advantage on a delayed Kings penalty. JT Miller one-upped his teammate Pettersson and buried his 31st goal of the season with a one-timer that beat Cam Talbot five hole.
The Kings went to overtime for a second straight game on Thursday night when they hosted the Ottawa Senators. While coming out victorious in the end this time, it was an up and down game from the Kings. A spectacular night from Talbot in net kept the Kings in the game in the first two periods while the team searched to find their legs. A power-play goal from former Kings draft pick Dominik Kubalik gave the Senators a 1-0 lead in the first period. Trailing 1-0 midway into the game, Quinton Byfield evened the score with beautiful individual play for his 19th goal of the season, but the tie game was short-lived as the Senators retook the lead just 15 seconds later. Down 2-1 entering the third period, Anze Kopitar found Pierre-Luc Dubois backdoor on top of the crease to even the score with 9:36 remaining in regulation. Then, just 1:22 later, Jacob Moverare netted his first career NHL goal when he sent a puck in the direction of the net. Ultimately deflecting off of a Senators stick in the slot, the puck found its way past former King Joonas Korpisalo to give the Kings a 3-2 lead. A late Senators goal would send the two teams into overtime and it was there that Kevin Fiala fought off two opponents on his way towards the net and scored the game-winning goal with his 20th tally of the season.
Into Saturday’s game, Fiala picked up right where he left on Thursday and quickly found the back of the net against the Dallas Stars. It took just 26 seconds for the Kings to take the lead as Fiala tipped in a perfect centering pass from Drew Doughty. The assist for Doughty gives him 40 points on the season, making it the ninth time in his career he’s hit that threshold. Following the early Fiala tally, it was all Stars. A pair of goals in the second period for the Stars, followed by another pair in the third resulted in a 4-1 defeat.
Notable News From The Week That Was:
- The Kings hold a record of 9-5-1 under Interim Head Coach Jim Hiller.
- Cam Talbot made all three starts this past week, going 1-1-1 and stopped 88 of 96 shots (.917 SV%).
- Viktor Arvidsson, Mikey Anderson, Adrian Kempe and Carl Grundstrom all remain sidelined due to injury.
- Four Kings were tied atop the the scoresheet with two points on the week (Kevin Fiala, Matt Roy, Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar)
- The Kings power play went 0-for-5 in their three games, placing them 15th in the NHL (22.2%).
- The Kings penalty kill went 9-for-11 in their three games, ranking them 1st in the NHL (86.0%).
The Week That Is
The Kings are set to play four games this week, one at home and three on the road. The Kings will begin the week by closing out a five-game home stand at Crypto.com Arena against the New York Islanders on Monday night before setting out for a three-game road trip against a trio of Central Division opponents.
Beginning with that final game of the home five-game stand, the Kings will look to improve on the 2-1-1 record that they’ve posted in the first four games. Going up against the aforementioned Islanders, it’ll be the second and final tilt against the Long Island opponent this season. The Islanders are playing some of their best hockey of the season and will enter Monday on a six-game winning streak. Currently holding onto the final Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, the Islanders are under new head coach Patrick Roy who took over on January 20th. Under Roy, the Islanders have earned points in 12 of 17 contests (9-5-3) and the offense has come alive. Prior to Roy’s hiring, the Islanders offense ranked 24th in the NHL, averaging 2.93 goals per game. Since, they rank ninth (3.41 GF/GP). While there’s been an uptick in offense, one area of weakness is the penalty kill. The Islanders rank dead last in the NHL on the penalty kill, killing off just 71.4% of the power plays faced.
Two players to watch out for on the Islanders are the team’s leading scorer Mathew Barzal (20-46=66) and the league’s fourth leading defenseman in points Noah Dobson (8-56=64).
Following the Monday home game, the Kings will travel to St. Louis to face the playoff hopeful Blues on TNT and max. The Blues are clinging to the thought of making the playoffs as they sit eight points out of the playoffs and need to jump four teams. Currently on a three-game losing streak, the Blues have only scored three goals during that span and have struggled to produce offensive chances. The Blues rank 24th in the league in shots on goal and inner slot shots and are 26th in goals per game.
The Kings will then head to Chicago and face the NHL’s last place team, the Blackhawks. Despite the 17-43-5 record, you can’t take Connor Bedard lightly. The 2023 first overall pick has had a sensational rookie season with 46 points (19-27=46) in 51 games. Bedard leads all rookies goals and points despite missing 14 games due to a fractured jaw earlier in the season. As a team, the Blackhawks have struggled on both ends of the ice when it comes to the goals category. They rank last in goals for per game (2.11) and are 30th in goals against per game (3.57). That said, the Blackhawks are coming off of a season-high seven-goal performance against the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday in which Bedard notched a three-point effort (2-1=3). This will be the first of three game against the Blackhawks this season with two more scheduled for March 19th and the last game of the regular season, April 18th.
One night later, the Kings will travel south to Dallas and close out their road trip and season series against the Stars. Now 0-2-0 against the Stars this season after Saturday’s 4-1 loss, the Kings will look to end that matchup on a high note as they’ve been outscored 9-2 against Dallas so far. The Kings will have to slow the Arcadia native down as Jason Robertson has tallied 11 points (5-6=11) and is a +7 in seven career games against them.
Upcoming games this week:
- 3/11 vs. New York Islanders @ 7:30 (Bally Sports West)
- 3/13 @ St. Louis Blues @ 4:30 (TNT and MAX)
- 3/15 @ Chicago Blackhawks @ 5:30 (Bally Sports West)
- 3/16 @ Dallas Stars @ 5:00 (Bally Sports West)
