Kings Notes:
The Kings are set to play in their 11th set of back-to-back games on the year this weekend. Only Boston (.833%) and Colorado (.727%) have a higher points percentage in back-to-backs this season than the Kings (.700%).In the first half of back-to-backs this campaign, the Kings are 7-2-1 with a .750 PTS%, also the third-best in the league.
The LA Kings haven't been afraid to sacrifice the body as of late, including getting in front of shots. The Kings have blocked at least 15 or more shots in four of their last five games. With 10 blocked shots on Thursday night in Edmonton, the Kings blocked shot count on the season increased to 1,204, the sixth-most in the league. Since the league started tracking blocked shots in the 2005-06 season, no Kings team has recorded more blocked shots than this year's. Leading the way for the Kings in blocked shots is defenseman Matt Roy with 141 through 75 games. Anze Kopitar leads all Kings forwards in the blocked shot count with 81, which is also third-most in the league among forwards.
The Kings have been one of the toughest teams in puck battles this season, especially in the neutral and defensive zones. The Kings' 32.9% neutral zone (NZ) contested loose puck recovery (LPR) rate tops all teams while their defensive zone (DZ) contested LPR rate (31.5%) sits in third behind only New Jersey (32.4%) and Calgary (31.9%). The team's overall contested LRP rate of 29.0% ranks second in the league this season behind only Boston (29.6%).
The LA Kings are coming off one of the best single month performances in franchise history, establishing a 9-2-2 record for a .769 points percentage (PTS%), the third-best in the league last month. The Kings were even more impressive at home, winning a league-high eight games to tie the franchise record for most home wins in a single month (March, 1974; 8-2-1-0). No team allowed fewer goals in March than the Kings (27) while their 2.08 goals against-per game ranked second behind Boston (2.07).
The Kings power play ranks 4th in the NHL (25.2%).
The Kings penalty kill ranks 23rd in the NHL (75.5%).
The Kings are 3rd in faceoff win percentage (53.3%).
Kraken Notes:
The Kraken are 12-8-2 against the Pacific Division and are 3-0-0 against the Kings this season.
The Kraken power play ranks 23rd in the NHL (19.2%).
The Kraken penalty kill ranks 25th in the NHL (75.1%).
The Kraken are 31st in faceoff win percentage (45.3%).
Who to Watch:
Vladislav Gavrikov, who leads the league in successful neutral zone stick checks (49).
Vince Dunn, who leads the Kraken blue line with 61 points (13-4=61).
