Kings Notes:
Only New Jersey's Jack Hughes (15) and Boston's David Pastrnak (13) have scored more goals since Jan. 1 than Adrian Kempe (12). On Saturday, Kempe become the 15th different skater in franchise history to record a four-goal game and the first since Dustin Brown on April 5, 2018 vs. Minnesota. It also marked the first time in Kings history a player scored four straight goals in a game and just the seventh such occasion in the league over the past 30 years, following David Backes (Jan. 6, 2015), Ilya Kovalchuk (Nov. 11, 2005), Dany Heatley (Oct. 29, 2005), Patrik Elias (March 30, 2003), Wendel Clark (Nov. 9, 1996) and Peter Bondra (Feb. 5, 1994).
The Kings' special teams units have found consistent success in the new year, finding both their power-play percentage (PP%) and penalty killing percentage (PK%) top-five in the league. The Kings have scored 12 power-play goals in 42 man-advantage opportunities, including three in their last two games, for a power-play percentage (PP%) of 28.6%, the second-best in the league since Jan. 1. On the penalty kill, the
Kings have allowed just six power-play goals in 42 shorthanded situations for a PK% of 85.7, the fifth-highest in the league since Jan. 1. Only Edmonton (32), Ottawa (31), Toronto (30) and Tampa Bay (29) have more goals on the man-advantage at home this season than LA (28). If the regular season were to end today, the Kings' 28.3% home PP% would be the best it has ever been in franchise history to end the year.
Tonight's game will mark the 427th with Rob Blake as General Manager of the organization. Since his hiring in 2017, the Kings have established a 199-179-48 record. With one more win, Blake can become the fifth General Manager in franchise history to see 200 regular season wins under their tenure. Should the Kings win one of their next 12 games, Blake will become the fastest General Manager in franchise history to reach 200 wins under his leadership.
With a point tonight, Jaret Anderson-Dolan can extend his point streak (2-1=3) to a career-long four games.
The Kings are 6th in faceoff win percentage (52.4%).
The Kings power play ranks 7th in the NHL (24.5%).
The Kings penalty kill ranks 27th in the NHL (74.9%).
Sabres Notes:
The Sabres are 0-2-0 in their last two games and allowed 12 goals during that time.
The Sabres are 32th in faceoff win percentage (45.2%).
The Sabres power play ranks 5th in the NHL (25.4%).
The Sabres penalty kill ranks 29th in the NHL (73.2%).
Who to Watch:
Adrian Kempe, who leads the Kings in goals with 26. Kempe is coming off his first career four-goal game.
Tage Thompson, who has 35 goals and 69 points in 51 games, one more point than Thompson all last season.
