The Kings traveled to Las Vegas on Tuesday for the finale of their season opening seven-game road trip. Playing in their first of four games against the Golden Knights this season, the Kings began the game strong and had an early power play opportunity 4:58 in to show for it. Unable to take advantage, the Kings night went south real quick after committing their first penalty 8:24 into the game and it snowballed.
The Golden Knights cashed in on not only their first power play opportunity, but their second man advantage as well. It began with a Tomas Hertl second effort in front of the Kings net a man up to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead 9:07 into the first period, followed by a double deflection that saw Mark Stone net his first power play goal and third goal of the season just over four minutes later. Unfinished, the Golden Knights capped off the first period with a third goal from Pavel Dorofeyev, giving the home team a stranglehold on the game.
The Kings were able to halt the Golden Knights momentum in the middle stanza and cut into the 3-0 deficit. It took 19:07 to do so, but nonetheless Warren Foegele netted his first goal in a Kings jersey and gave the Kings a chance as they went into the third period trailing by two.
Trailing 3-1 entering the final 20 minutes of regulation, the Golden Knights quickly extended their lead back to three and continued to add to it with another three-spot in the period. Alexander Holtz netted his first goal with his new team after being acquired from the Devils in the offseason at the 2:59 mark. Hertl buried his second goal of the game 8:26 into the period with a rebound in the crease and Ivan Barbashev added to his team-high in goals with his fifth tally of the season with a one-time snap shot on the weakside slot to inevitably give the Golden Knights a 6-1 win.
David Rittich made his fourth consecutive start in place of the injured Darcy Kuemper and made 24 saves on 30 shots.
The Kings play next on Thursday when they make their 2024-25 home debut against the San Jose Sharks at 7:30 PM at Crypto.com Arena.
