The Kings played their second home game of the season on Saturday when they welcomed the NHL’s newest franchise, the Utah Hockey Club to town. In what was the first ever NHL regular season game between the two clubs, meeting for the first of three times this season with another home game and a trip to Salt Lake City still on the schedule.
Shades of Thursday’s game seemingly popped up on Saturday as the Kings took home a 3-2 victory and had to handle a trailing visitor team trying to fight their way back into the game. Like Thursday, the Kings had a strong first period, but this time couldn’t find the back of the net and went through the first 20 minutes scoreless.
Enter period two and the Kings offense arrived. Late in a power play, Brandt Clarke showcased his elite agility and rifled a wrist shot through traffic that ultimately deflected off of a Utah stick and into the net. A handful of minutes later, Joel Edmundson netted his first goal with the Kings by crashing the Utah net and deposited the loose puck across the goal line with 6:50 to go in the period. The Kings 2-0 lead lasted 2:45 as Utah’s newly anointed captain Clayton Keller ripped his own wrist shot through traffic as a Kings penalty expired and cut the deficit in half.
The Kings took a 2-1 lead into the final period and it took just 1:09 for the good guys to extend their lead back to two. Netting his second goal of the game, Edmundson notched his first career two-goal game in the NHL in career game 537. Another point shot through traffic found its way past Utah’s Connor Ingram and gave the Kings a 3-2 lead. Up by a pair of goals, the Kings lead was cut in half again midway into the period. Emerging star Logan Cooley knocked in a pass from another emerging star in Dylan Guenther in front on the net and tightened the score. From there, the Kings defense clamped down and helped Darcy Kuemper earn his first home win of the season.
Kuemper, who returned to the crease for the Kings after sustaining lower body injury in Ottawa earlier this season stopped 23 of 25 shots. Kuemper now has a record of 2-0-2.
