The Week That Was
The Kings suffered their first sub .500% week this past week, going 1-2-0. Dropping their first two games to begin their week on the road, the Kings did bounce back after returning home for a weekend tilt.
Game Recaps:
Notable News From The Week That Was:
- We had a three-way tie atop the Kings scoring leaders this past week as Anze Kopitar (0-4=4), Adrian Kempe (4-0=4) and Trevor Moore (1-3=4) all had four points across the three games.
- Adrian Kempe’s back-to-back two-goal performance this past weekend catapulted him into a tie with Alex Laferriere for the team lead in goals. Each player now has nine goals on the season.
- Kopitar continues to lead the Kings in scoring with 21 points (5-16=21) in 19 games.
- Darcy Kuemper left the game against the Colorado Avalanche in the third period with an undisclosed injury. Kuemper has since been placed on injured reserve.
- The Kings power play went 0-for-3 in the three games and ranks 26th in the NHL (16.7%).
- The Kings penalty went 5-for-5 across the three games and also ranks 20th in the NHL (77.1%).
The Week That Is
The Kings have a light week ahead when it comes their game schedule. Set to play in just two games this week, both games will be at home. It’ll be four days between games for the Kings as a Wednesday night date with Buffalo Sabres is the next game on the calendar. Following the midweek tilt, the Kings will then go up against the division rival Seattle Kraken in a Saturday matinee.
Beginning with the Sabres, New York’s northern most team will enter Wednesday’s game ready to play in their second game of a four-game road trip. Having lost the road trip opener 5-2 in Philadelphia on Saturday, the Kings will see a well-rested team despite having traveled all the way across the country. As it stands, the Sabres are 8-9-1 and sit two points shy of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Come Wednesday, the status of two of the Sabres top players is still unclear. Starting with the Sabres top goalscorer, Tage Thompson was placed on injured reserve with a lower body injury last week but is eligible to return to the lineup on Wednesday. Thompson’s 11 goals on the season is tied for seventh in NHL and the 6-foot-6 forward has notched goals in four straight games. The availability of starting goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has also yet to be determined as the Fin has missed the Sabres last two games due an undisclosed reason. Both Thompson and Luukkonen have been skating.
Turning to those who are healthy on the Sabres, their captain Rasmus Dahlin is definitely one to watch for. Dahlin currently ranks second among NHL defensemen in goals with five and has 16 points (5–11=16) in 18 games. Very much the cornerstone piece to their blueline, the former first overall draft pick ranks 10th in the NHL in time on ice, averaging 24:40 per night. Also lighting it up at the moment for the Sabres is JJ Peterka. Peterka will enter Wednesday riding a six-game point streak in which he’s accumulated eight points (3-5=8). Having defeated the Sabres 3-1 in the season opener back on October 10th, this will be the second and final matchup between the two teams this season.
Three nights later, the Kings will welcome in the 9-9-1 Seattle Kraken. It’ll be the first of four games between the two teams this seasons, with the following trio of games coming in the new year. Set to close out their six-game home stand on Wednesday against the Nashville Predators, the Kraken will travel to LA and gave the Kings in what will be their first road game in 18 days. Currently 3-5-0 on the road this season, the Kraken’s Jared McCann will be the center point of the Kings focus. McCann leads the Kraken in scoring by 10 points with 21 points (9-12=21) in 19 games. McCann is the only Kraken player with an over a point-per-game average on the season. With only McCann consistently lighting the lamp, the Kraken rank 18th in scoring in the NHL. Meanwhile, back on the other end of the ice, the Kraken have had two very different results depending on who takes the blue paint. Joey Daccord has been stellar in net with an 8-3-1 record and .918 SV%, while veteran goalie Phillipp Grubauer has struggled immensely, going 1-6-0 to begin the season.
Upcoming games and events this week:
All Kings games can be heard on the ESPN LA App.
