The Week That Was
The Kings winning streak made it two six games this past week before being snapped. Following that loss, the Kings responded strongly and closed out their week with a dominant four-goal win. All in all, the Kings went 2-1-0 on the week and now sit 18-9-3 on the season. The Kings 39 points is good for second in the Pacific Division and the NHL’s sixth most points.
Game Recaps:
Notable News From The Week That Was:
- Adrian Kempe's four-point (2-2=4) week led the Kings offensively. Kempe now has 30 points (15-15=30) in 30 games this season.
- Anze Kopitar’s three-assist week keeps him atop the team lead in points. Kopitar now has 34 points (8-26=34) in 30 games, four points clear of Adrian Kempe. The captain’s 34 points ranks tied for 19th in the NHL.
- Darcy Kuemper won both of his starts this past week to improve his record to 7-2-3. Kuemper stopped 50 of 52 shots faced in the two games combined and has won all three starts since returning from injury.
- The Kings power play went 0-for-5 in the three games, falling two places and now ranking T28th in the NHL (15.9%).
- The Kings penalty went 7-for-7 in the three games, moving up four places 11th in the NHL (81.2%).
The Week That Is
A well-traveled and busy four-game week awaits the Kings this coming week. A trio more of Metropolitan Division opponents, plus a day in Nashville is on the schedule for the Kings as they will wrap up their season-long seven-game road trip by weekend’s end.
The Kings will first see the rejuvenated Pittsburgh Penguins who have brought themselves back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture as of late. After starting the season 7-12-4 and ranking 29th in the NHL with 18 points on November 26th, the Penguins have had the league’s fourth best record since to rescue their season, going 6-2-1. During their current hot stretch, the Penguins offense has been their strength as they’ve averaged the NHL’s second-highest scoring offense at 4.22 goals per game during this time. Now just one point out of the final Wild Card spot in the very crowded Eastern Conference, the Penguins, the second oldest team in the NHL at 30.09 years old are led in all phases by their veterans. The Penguins top seven scorers are all in their 30’s and are led by Sidney Crosby’s team-high 22 assists and 30 points (8-22=30) through 32 games. While the scoring as of late has revitalized their season, the Penguins goaltending and defensive game have been liabilities all season long. The Penguins rank 31st in the NHL goals against per game (3.72 GA/GP) and last in the NHL at home in shots allowed per game (32.4 SA/GP). Heading into Tuesday, the Kings have had success against the Penguins as of late. Dating back to the past five seasons, the Kings have lost just once in regulation to Penguins, going 6-1-3.
Two nights later, the Kings will hit the NHL’s second Pennsylvania franchise, the Philadelphia Flyers. Currently one point ahead of the Penguins, the 14-13-4 Flyers have only won half of their games in regulation, while their seven overtime/shootout wins are the most in the NHL. The Flyers will enter Thursday’s game with a home record of 7-8-1 and have been outscored 45-51 at Wells Fargo Center in the city of brotherly love. Despite only averaging 2.81 goals per game at home, the Flyers have a pair of forwards to look out for. Beginning with their leading scorer Travis Konecny, the London, Ontario native has recorded a point in 10 of the last 12 games (4-9=13) and has 36 points (15-21=36) in 31 games. Alongside him is the NHL’s front runner for the Calder Trophy, rookie Matvei Michkov. The 20-year-old Russian leads all rookies in goals (11) and points (27) and ranks second on the Flyers in both categories. Even with the two elite scorers, the Flyers have struggled at home on the man advantage, averaging a league-low 11.1% on the power play. On the other of the ice, the Flyers have had three goalies play at least 10 games this season, the only team in the NHL to do so. That said, it’s been Samuel Ersson who has been their go-to guy as of late as the 6-foot-3 Swede has made three starts across four Flyers games since being activated off IR.
As the Kings hit the weekend, they’ll find themselves just off of Broadway Street in Nashville, Tennessee. Set to face the Predators for the second of three times this season and final time in Nashville, the Kings look to extend their winning streak in Bridgestone Arena to three games and win their fourth game in their last five tries there. Off to a very disappointing start, the Predators are 8-17-6 and are ranked 31st in the NHL standings, ahead of only the Chicago Blackhawks. Despite signing two of the biggest forward free agents over the offseason in Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, the Predators rank last in the NHL in scoring, averaging just 2.26 goals for per game. While their offense is better on home ice averaging 2.79 GF/GP, the Predators have not had wins translate at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators the third lowest amount of home wins in the NHL with five (5-7-2). The Predators are the only team in the NHL without a double digit goalscorer this season and while Marchessault only has seven goals on the season, the former Golden Knight has heated up as of late with five points (2-3=5) in his last three games. On the season, Marchessault ranks third on Predators in scoring with 18 points (7-11=18) in 31 games. Leading the Predators in scoring is former Norris Trophy winning defenseman and Switzerland native Roman Josi. Josi has notched 23 points (7-16=23) in 31 games, but unlike Marchessault, Josi has cooled off as of late, currently without a point in his last three games. Playing behind both Marchessault and Josi is the struggling goaltender Juuse Saros. Saros, who entered the season with back-to-back-to-back 30-plus win seasons goes into the week with a record of 6-14-5 and a 2.73 GAA. Saros has lost his eight starts (0-5-3) and has allowed at least three goals in each of those eight games with his last win coming against the NHL’s league-leading Winnipeg Jets on November 23rd. Following Saturday morning’s game, the Kings won’t see the Predators again until March 15th.
Shortly after the conclusion of Saturday’s game against the Predators, it’ll be wheels up and off to the nation’s capital for an early afternoon game (PST) on Sunday. The Kings will face the Eastern Conference’s best 21-6-2 Washington Capitals who could have a healthy Alex Ovechkin back in the lineup by the time the Kings see them. Ovechkin has returned to practice, but no timeline for his return has been set yet. Ovechkin led the NHL in goals with 15 at the time of his lower body injury back on November 18th, but the Capitals haven’t missed a step with his absence, going 8-2-1 without the sport’s greatest goalscorer of all time. While Ovechkin is always expected to be his team’s leader in goals, the man he’s tied with right now has really blossomed onto the scene this season. Currently tied with Ovechkin for the team lead in goals with 15, Connor McMichael, the former 2019 25th overall draft pick trails his career-high 18 goals in 80 games set last season by just three after 29 games played. One other player that is on pace to also shatter his previous career high’s is the Capitals points leader Dylan Strome. With a previous career-high of 67 points, also set last season, Strome is on pace for a 112-point season this year as the former third overall pick in the 2015 draft has 37 points (10-27=37) in 29 games. When the Kings drop the puck at Capital One Arena this coming Sunday, it’ll also be the first time they see former teammate Pierre-Luc Dubois since they traded him away for Darcy Kuemper over the summer. Seemingly working out for both teams so far, Dubois has 21 points (4-17=21) in the 29 games this season. Following the game Kings and Capitals will close out their season series on March 13th in LA.
Upcoming games and events this week:
- 12/17 @ Pittsburgh Penguins @ 4:00 (FanDuel Sports Network)
- 12/19 @ Philadelphia Flyers @ 4:30 (ESPN+, Hulu)
- 12/21 @ Nashville Predators @ 10:30 AM (FanDuel Sports Network, NHL Network)
- 12/22 @ Washington Capitals @ 2:00 (FanDuel Sports Network)
All Kings games can be heard on the ESPN LA App.
