The Week That Was
In a week that began with a disappointing lopsided loss, the Kings closed the week extremely strong and went 3-1-0. Finishing the week with three straight wins, the Kings record now sits at 14-8-3, placing the second in Pacific Division. Now 25 games into the 2024-25 regular season, the Kings trail the Vegas Golden Knights by just two points for the division lead and have the NHL’s seventh best record.
Game Recaps:
Notable News From The Week That Was:
- The Captain Anze Kopitar continues to produce offensively and led the Kings in points this past week with six (3-3=6) in the four games.
- Kopitar’s six-point week extends his team lead in points to five. Kopitar now has 29 points (8-21=29) in 25 games. The captain’s 29 points ranks tied for 16th in the NHL.
- Goaltender Erik Portillo made his NHL debut on Friday in Anaheim this past week. Portillo, the 6-6 Sweden native was originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft. Beginning his NHL career in dream fashion, Portillo was spectacular in his never to be forgotten start, stopping 28 of 29 shots faced while earning his first career win.
- The Kings power play went 2-for-9 in the four games and ranks 25th in the NHL (16.4%).
- The Kings penalty went 10-for-13 across the four games and rank tied for 14th in the NHL (80.0%).
The Week That Is
The Kings are set to play just twice this week. Currently riding a three-game winning streak, the Kings will be hosting a pair of playoff caliber Central Division opponents. The Kings will kick off their week with the Dallas Stars on national TV on Wednesday, followed by facing the league’s co-leading Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
First taking on the 15-8-0 Dallas Stars, the Kings will look to end their struggles against the Stars. Dating back to their last 18 meetings, the Stars have had their way with the Kings, going 14-4-0, including having one the last four games. Looking at the previous four games between the two clubs, the Stars have outscored the Kings 17-3. The Stars will enter Wednesday’s game against the Kings set to play in their second game of a three-game West Coast roadtrip. Eyes and focus not set on the Kings just yet, a Monday game awaits the Stars in Utah before they hit Los Angeles. Like the Kings, the Stars are also stingy defensively. The Stars are fourth in the NHL in goals against per game (2.68 GA/GP) and are sixth in shots allowed per game (27.2 SA/GP) Comparatively, the Kings also rank fourth in goals against (2.68) and first in shots allowed (24.2). Strong at home so far this season with a record of 9-2-0, the Stars haven’t been the same team on the road, going 5-6-0. Compared to averaging 3.73 goals per game at home, the Stars offense has been quieted away from Dallas as they’re currently averaging 3.18 goals per game on the road. The Stars defensive numbers also get worse on the road as they average giving up over a goal a game more outside of American Airlines Arena (2.09 GAA at home versus 3.27 GAA on road). Offensively, the veteran Matt Duchene has been the leader for the Stars with 27 points (12-15=27) in their 23 games. Also finding his stride and heating up is Wyatt Johnston, who is currently riding a six-game point streak (2-5=7).
This will be the first of three games against the Stars this season with the extra home game going in favor of the Kings.
Three nights later, the Kings will host the now NHL-best Minnesota Wild who will be on the second half of a back-to-back. Currently 16-4-4, the Wild are tied for the most points in the NHL. The Wild have a league leading 23 points on the road this season (10-1-3) and they're led by the league’s top scorer Kirill Kaprizov. Kaprizov has 38 points (15-23=38) in 23 games this season, one point clear of Carolina’s Martin Necas. While Kaprizov has tallied 17 points (10-7=17) in 18 games against the Kings, the Kings have held the superstar in check as of late. In Kaprizov’s last four games against the Kings, he’s notched only three points (2-1=3) and is a -5 with the Kings winning three of those four games.
On the other end of the ice for the Wild stands Filip Gustavsson. Gustavsson has solidified himself as the Wild’s clear cut number one goalie on the depth chart ahead of Marc-Andre Fleury and has done so in impressive fashion. Gustavsson leads the NHL in save percentage (.929%) and goals against average (2.05 GAA). Gustavsson is 11-4-3 so far this season, but is 2-4-0 with a 2.46 GAA in his career against the Kings. On that note, the Wild are first in the NHL in team defense, giving up just 2.33 goals per game and haven't surrendered more that four goals since the Kings tagged them for five back on November 5th.
Having defeated the Wild 5-1 in St. Paul earlier in the season, this will be the only game between the two teams in Los Angeles with a third game coming back in Minnesota in March, 2025.
Upcoming games and events this week:
All Kings games can be heard on the ESPN LA App.
