The Week That Was
It was a perfect week for the Kings as they went 3-0-0, all on home ice. A pair of dominant wins on back-to-back nights during the week set the stage for a weekend thriller that took overtime to earn the six and final point of the week. With a clean sweep this past week, the Kings record moves to an impressive 37-22-11, good for a two point lead over the Vegas Golden Knights for the third seed in the Pacific Division playoff picture.
The Kings started the week with a game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night, seeing their opponent for the second time in a span of five nights. Having defeated them 5-0 in Chicago on March 15th, the Kings followed that up with another convincing 6-2 victory. Each team traded goals in the first period, Alex Laferriere with a backhand rebound tally for the Kings and Nick Foligno with a 5-on-3 goal for the Blackhawks. Following the first intermission, it was all Kings. Three goals for the Kings in second period, with two of those coming from captain Anze Kopitar separated themselves from the Blackhawks on the scoreboard. Further distancing themselves in the third period, goals from Phillip Danault and Trevor Lewis gave the Kings a well-earned two points.
One night later, the Kings picked up right where they left off the previous night and blew out the Minnesota Wild 6-0. With the Wild entering Wednesday’s game on an eight-game point streak (6-0-2), the Kings quickly put that to an end. With offensive contributions from Danault, Kevin Fiala and Viktor Arvidsson in the first period, three goals in the opening 20 minutes gave the Kings the momentum they needed to put this game out of reach early in the night. The first period was highlighted by Kopitar earning his 1,200th career point when he recorded the primary assist on Fiala’s power play goal at the 15:03 mark. Not done scoring, the Kings potted another three goals in the second period as Matt Roy, Jordan Spence and Kopitar each found the back of the net to extend the lead to six goals. The final 20 minutes saw no offense, but it did see the ejection of six players on each team due to 10-minute game misconduct penalties as the referees attempted to keep this from getting out of hand during the blowout victory.
Enter the weekend and the Kings hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Holders of the top Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Lightning also entered the night hot, winners of five straight games. The Kings played from in front for the majority of the night on Saturday, beginning with a beautiful opening goal by Adrian Kempe tapping in a backdoor pass from Kopitar 7:03 into the first period. Like Tuesday’s game against the Blackhawks, the Kings again surrendered a power-play goal in the final minute of the first period to cough up a lead. Knotted at 1-1 to begin the second period, the Kings took retook the lead over the Lightning just 2:18 into the period when the team’s leading goalscorer Trevor Moore buried his 27th goal of the season after a second effort by Pierre-Luc Dubois fed him the puck backdoor. Another early goal in the third by Mikey Anderson extended the Kings lead to 3-1, but a pair of one-timers by Lightning captain Steven Stamkos with under five minutes to go in regulation evened the score and sent the game into overtime. The decider came early into the 3-on-3 session when Vladislav Gavrikov was sitting for a breakaway just 25 in and called game with a shot that beat Andrei Vasilevskiy low-blocker.
Notable News From The Week That Was:
- The Kings hold a record of 14-7-1 under Interim Head Coach Jim Hiller.
- Viktor Arvidsson returned to the Kings lineup on Wednesday versus the Wild and appeared in two game this week. Arvidsson had missed the previous 14 games due to a lower-body injury.
- Carl Grundstrom remains sidelined due to injury.
- Anze Kopitar (3-4=7) and Adrian Kempe (1-6=7) each led the way offensively across the three-game week with seven points.
- The Kings power play went 3-for-8 in their four games, placing them 12th in the NHL (22.3%).
- The Kings penalty kill went 6-for-9 in their four games, ranking them 1st in the NHL (85.6%).
The Week That Is
Following the three-game home stand that the Kings just concluded, they now set out for a four-game Canadian road trip, three of those coming this week. With two of the Kings’ three opponents being ahead of them in the standings, the week proves to be pivotal when in comes to the positioning in the playoff picture. A Monday night game against the division leading Vancouver Canucks kicks off the week, followed by the two Alberta residents in the NHL; a Thursday game versus the Edmonton Oilers and a Saturday tilt against the Calgary Flames.
Monday’s game against the Canucks will be the third of four matchups against the NHL’s top team as it currently stands. Already 1-0-1 against the 45-18-8 Canucks this season, the Kings defeated their Canadian opponent 5-1 in their only previous trip to Vancouver back on Leap Day, February 29th. The Canucks pose a dangerous offensive threat as they rank fifth in the NHL in scoring, averaging 3.51 goals per game. With three 30-goalscorers in Brock Boeser (36), J.T. Miller (34) and Elias Pettersson (33), alongside Thatcher Demko, the NHL’s second ranked goalie in wins (34), the Canucks hold the league’s best goal differential of +60. Not to be forgotten, Canucks captain Quinn Hughes continues to lead all defensemen in scoring with 80 points (13-67=80) across 71 games this season. Hughes sits two points ahead of the Avalanche’s Cale Makar (18-60=78). The Kings and Canucks will meet once more after Monday, set to close out their season series in Los Angeles on April 6th.
The Kings will have two days off after Monday’s game in Vancouver before going up against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. In what will be their fourth and final game against the Oilers this regular season, it may not be the last time the two teams face off against each other. The two teams are holders of second and third seed in the Pacific Division and could see each other in the first round of the playoffs for the third consecutive season if the standings remain the same across the last three weeks of the regular season. Led by no other than Connor McDavid, the center leads the NHL in assists (91) and ranks third in points (26-91=117). The Oilers will be returning home to play the Kings on Thursday after a three-game road trip, where they are currently 0-2-0.
Last on the week’s schedule is the Kings’ third of four meetings against the Calgary Flames. It’ll be the last time the Kings travel to Calgary this season as they hope to improve on their 1-1-0 record versus the Flames. Having dropped their only previous trip to the Saddledome 4-2 on February 27th, the Kings will go up against a Flames team that has traded away multiple pieces at the deadline in key blueliners Chris Tanev (DAL) and Noah Hanifan (VGK). The Flames are currently on a three-game losing streak, giving up an average of 4.33 goals per game. Like the Oilers, the Flames will be returning home to Calgary to play the Kings in their first of two straight home games. One player to be on the lookout for is rookie and 2020 first-round draft pick Connor Zary, who currently leads all rookies in plus/minus with a +15 rating and has 27 points (12-15=27) in 52 games this season.
Upcoming games this week:
- 3/25 @ Vancouver Canucks @ 6:00 (Bally Sports West)
- 3/28 @ Edmonton Oilers @ 6:00 (Bally Sports West)
- 3/30 @ Calgary Oilers @ 7:00 (KCAL)
