The Los Angeles Kings earned their fourth win over the last five games, defeating Utah 3-2 at home today.
Caleb Jones came back into the lineup in place of Kyle Burroughs, paired with Jordan Spence. Meanwhile, Mikey Anderson and Vladislav Gavrikov were reunited, and Darcy Kuemper got his first start in nearly two weeks.
First Period
The Kings found themselves with an early power play and Kevin Fiala had a good chance from the slot, but it was stopped by Connor Ingram. Utah then had an excellent chance shortly afterwards, with Matias Maccelli finding Lawson Crouse with a great pass, but his chance was stopped by Kuemper.
Adrian Kempe drove to the net for a good chance a little later, before Warren Foegele was stopped on a partial breakaway, but then drew a penalty on a slash, which was quickly negated by a questionable Kevin Fiala penalty.
Jordan Spence did have a good chance from there off a rush, before Michael Kesslring had an opportunity the other way that was stopped by Kuemper. A Utah power play followed afterwards but the Kings had a good kill, and the game remained scoreless through 20 minutes after a fairly even frame.
Second Period
Utah had some chances early in the second period, before Alex Laferriere found Alex Turcotte for a good opportunity that was stopped by Ingram.
But with the Kings on a power play about a third of the way through the period, Brandt Clarke threw a shot on net that found its way in, opening the scoring.
Then with about seven minutes to go in the frame, Anze Kopitar got the puck over to Joel Edmundson off a scramble in front and he buried it, putting the Kings up by two.
Kevin Fiala took another penalty shortly afterwards though, and Utah capitalized, with Clayton Keller one-timing a puck past Kuemper, cutting the lead to one. It was a bit of a controversial sequence, given Mikey Anderson’s stick was knocked out of his hands in basically the exact same play that Fiala got the first period penalty for, but regardless, Los Angeles’ lead was cut in half.
Nick Schmaltz had a good chance from a slot a little later, but Los Angeles got to intermission with the 2-1 lead.
Third Period
Only a minute into the third period, the Kings managed to reinstate their lead, with Joel Edmundson putting a point shot on goal that took a deflection in front to get by Ingram.
The Kings did a pretty good job reducing time in their own end through the first half of the period, and Alex Turcotte had a really good chance to put the game away around the midway mark of the frame, but couldn’t beat Ingram.
However, just after Turcotte couldn’t convert and with the play now in the Kings’ end, Michael Kesselring just put the puck to the front of the net and Logan Cooley got a stick on it to tap it through Kuemper, cutting the lead to one.
Utah was then able to sustain some pressure late in the final few minutes, with the Kings stuck in their own end a little bit. Los Angeles did a good job limiting chances though despite all the pressure, and hung on for another 3-2 win.
Takeaways
Overall, this was a solid win for the Kings. It wasn’t a dominant performance by any means, and neither team necessarily carried any momentum for long stretches, but Los Angeles was better defensively than they’ve been through a lot of the season, not allowing a ton of great chances against.
The Kings maybe didn’t generate a ton of chances themselves, but I think given the way the early stretch of the season has gone, you take the trade-off for a more promising defensive outing.
Darcy Kuemper was also good in his return, stopping 23 of 25 shots. His .896 save percentage may not show it because of the loss in Ottawa, but Kuemper has been very solid in three of his four starts so far this season.
That said, Kevin Fiala continues to really struggle to find his groove, and ended up benched in the third period. Not only is he not producing at even strength, but the number of avoidable penalties he’s taken this season continues to climb. He’s basically only been effective when someone can get him the puck in a good spot in the offensive zone. For someone who brings value pretty much exclusively through offensive output, his two even strength points this season is a disastrous start, and he’s been more of a liability than an asset at times.
Through nine games though, the Kings have somehow managed a 5-2-2 record, making for one of the better points percentages in the Western Conference. It certainly hasn’t all been pretty, and their quality of competition has been relatively low, but they’re managing to get results lately.
Los Angeles will have a break until Tuesday, when they face the San Jose Sharks.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM OCTOBER
- Are the Kings destined to be a middle-of-the-pack team this season?
- Darcy Kuemper shines as Kings sneak out win over Sabres in season opener
- Kings come up short against Bruins, fall 2-1 in overtime
- Kings suffer OT loss to Senators in wild 15-goal game
- Kings fall behind early, give up six goals in loss to Maple Leafs
- Kings take down Canadiens to snap three-game skid
- Kings put forth another strong effort in win over Ducks
- Kings’ brief momentum comes to a halt in 6-1 loss to Golden Knights
- Kings hang on to beat Sharks in home opener
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