The Week That Was
The Kings began this past week with an 0-1-1 record in search of that first win. Thankfully, Kings fans didn’t have to wait long as the team picked up a pair of road victories during the week before heading back to Los Angeles for a monumental weekend game.
Beginning their week of gameplay in Winnipeg on Tuesday night, the Kings faced off against three familiar faces; Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and Gabriel Vilardi. The three forwards were all traded to the Jets along with a second-round pick for Pierre-Luc Dubois. In his first return to Winnipeg since that trade, Dubois had a sparkling game as he picked up the first goal of the game and his first goal as a King. With the goal coming against his former team, Dubois became the eighth member in franchise history to score their first goal with the Kings against his most recent former club.
Following the Dubois icebreaker, the line of Trevor Moore, Phillip Danault and the newly inserted Arthur Kaliyev took over the game. Kaliyev, who was playing in his first game of the season after serving a two-game suspension to begin the year fit in seamlessly with the new look line as the trio combined for the team’s remaining four goals of the game. Moore (2-1=3), Danault (1-2=3) and Kaliyev (1-1=2) combined for eight points. On the other of the ice, Cam Talbot played his best game as a King, taking a shutout 58:44 into the game, stopping 26 of 27 shots.
The Kings then took the momentum of their win over the Jets into St. Paul, Minnesota and defeated the Wild 7-3. In a football score, the Kings played another solid road game that earned them their second win in as many games. Carl Grundstrom kicked off the scoring early against the Wild, but it was again Dubois who had another big game on the road trip. Scoring two goals just 12 seconds apart, the third fastest in franchise history, Dubois gave the Kings a lead that they would not give back. Having come from behind after trailing 2-1 late in the first period, the Kings with the help of Dubois’ two tallies scored four straight goals, pushing the lead to 5-2 and put some space between the two teams. Ultimately, the Kings added a pair of empty net goals and flew home four of a possible four points on the trip.
Back home for a Saturday night game, it was a monumental moment in franchise history as captain Anze Kopitar became the all-time leader in games played in Kings history, suiting up for his 1,297th career game. In doing so, Kopitar passed longtime teammate Dustin Brown.
As for the game, the Kings failed to pick up their first win on home ice, falling 4-2 to the Boston Bruins. After falling behind 1-0, Kopitar wasn’t the only King who had a night to remember as Alex Laferriere recorded his first career NHL goal. Laferriere found the back of the net midway into the game to even the score 1-1 when he took an outlet pass from Dubois for a contested breakaway and beat Jeremy Swayman blocker-side. Both Dubois and Kevin Fiala picked up assists on the Laferriere goal. For Fiala, the assist was his seventh of the season, tying him for third in the NHL in helpers. As for Dubois, the assist was his first as a King.
The Bruins would go on to net three of the four remaining goals in the game and beat the Kings.
Notable News From The Week That Was:
Anze Kopitar became the all-time leader in games played in franchise history on Saturday playing in his 1,297th game. Kopitar passed longtime former teammate Dustin Brown.
Arthur Kaliyev returned to the Kings’ lineup after serving his two-game suspension to begin the season. Kaliyev appeared in all three games this past week and picked up three points (1-2=3).
Cam Talbot started all three games for the Kings this past week. Talbot went 2-1-0 and stopped 84 of 92 shots, good for a .913 SV%.
The Kings power play went 2-for-11 across the three games, placing them 15th in the NHL (17.4%).
The Kings penalty kill went 11-for-12 in the three games, placing them 6th in the NHL (89.5%).
The Week That Is
The Kings will start the week with back-to-back games in a home-and-home situation against their former division rival, the Arizona Coyotes. Now in the Central Division, the Kings will face the Coyotes twice in a span of four days and then one more time this season on November 19th. First at home on Tuesday and then on the road in Arizona on Friday, we’ll have 120 minutes straight of guaranteed regulation play between the two teams. The Coyotes are out to a 3-2-0 start this season and currently sit third in the Central Division. Led by star forward Clayton Keller, the forward is off to a great start with six points (3-3=6) in his first five games. Also matching Keller in the point department in Nick Schmaltz (2-4=6). As a team, the Coyotes rank seventh on the power play (29.2%), 28th on the penalty kill (68.8%) and rank third in the NHL in goals against per game (1.80 GA/GP). In their last 10 games against the Coyotes, the Kings are 4-6-0.
Closing out this coming week’s schedule will be another home game on Saturday, this time against the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights. This will be the first time the Kings see the Golden Knights since the team from sin city raised the cup last spring. No hangover so far for the Golden Knights, as they are out to an NHL-leading 6-0-0 start and have outscored their opponents 24-11. Through the six games that the Golden Knights have played, five players are averaging at least a point-per-game (Chandler Stephenson, Jack Eichel, William Karlsson Shea Theodore, Mark Stone). Defensively, the Golden Knights have been stingy, allowing just 1.83 goals against per game.
Upcoming games this week:
10/24 vs. Arizona Coyotes @ 7:30 (Bally Sports West)
10/27 @ Arizona Coyotes @ 7:00 (Bally Sports West)
10/28 vs. Boston Bruins @ 7:30 (Bally Sports West)
2023-10-23 14:30:43
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