#LAKings Kings’ Adrian Kempe provides the ‘juice’ during recent surge (Daily News)

The Kings will roll into a rematch with the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night backed by the momentum of a pair of come-from-behind victories.
They scored three times on the power play and got no shortage of sustenance from the man they call “Juice,” forward Adrian Kempe in those wins. Kempe had four goals and five points in back-to-back wins in Vegas on Friday and Arizona on Saturday, including the overtime game-winner against the Golden Knights.
Kempe’s team-leading 23 goals for the season are a career high and place him in a tie for 16th league-wide.
His surge for the Kings this season harkens back to 2015, when his eight goals in 17 games as a recent arrival to North America helped power the Kings’ top minor-league affiliate to an American Hockey League championship. His energy and scoring prowess earned him the “Juice” sobriquet.
Unwavering commitment from Coach Todd McLellan and lots of work by Kempe on his finishing techniques during the offseason have allowed the 25-year-old to reprise his role as the straw that stirs the drink offensively.
“He’s just shooting more, getting better scoring chances,” Kempe’s linemate Alex Iafallo said. “I feel like he’s always in the right spot. But his release is quicker, and his one-timer is really good right now. It’s fun to watch.”
Kempe scored a power-play goal in each of the Kings’ past two games and defenseman Drew Doughty scored three of his four points on the power play last weekend. Their top man-advantage unit’s three-goal outburst in the back-to-back games equaled the production both units generated over their previous dozen contests.
“We were talking about it last week. They want us moving the puck faster, cycling it, getting things moving and (being) less stagnant,” Iafallo said. “I feel like everyone has been doing that, especially last game. We needed the power play to score, we need it to score every night.”
After giving up an early power-play goal to Vegas, the Kings’ penalty kill was also lights out and that excellence on special teams helped propel their rallies. McLellan remarked that in years past, a two-goal hole like the one the Kings were in Friday in the first period against a formidable side like Vegas would have sent the team into disarray if not despair.
Last season, the Kings won just two games when they trailed after the second intermission. They’ve done that four times this season already, including on Saturday. They are also 13-12-4 this season when their opponent scores first, a marked improvement from the acrid 7-21-7 mark they posted a year ago.
Arizona has excelled at shutting the door on opponents, having successfully protected seven of its mere eight leads through 40 minutes. The Coyotes haven’t shown much resilience when falling behind though, and they’ve done so often en route to compiling a 4-26-1 record when they’ve faced a deficit after 40 minutes.
The Kings have enjoyed success on the road in general lately, as well as in Arizona in particular. They’ve earned points in each of their last eight road games and won four in a row. They’ve also won their last six meetings with the Coyotes in Arizona. Until Saturday’s 5-3 win, in which the Kings scored four unanswered goals, the Kings’ victories in Arizona were all either by a single goal or by a two-goal margin resulting from an empty-net goal in the last gasps of regulation time.
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It has been a forgettable campaign for the Coyotes, who despite a victory over Dallas on Sunday remained in last place in the Western Conference. Winger Clayton Keller has been a bright spot with 44 points in 50 games. So, too, has defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who has rejuvenated his career in the desert.
Gostisbehere’s 30 points in 50 games lead all Coyotes’ defensemen and he is tied with veteran winger Phil Kessell for the team lead in power-play points. Gostisbehere has already played more games this season than in either of the past two campaigns.
His nearly 22 minutes per game are even more ice time than he was logging in 2017-18, when he amassed 65 points (33 on the power play) for the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers gave Arizona a second-round pick in exchange for absorbing his cap hit over the summer.
KINGS AT ARIZONA

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Where: Gila River Arena
TV/Radio: TNT / iHeartRadio


https://www.dailynews.com/2022/02/22...-recent-surge/