LOS ANGELES –– The Kings defeated one of the NHL’s hottest clubs and turned in a perfect afternoon on special teams as they bested the Seattle Kraken, 2-1, at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.
The Kings scored the game’s only power-play goal, reversing a troubling recent trend and were three-for-three on the penalty kill. They entered the match as losers of three of their last four games while Seattle had prevailed in five of its past six clashes.
Adrian Kempe scored, and Quinton Byfield added a goal in his 200th career game as a King. Anže Kopitar assisted on both goals. David Rittich stopped 19 shots, allowing just one goal in his past three starts.
Seattle’s Brandon Montour scored late as part of an impactful game for the former Ducks defenseman. Joey Daccord made 19 saves.
“It was a great game from the start,” winger Kevin Fiala said. “Both teams were going at it, with hits everywhere. I think both teams were engaged from the start to the finish.”
Two of the NHL’s 10 best teams defensively produced a predictably low-event first period –– while the Kraken and Kings once combined for 17 goals in a game, they had only nine combined shots in the opening 20 minutes –– but the Kings flipped the script with goals at the 4:19 and 6:03 marks of the middle frame.
First, it was the vision of Alex Turcotte synergizing the finishing ability of Kempe, who scored his team-best 10th goal of the season and his 11th point in his past 11 games.
Turcotte received the puck behind the net, curled toward the right-wing boards and sold a play along the wall as he sucked in four Kraken defenders. His no-look pass hit Kempe in the slot with Adam Larsson unable to close his gap and Daccord having little chance at Kempe’s searing short-side wrister.
Then, three weights were lifted at once: the power-play scored its first goal since Brandt Clarke’s empty-netter on Nov. 9, Fiala recorded his first point since he notched the Kings’ last power-play goal against a goalie on Nov. 5 and Byfield picked up his first goal since Nov. 7.
He scored his third goal of the year and the first for the newly configured top power-play unit with a kneeling one-timer from the right faceoff circle set up by Fiala. It was a goal that Seattle coach Dan Bylsma said dictated the pace and tone of the game, and one that could turn around Byfield’s relatively listless campaign.
“You could see [the emotion] on his face,” Fiala said. “It can get frustrating when it doesn’t go in for a few games. The most important thing is that we stick with it and we don’t give up.”
As it was on Kempe’s goal, the secondary assist was credited to Kopitar. The captain’s pair of helpers brought him to 14 points in his past 11 games. He has remained a beacon of consistency even in lean offensive stretches for the team.
“Being him,” Fiala said. “He’s a great player and he’s been a great player for a long time.”
“He’s very smart,” he added. “He’s big, he has a [long reach] and he knows where to be. He’s just making great plays right now.”
The Kings had the opportunity to slam the door at the end of the period when a bizarre series of events during a Seattle power-play left Byfield and Warren Foegele with a two-on-none shorthanded rush. After a staggering four passes across Daccord’s crease, Foegele’s eventual shot was negated by the handle of Daccord’s stick.
Byfield described the sequence as a “wild one” and a potentially once-in-a-career opportunity to have a shorthanded two-on-none rush, especially with so much time.
“We both thought [the play] was offside –– hopefully it was offside,” Byfield joked. “We both blew the zone, then (Joel Edmundson) shot it down and it was both of us two-on-zero. Each pass we made was kind of bad, the puck was bobbling, so we couldn’t get a clean shot. You’ve got to give it to the goalie, too, we shifted him quite a bit and he made a good save there.”
Foegele would have another brush with glory in the third period, right after Montour had two of his own. His slap shot was saved by Rittich but his follow-up bid beat the big Czech, only to dent the right post just below the crossbar.
Montour broke through 23 seconds after the Kings survived a pressurized six-on-four sequence when his slap shot roared past Rittich with 1:34 to play to break up his shutout.
Yet Seattle drew no nearer, which was also true in the standings, where they entered the night with a chance to catch the Kings but instead ended up four points behind.
“Teams like these, so close in the division, we’re going to have to beat these guys to get in[to the playoffs],” Montour said. “Our energy level, for the most part, all game, wasn’t there.”
Rittich has allowed just seven goals in his past six appearances, providing stability at a time when the Kings are again without newly acquired No. 1 goalie Darcy Kuemper.
“He’s playing unreal, making great saves everywhere,” Fiala said. “It was too bad he couldn’t get the shutout here, but it doesn’t matter. We feel very comfortable with him. He’s playing the puck well, he’s talking to us and right now he’s at the top of his game.”
