The Los Angeles Kings reached a major early season threshold Tuesday night: the end of their seven-game road trip to open the 2023-24 NHL season. They are almost certainly relieved to be back in the City of Angels after an emotionally taxing opening stint of games.
The Kings’ two most recent games are prime examples of the roller coaster these first few weeks have been.
On Sunday night, the Kings played their first game in Southern California in an away matchup against the Anaheim Ducks. Despite still being a road game, the Kings seemed energized to play in an arena with more of their fans than they’d seen all season. A solid amount of Kings fans made the drive down the I-5 and for the first time all season, cheers could be heard on the broadcast when the Kings scored.
The Kings gave their fans a show by scoring four goals in a 4-1 win over the rival Ducks. The offense played their part in the victory, but the blue line was most impressive in the result.
The Kings allowed only 14 shots on goal, and goalie David Rittich nearly shut out the Ducks until he allowed a goal with a minute and a half left.
This was a welcome sign for a defensive unit that is dealing with injuries to goalie Darcy Kuemper and star defenseman Drew Doughty. Vladislov Garikov was a standout for the Kings against the Ducks with a plus-minus of three and fellow defenseman Mikey Anderson was a force on both sides of the ice with two points to lead all skaters for the Kings.
The Kings outworked the Ducks on both ends of the ice and prevented Anaheim from ever getting into any kind of offensive rhythm. But the Kings’ fortunes quickly turned around in the place where good fortune goes to die: Las Vegas.
A mere two nights after their best defensive performance of the season, the Kings suffered their worst loss thus far, an ugly 6-1 blowout at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Knights looked comfortable in the offensive zone all night long, making the Kings defenders look tired and frantic by comparison.
Rittich, who has been the Kings’ starting goalie for the last three games following Kuemper’s injury, had an ugly night in goal.
Overall, Rittich had been doing an impressive job filling in as the starter, allowing only two goals in wins over the Ducks and the Montreal Canadiens. But playing in his third consecutive game, Rittich was a step too slow in handling the crisp shots fired by Vegas’s well-oiled offensive machine.
It’s likely fatigue caught up with him. He was not signed to be the Kings’ starting goalie and played in only 24 games last season compared to All-Star Cam Talbot’s 54 games. Being in goal for a third consecutive game at the end of a seven-game road trip is a heavy workload for any goalie, let alone a guy who’s used to being a backup.
Fortunately for the Kings, they expect Kuemper back this week when they play the San Jose Sharks in their home opener on Thursday Night.
Even if Kuemper is not back on Thursday, playing the Sharks will give the Kings an opportunity to rest Rittich and start Pheonix Copley. The game will also give the Kings’ defense a chance to regain the momentum from the two games against Montreal and Anaheim against a dysfunctional San Jose squad.
Sitting at 3-2-2 with eight points, the Kings are in a decent spot in fourth place in a rather competitive Pacific Division. With so many Western Conference teams looking impressive at the moment, LA needs to find more consistency to set themselves up for another postseason run.