A night after losing to the dead-last San Jose Sharks, and eight days after getting blown out 6-1 by the Vegas Golden Knights, rebounding from embarrassment was on the Kings’ minds in multiple facets.
Los Angeles took on the same Knights, this time on home ice Wednesday night, and completely flipped the script, winning 6-3.
The Kings knew they would have to start fast offensively, going up against a Golden Knights team leading the NHL in goals per game with 4.70.
Fortunately, LA started fast, scoring two goals in the first period, and played its most complete game of the season offensively, scoring two goals in each of the second and third frames to race out to a 6-1 lead before ultimately defeating Vegas.
The Kings played very well in transition all night, quickly turning their defense into offense, which fueled their high-octane offensive effort. The Kings scored their first, second, fourth and fifth goals of the night in transition.
The return of left winger Kevin Fiala played a huge role in the Kings’ bounce-back offensive effort. Fiala was benched in the loss to the Sharks for missing a team meeting, which he missed because his alarm didn’t go off.
Fiala was an instant spark for the Kings with a two-point night. He got on the board with a beautiful move around Jack Eichel after a smooth spinning pass from Anže Kopitar for the Kings’ fifth goal of the night, then assisted on Joel Edmundson’s goal a minute and a half later to put the Kings up 6-1.
“[Fiala’s] a gamebreaker,” Kopitar said postgame. “We need him to get on the scoresheet, we need him to play all over the ice.”
Speaking of Kopitar, he recorded his 800th career assist on Fiala’s goal and led the Kings with three points on the night. He became the fifth player born outside the United States to record 800 career assists as well as the fourth active player to reach the mark.
Head coach Jim Hiller said Kopitar was just being Kopitar.
“I don’t know what can be said that hasn’t been said already, other than he’s another year older, and he just keeps going,” Hiller said. “The fact that he’s still able to be that impactful at that age is really incredible.”
Kopitar — 37 years of age and the Kings’ captain — is going to need to play at a similarly high level moving forward if the Kings are going to endure the absence of blueliner Drew Doughty.
Fortunately, they are also benefiting from the return of goaltender Darcy Kuemper. In his second game back from injury, Kuemper stopped 23 of 26 shots, with two of the three goals coming after the game was already decided. Kuemper looked healthy and energetic, which should be an encouraging sign for the Kings.
The Kings have also been encouraged by the play of Alex Laferriere, who continues to lead the team in goals with six, and Brandt Clarke, who continues to energize the Kings fanbase with his highlight reel-level play. He added to his growing highlight reel Wednesday night with a spinning pass to Kopitar, completely baffling Knights’ goalie Ilya Samsonov and leaving Kopitar wide-open to put the puck into the net.
Contributions from up and down the roster and big performances from unexpected players stepping up in needed moments are both things the Kings are going to need if they are going to compete for a Stanley Cup.
Los Angeles will enjoy a much-needed day off Friday before facing Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena.