LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Saturday evening, who featured former Kings netminder Cam Talbot between the pipes. The game was the Red Wings’ second in two nights.
The Kings welcomed Tanner Jeannot back from suspension and Alex Turcotte from injured reserve, who aided the forward group with energy early on. LA’s constant forechecking provided offensive pressure on Talbot, who surrendered two goals within a 22-second span toward the end of the first frame.
“[The Red Wings] played last night, so what was important, I thought, was that we jumped on them quick,” said head coach Jim Hiller postgame. “We were the fresher team. We haven’t been the fresher team that often this year.”
Defenseman Mikey Anderson and Jeannot each lit the lamp in the first period to give fans something to cheer about heading into intermission. Each goal saw Kings skaters rush to each side of the goal, tactically using speed and deception to force the puck through. Trevor Moore notched an assist on Anderson’s goal, extending the Thousand Oaks native’s point streak to eight games and a total of 13 on the year.
Los Angeles kept up its offensive presence as the game progressed and limited Detroit’s opportunities. Adrian Kempe scored his eighth goal of the season 15 seconds into the third period on a breakaway, giving Los Angeles much-wanted insurance.
Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin ended David Rittich’s shutout bid, scoring a goal with less than a minute and a half left. But Kempe then sealed the game with an empty-netter, bringing him up to four goals in his last two appearances.
Notably, Hiller benched Turcotte in the second period. Hiller provided reasoning for this move, in that it didn’t have anything to do with Turcotte’s performance as he was coming off an injury.
“We were just going to try to get him about halfway through the game,” Hiller said. “I actually played him a little bit more than halfway through, because I thought he was playing well … [Benching him] was not based on his play at all.”
The team announced earlier in the day that forward Andre Lee — a 24-year-old depth piece who’s tallied two assists this season — would be loaned to AHL Ontario in the wake of the two forwards returning to the lineup. Questions surfaced about why Lee would be sent down and not Samuel Helenius, who’s three years younger and still very new to the NHL. But Hiller emphasized pregame that Lee could certainly receive more offensive-zone opportunities with the Reign, furthering his development as a forward.
Helenius’ physicality and checking ability shined for the Kings on the fourth line once again, as the 21-year-old broke up a Red Wings chance that led to Jeannot’s goal, sparking a quick rush off a blocked shot. As a well-sized center with room to grow, Helenius is fitting in nicely at hockey’s top level.
With Darcy Kuemper back on injured reserve, Rittich manned the crease well and didn’t have to deal with too much offensive pressure. The Kings called up 24-year-old Erik Portillo for backup support, who is yet to make his NHL debut. While Rittich’s save opportunities were sparse, he made solid saves while Detroit sprayed the puck into the slot on multiple occasions.
Neither team committed a penalty until the third period when Red Wings forward J.T. Compher was booked for slashing. This allowed the Kings to showcase their highly anticipated five-forward power play group with Kempe anchoring the offense. Though LA didn’t score, the unit created some good looks and will continue to prove itself as an innovative Hiller tactic.
Jacob Moverare provided quality minutes as a third-pair blueliner, playing simple and blocking four shots, tied for second on the team on the night.
“We blocked a lot, I thought [the Red Wings] had some really good looks,” Hiller said. “[Rittich] had to make — not a lot of saves — but some high-quality saves.”
Second-line center Phillip Danault set up his teammates for good looks right from the get-go. Danault recorded the primary helper on Anderson’s goal.
Unlike in some of its losses, LA played a complete game. The Kings started strong and outshot Detroit 41-18, allowing offensive rewards to come naturally. With the win, Los Angeles is 5-1-1 at home, with plenty more in-state games coming up on the schedule.
“Starting good is step one, but you want to make sure you can keep the foot down,” Anderson said. “Today, I think everyone was on the same page, and obviously got the result we wanted.”
At 10-6-3 overall, the Kings will host the 8-9-1 Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena. Buffalo is .500 in its last 10 games.