LOS ANGELES — After going scoreless on five power plays and showing little offensive life against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Kings knew they would have to rebound against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.
Despite starting slow, LA’s offense woke up — and not only won 2-1 — but finally scored with the five-forward power play unit for the first time after going 0-for-6 since its enactment.
The Kings’ offensive zone entries were uninspiring in the first period, with errant passing, bad giveaways and limited slot chances. But coming out of intermission, Los Angeles played a simpler, cycling-based game to break its four-period scoring drought.
Forward Alex Turcotte has had an up-and-down season between battling injuries and inconsistency but has occasionally risen up with elite puck-facilitating ability when needed. Turcotte set up winger Adrian Kempe with a beautiful slot feed to break the Kings’ scoreless streak — and beat Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord, who had helped Seattle enter as the victor of four of its past five games. Kempe’s tally brought him to double-digit goals on the year.
It’s no secret that forward Quinton Byfield has been under a microscope since getting selected No. 2 overall by the Kings in 2020. 200 games and a contract extension later, Byfield is still under immense pressure due to not quite living up to his sky-high expectations yet.
Byfield broke out of his inconsistent skid in the second period and helped LA’s new-look power play unit get on the board. Byfield played back-and-forth with his teammates before slinging a one-timer from a sharp angle to double the lead.
QUINTON ON THE POWER PLAY pic.twitter.com/4TMbxS3RQ0
— LA Kings (@LAKings) November 23, 2024
“Sometimes you get the bounces, sometimes you don’t,” Byfield said postgame. “When that one went in, I was pretty happy there and just happy for the power play as well.”
In front of goaltender David Rittich, the Kings’ defense stood its ground. The Kraken mounted a last-gasp comeback as Brandon Montour scored while the team’s net was empty, but couldn’t capitalize further after making it a one-score game. Defenseman Mikey Anderson, in particular, displayed a sound defensive game, often shedding neutral zone entries to win puck battles.
“We had some defensemen that played really well, cleaned up a lot of stuff with sticks and shot blocks,” said head coach Jim Hiller.
Hiller didn’t execute any significant lineup changes, aside from recalling goaltender Pheonix Copley to back up Rittich, with 24-year-old Erik Portillo heading back to AHL Ontario to get some extra reps with the Reign. Starter Darcy Kuemper remains on injury reserve.
Regardless of the result, the Kings started slow, once again. Creating momentum early has been a tall struggle for Hiller’s group — and along with injuries and constant lineup alterations, the team hasn’t had a rhythm to ride on quite yet. While LA earned a power-play goal against the Kraken, many questions remain surrounding Brandt Clarke’s role as an extra-man facilitator, since Hiller spiced up the power-play lineup.
The Kings are also no stranger to missed opportunities. LA had a two-on-zero shorthanded chance with Byfield and Warren Foegele alone for a surefire score, but couldn’t get a clean shot on Daccord.
Rittich hasn’t allowed more than one goal in his last three starts and is filling his role nicely. He’ll likely get a rest in the coming days as the Kings have a couple of other netminders to pencil in, but he’s giving the team a chance to win every night.
“I think we played really well the last couple [games], so it wasn’t just today,” Rittich said. “But today we did something extra with obviously scoring goals, which gives us the opportunity to win. It was a good team win.”
Divisional wins matter regardless of how far the season has progressed. The Kings and Kraken aren’t separated by much in the standings, making this game critical for LA.
“The last five minutes, [the Kraken] really laid it on us,” Hiller said. “[Rittich] made an incredible save there at the end before they scored, and that was probably the biggest moment in the hockey game.”
The Kings will make a short trip to SAP Center in San Jose for another Pacific bout with the Sharks. The game will begin Monday at 7:30 p.m. as LA looks to avoid back-to-back losses to its in-state rival.