LOS ANGELES — In what was only their fifth home game of 2025, the Los Angeles Kings came into their matchup against the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday night seeking to exploit distinct advantages they had in two areas.
Firstly, scheduling —this marked the third game in four days for the Canadiens — whereas the Kings hadn’t played since Saturday. And secondly, a major defensive reinforcement, as star blueliner Drew Doughty made his home debut for the 2024-25 season after sitting out with a lower-body injury.
Ultimately, energy and outstanding performances from certain defensemen were big keys to the Kings’ 6-3 victory, plus another signature performance from left winger Kevin Fiala.
This difference in calendrical density was immediately apparent at the start of the game. The Kings came out with way more energy than the Canadiens, especially on offense. LA’s shooting was a step out of rhythm, however, possibly because the team’s longer layoff made it so they needed just a few extra minutes to get in sync.
As a result, the Kings missed several excellent shot-on-goal opportunities with much of the screen wide open. Their energy looked great, but they were stumbling around a bit near the net.
But the opportunities paid off when defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov launched a sizzling wrist shot toward the opposite top corner of the net, and it whizzed past Montreal Goalie Jakub Dobes to give the Kings an early 1-0 lead.
The Kings’ energy stayed high for most of the first period, and they outshot the Canadiens 13 to 7. But a few more mistakes and some gritty defense by Montreal kept the deficit at just one when the first horn sounded.
Perhaps energized by only facing a one-goal deficit despite its obvious sluggishness, Montreal came out with a bit more energy in the second period. The Canadiens were able to unleash several shots on goal, and one of them happened to get a great ricochet.
Habs’ defenseman Mike Matheson’s shot caromed off the back of Doughty, off the shoulder of Los Angeles goaltender Darcy Kuemper and into the net. Suddenly, the Canadiens had tied the game at one.
The Kings seemed to have a fire lit underneath them after their sudden twist of luck, as they almost instantaneously began dominating possession of the puck again. This time, the Canadiens helped them out on one of their golden opportunities. Left winger Warren Foegle had a good opportunity to score on a breakaway, but the Canadiens’ defensemen gave him an even better one, tripping Foegle up and giving him a penalty shot.
Fogele deked out Dobes on the penalty shot, burying it and giving the Kings the lead once again.
The veteran could only laugh when asked about the rare play postgame, but he relished in being able to convert the opportunity. He also said the Kings had just worked on breakaway scenarios in practice the day before, which helped him to be ready when the situation arose.
“Kudos to assistant coach Derik Johnson, he was working with a couple of us yesterday in film on breakaways and things like that,” Foegle said. “It’s funny how that works, working on video and then the next day you get that opportunity.”
Neither squad scored for the rest of the second frame. Both appeared frustrated at different points, the Kings because of their inability to convert their excellent offensive opportunities and the Canadiens because of their lack of opportunities at all. The period was riddled with penalties, and tensions boiled as the teams got close to fighting several times.
But the Kings channeled their energy in the third period to come out on an offensive mission. Defenseman Brandt Clarke took a pass from Anze Kopitar and knifed the puck into the net past Dobes to give the Kings their first multi-goal lead of the night.
Clarke has had to deal with a couple healthy scratches recently as head coach Jim Hiller tries to figure out what the lineup looks like with Doughty back. But, his character has keyed a motivated response to being forced to sit out games.
“To have that self-confidence, I’ve talked about that with [Clarke], it is a strength,” Hiller said. “I think he was frustrated with [being scratched], and he accepted it, and was ready to play when called upon.”
The lead Clarke gave the Kings wouldn’t last long. Canadiens defenseman Alexandre Carrier floated a puck into the top of the net just a few minutes later to bring the score within one once again.
The Kings’ offense just continued to chug along. Fiala continued his scorching start to February with a goal to put the Kings back up by two.
But again, a high shot beat Kuemper to keep the game close. This time it was off the stick of Mailloux, who had committed the crucial penalty earlier in the game. The scrappy Habs just wouldn’t quit.
Hiller admitted that the Kings felt pressure throughout the night, but he applauded his team’s response.
“It took the wind out of our sails a little bit when they scored those odd goals, but we stuck with it,” Hiller said.
But despite the Canadiens’ offensive scrappiness, the Kings had just completely worn down their defense. Gavrikov played a great two-man game with Fiala, who buried his second shot of the night to put the Kings up two again, 5-3.
Hiller was complimentary of Gavrikov’s facilitation on the play.
“I thought [Gavrikov] made a great play to give it back to [Fiala],” Hiller said. “Sometimes you can say, ‘Oh, it’s an open pass lane,’ but there’s a certain subtlety and timing, and you gotta hit the sweet spot. I thought the touch on the puck was a really good touch for Gav on that play.”
And finally, left wing Trevor Moore put the game away once and for all with an empty-net goal, solidifying the Kings’ 6-3 victory.
With 10 goals in their last two games, the Kings seemed to be breaking out of their offensive slump that has hampered them for quite some time.
The Kings’ third line of Fiala, center Quinton Byfield and right wing Alex Laferriere were especially impactful for the Kings all night long. Fiala and Byfield were the first and second stars for the Kings respectively, as Fiala had two goals and Byfield three assists.
Hiller feels that the line is having so much success because their playing style just fits together.
“I think [Fiala] and [Laferriere] are probably a little bit more pure offensive players, and [Byfield] just does a great job of complimenting them offensively, yes, but also taking care of them defensively,” Hiller said. “I think there’s good chemistry through the three of them.”
Fiala seems to be enjoying being on a line with Byfield and Laferriere, and the success the three of them are having together.
“I think our speed is very high,” Fiala said. “We are playing a lot of give-and-go’s. We don’t overpass, I think. The magnet is still the goal.”
The goal has looked magnetic for Fiala, who already has four goals in only two games in February. If he’s enjoying his line, the Kings should look to keep him on it because he’s played like a superstar and been instrumental in the Kings’ winning formula in the last two games.
Fiala will look to continue his sensational play and lead the Kings to another win Friday night against the Dallas Stars at 7:30 p.m. right back at Crypto.com Arena.