LOS ANGELES — Welcome to Los Angeles, Andrei Kuzmenko.
“I had 10 minutes, that’s all,” Kuzmenko said postgame — referring to the amount of time he had to pack his bags after learning that he’d be a King after his short seven-game stint with the Flyers. “I [didn’t] answer [any] messages to my parents, to my friends, because I [didn’t] have time.”
The 29-year-old winger suited up in black and silver for the first time since being traded to the Kings for a 2027 third-round pick and played quality minutes against the red-hot St. Louis Blues.
But LA’s difference-maker was Quinton Byfield, who netted his second goal in the last two games. Byfield wristed a clean snipe on Blues goalie Joel Hofer less than half a minute into overtime. The tally was Byfield’s 13th goal of the season.
The Kings led for most of the game as Anže Kopitar scored the opening goal in the waning moments of the first period off a Drew Doughty pass from the point. Kopitar’s goal was his 15th of the season and followed a stretch of dormant first-period play from LA. The Kings only had two shots on goal in the opening frame.
Los Angeles’ first power-play unit featured Kuzmenko, who slotted in a net-front role. The Kings didn’t score with the extra man, but had two opportunities to.
“[Kuzmenko was] good on the power play, kept some pucks alive under the hash marks, turned quick,” head coach Jim Hiller said. “I thought it was a really good start for him.”
Defenseman Nick Leddy scored St. Louis’ lone goal, which arrived early in the third period. Darcy Kuemper made 19 saves on 20 attempts for Los Angeles. The Kings were at risk of losing their sixth straight game, so the victory snapped the skid.
Talk of Troy reporter Kasey Kazliner reported from the scene at Crypto.com Arena and broke down Kuzmenko’s debut and the win on Skate of Thrones, TOT’s LA Kings podcast.