Skate of Thrones | Kraken’s first-period goals silence Kings

LOS ANGELES — Chances were aplenty, but the Kings couldn’t capitalize on almost all of them on Monday night against the Seattle Kraken, who won 2-1.

Not having defensemen Joel Edmundson and Drew Doughty in the lineup due to minor wounds was a setback for LA, and the team played the third period without scoring leader Adrian Kempe after he left the game early. The team announced his exit was due to “personal reasons,” and many fans online speculated that it was because his wife was delivering their baby.

The Kings scored first, before the two-minute mark of the first period. Quinton Byfield received a feed from Kyle Burroughs—slotting into the lineup for the first time in over a month—and tipped the puck down with one arm on his stick to eventually score on Seattle netminder Joey Daccord.

The goal brought Byfield to 20 on the season for the second year in a row.

“It’s a good sign that the goals are coming, but I think as time goes on, hopefully that goes up a little bit more,” Byfield said postgame.

It all fell apart towards the end of the first period. The Kraken scored twice within 54 seconds as Matty Beniers and Brandon Montour each lit the lamp on Darcy Kuemper, who totalled 26 saves in the loss and made the potential save of the year in the second period.

Neither team scored after the first frame. LA went scoreless on three power-play tries, including a 5-on-3, failing to back up Kuemper’s stout outing.

Seattle also blocked 30 shots, while LA only stopped 10, adding to the Kings’ power-play woes.

“It’s easier to block a wrist shot than a slap shot,” said head coach Jim Hiller. “We took probably too many wrist shots and not enough slap shots.”

Jordan Spence was also a highlight for the Kings, as Hiller elevated his role and allowed him to play for over 24 minutes.

“I tried to do the best I can, focus on defense first,” Spence said. “Just got to play your game and go from there.”

Talk of Troy reporter Kasey Kazliner was present at the game and talked about the loss on Skate of Thrones, TOT’s LA Kings podcast.