The Los Angeles Kings welcomed back some faces into their lineup on Tuesday night in St. Louis. While Captain Anže Kopitar remained sidelined due to a foot injury, goaltender Darcy Kuemper made his return to the goal crease and forward Corey Perry made his LA Kings debut, starting on the fourth line next to Alex Turcotte and Jeff Malott.
Despite having the edge over St. Louis in shots on goal 28 to 18, the Blues outplayed LA for most of the matchup. Their 2.52 expected goals outmatched the Kings’ 2.15, forcing Darcy Kuemper to make some big saves to keep the game close. In total, Kuemper made 17 stops and recorded his first win of the season.
After Saturday’s game against Carolina, head coach Jim Hiller emphasized the need for LA to get off to better starts. And while the first period was scoreless, it was much more evenly played than usual. In fact, LA held a 10-5 shot lead after the first 20 minutes.
Early in the second period, Kings forward and top-line center (filling in for Kopitar), Alex Laferriere, finally got off the schneid. A Blues turnover near their own blue line sprung Laferriere on a breakaway, and he deposited a nice backhand finish to make it 1-0. Now that he has his first goal of the season, the Kings hope their young forward can build off his breakout 2024-25 campaign.
The Blues found a response very early in the third period, as Justin Faulk cruised into the slot on a power play and fired one past Kuemper. From there, a tightly checked period resulted in yet another overtime for Los Angeles.
The Kings got a power play of their own in the extra session, and Adrian Kempe blasted a one-timer past Jordan Binnington, giving LA a huge win and two points in the standings. The Kings now sit at 2-3-2, and hope to get their first regulation win on Thursday night in Dallas.