After two pedestrian performances against the Ottawa Senators and Dallas Stars, the Los Angeles Kings finished their homestand with a strong effort against the New York Islanders on Monday.
The Islanders were coming into Los Angeles riding a six-game winning streak, and the Kings kept them at arms length for most of the night.
Unlike the Stars on Saturday, the Islanders looked like a team playing their second game in as many nights and the Kings took advantage of their tired legs.
The Kings executed better on Monday than we've seen in a few games.
They moved the puck out of their zone quickly, rarely allowing the Islanders to establish a forecheck and didn't get frustrated by the stingy Islanders defense.
The Kings like to carry the puck into the zone but were willing to put pucks behind the defense and go hunt them down when necessary on Monday.
Adrian Kempe's return was crucial, as he got the scoring started with a vintage Kempe goal.
Flying down the right wing, Kempe cleanly beat Ilya Sorokin over the shoulder, something few players can do.
The ability to turn a half chance into a goal like that is something the Kings were missing in his absence and having that element back is huge.
Phil Danault scored the ever important second goal, capitalizing on some nice play down low by Trevor Moore with a nice finish in front.
Moore iced the game with an empty netter, picking off a pass at the blue line for the third time on Monday for an easy tally.
David Rittich grabbed his second shutout of the season as he continues to be a solid backup option for Jim Hiller.
Another highlight of the night was the Kings' penalty kill 5-5 in a game the Kings severely lacked discipline.
Taking five penalties isn't a sustainable number for the Kings, but with the league's best penalty kill, it makes it a little easier to deal with.
The penalties also made it a tough night for Alex Turcotte, who finished with just 4:01 of TOI.
Mikey Anderson's return was huge and he got engaged early with a few hits. It also saw the return of the 11/7 alignment and forced another healthy scratch for Arthur Kaliyev.
After Saturday's game, Hiller made a vague comment about Kaliyev not feeling 100% before the game.
But when asked postgame, Hiller said Kaliyev was 100% and his playing was a coaching decision and not related to the previous comment.
He also stated that Kaliyev was one of the Kings' best forwards against Dallas, but was still a scratch on Monday.
The Kings head to St. Louis on Wednesday to start a three-game road trip.
The Blues will have a lot of confidence after handing the Boston Bruins a 5-1 hiding and the Kings will have to be on top of their game.