The Los Angeles Kings have now won five straight games and are still undefeated on the road after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 on Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Kings have now won five straight games and are still undefeated on the road after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 on Wednesday.
The first period was a tightly contested one that saw no goals. It had a similar feel to the Kings' last game against Vegas, tight-checking without much room to operate.
Cam Talbot came up big a few times to keep the game tied as he continues to impress.
The second period saw some offense flow though. Adrian Kempe opened up the scoring 11 minutes into the period, batting in a Jordan Spence point shot that was originally blocked by Alex Pietrangelo.
A few minutes later, Trevor Moore put the Kings up two on the power play. Spence collected his second assist of the night, firing a point shot that was tipped in front by Moore.
Talbot kept the door shut, giving him five straight periods without letting in a goal.
Pierre-Luc Dubois then put the Kings up by three early in the third, depositing a fortunate bounce off the end boards past Adin Hill.
William Karlsson broke Talbot's shutout late in the third, firing a shot over his shoulder after being left alone in the slot.
Anze Kopitar added a late empty netter to grab his 400th career goal and seal the victory for Los Angeles.
Here are three takeaways from the victory:
Kings First Line Dominant Again:
After a slightly slow start, at least when looking at raw numbers, the Kings' top line is firing on all cylinders right now.
Kempe opened the scoring in this game for his fifth goal and team-leading 13th point after a dominant shift from that line.
Anze Kopitar and Quinton Byfield then combined for the empty-netter late in the game, giving the line a combined four points on the night.
The line posted absurd numbers in this game. Their Corsi for percentage was 73%, Fenwick for percentage was 65%, they posted a 68.88 expected goals percentage and heavily out-chanced the opposition.
Depth has been key for the Kings this season, but having your best players takeover games is crucial, especially against the league's other top teams.
Jordan Spence With a Big Night:
It took Spence a few games to get up to speed this season, and a few games to get used to playing with Andreas Englund, but he looks great right now.
He looks like a more confident and comfortable player and it's translating into production for him.
The offense was never in question with Spence, he's an excellent puck-mover with a great point-shot that we're seeing him utilize more now.
He's also looked much better defensively. Earlier in the season, Trent Yawney was hesitant to throw Spence and Englund out together, but that hesitation doesn't exist anymore.
That pair has the coaching staff's trust now and Spence is a big reason why.
Anze Kopitar Makes History:
I doubt Kopitar expected goal number 400 to come on an empty net, but I doubt he'll mind.
It was an excellent performance from Kopitar overall as he proved he can still go toe-to-toe with the league's best centers.
It's going to be a year of milestones for Kopitar. He already hit the 1,300-game mark this season, just hit 400 goals and will soon pass Luc Robitaille for the second-most points in Kings franchise history.
He already has a case to be named the greatest Kings of all time, and after this season, he might hold sole possession of that title.