With their playoff spot already locked in, the Kings opted to rest several players on Tuesday night against the Kraken, giving them maintenance days ahead of the postseason. However, this also afforded LA coach Jim Hiller to provide additional minutes for a few younger players — and they delivered in a big way, helping lead the team to a 6-5 victory at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
After a slow start and some early pressure from the Kraken, Hiller’s squad eventually found their footing thanks in part to some strong goaltending from David Rittich, highlighted by a penalty shot stop on Chandler Stephenson. That momentum shift led to rookie Samuel Helenius netting his third goal of the season to get Los Angeles on the board and give them the 1-0 lead. Just over a minute later, while on the power play, Alex Turcotte scored off a great feed from Adrian Kempe.
Helenius ended up playing 13:27, the second most minutes of his career (trailing only the 14:38 he skated against Washington back in December). The big Finn later added another goal, doubling his season total to four. Also shining in elevated roles were the two Alexes; Turcotte centered the team’s top line, while Laferriere played center for really the first time.
After Warren Foegele continued his career-best season by breaking a 2-2 tie in the second period, Laferriere capitalized on the momentum about a minute later and gave the Kings another two-goal cushion heading into the third period.
Not to be outdone by a few rookies, Adrian Kempe buried his 35th goal of the season early in the final frame of regulation, extending the Kings lead to a three-goal margin. Hiller’s Kings-lite group struck again quickly, with Helenius finding the back of the net for his second goal of the game and the final LA marker of the evening. That tally would stand as the eventual game-winner, capping off a milestone night for Los Angeles as they matched franchise records for wins (48, set in 2015-16) and for total points (105, set in 1974-75).
What to watch for on Thursday night’s make-up game against Calgary Flames at Crypto.com Arena:
— Kings can surpass their season record for wins: Current 48 wins
— Kings can surpass their franchise record for points in a season with just a single point: Current 105 points
— Laferriere is one goal shy of becoming the sixth LA player to score 20 goals this season; a feat that hasn’t been reached by a Kings team since 1992-93.
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Lead photo via LA Kings PR
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