Cliches are an interesting thing. One of the many reasons they’ve stood the test of time is quite often they end up being true.
Winning solves everything.
It’s a classic line in sports, and, well… it’s true.
After a few stinkers earlier in the week, coach Jim Hiller watched his squad break-through in a big way against the visiting Blackhawks on Saturday night.
With vultures circling online, much of the noise surrounding LA’s favorite hockey team was temporarily quieted with a solid victory on home ice.
It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish. Another truism.
After 20 minutes, nothing much was going on. The teams were scoreless as they headed into first intermission. That all changed in the second frame, when LA put up more goals in 20 minutes than they’ve been scoring in entire games the past few weeks.
The Kings first goal came from Warren Foegele just 1:55 into period two. It continued his strong play since recently returning from an upper body injury.
Then, the first clue of what was to come revealed itself when Andrei Kuzmenko converted on the power play. It was only LA’s third power play goal over the past 12 games (3-for-37). So it was more than welcomed by the Kings bench.
From there, the team really went to work, using their identity and imposing their will.
With Corey Perry doing exactly what he was brought in to do — cause havoc in front of the goalie — Brandt Clarke used a screen to push LA’s lead to 3-0 with less than a minute remaining before second intermission.
The young defenseman added another goal in the third period, earning his first multigoal game with the Kings. Fellow rearguard Mikey Anderson added to the fun, followed by forward Alex Turcotte finding the back of the net for a 6-0 clubbing of the Blackhawks.
In net, Darcy Kuemper stopped all 23 shots by Chicago.
Other Notes and Takeaways:
— Drew Doughty has two assists, leaving him six points shy of 700 in his career.
— Turcotte also had an assist in the game. Along with his goal on Saturday, the Illinois native now has five points (2G, 3A) in nine career games played against Chicago.
— Per NHL PR, the Kings scored six goals in a shutout win for the first time since March 20, 2024 (6-0 W vs. MIN). The last time they had more in a shutout victory was Nov. 8, 2016 (7-0 W at TOR).
Full game highlights can be viewed here:
Pregame notes and lineups can be found in the article linked below.
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