It is no longer 2014.
On Friday, there were no signs of the ultra-competitive matchups in the early 2010s between LA and Chicago, as the Kings defeated the Blackhawks by a score of 5-0.
The Kings struck early, and they did so with volume. PL Dubois’ power play goal opened the scoring just over three minutes into the game; this goal was LA’s first on the man-advantage in almost two weeks. The Kings went on to add three more goals in the opening frame including a pair of tallies from Anže Kopitar. LA’s captain now sits only four points shy of 1,200 in his career.
TICTAC
GOAL@LAKings I #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/IgMzM6bo5f
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) March 16, 2024
LA added another goal in the middle frame before locking the game down the rest of the way.
Cam Talbot picked up his third shutout of the season on Friday. The veteran netminder has amassed an impressive .935 save percentage in the month of March – returning to early-season form and getting hot at just the right time.
Playing From Ahead: Perhaps the most impressive part of Friday’s win was LA’s continued pressure on the offensive end of the puck. Instead of retreating, the Kings continued to be aggressive on the forecheck and generate chances. Preserving the shutout for Talbot serves as an important moral victory in addition to the two points OR LA has a 20-3-5 record this season when leading after one period, showing they’re most comfortable when playing with a lead.
Youthful Scoring: Alex Laferriere, Quinton Byfield, and Jordan Spence all had multi-point games against Chicago. These three young players have made large strides in their development thus far in 2023-24, and Friday’s game was a clear manifestation of this progress. Spence’s goal was his first of the season, as well.
FIRST GOAL OF THE SEASON FOR SPENCE@LAKings I #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/jxialid1ak
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) March 16, 2024
Right Back At It: LA headed to Dallas following their victory on Friday; they’ll take on the Stars on Saturday at 5:00 pm Pacific. This matchup will provide a very tough test for the Kings as they hold a 2-5-2 record this year on the second leg of back-to-backs, in addition to dropping the first two games of the season series against the Stars.
Stat Sheet Takeaways: LA’s least-used forward played 11:36 while their most-used forward logged 17:58 . This relatively small gap in TOI is important for the Kings because of tomorrow’s back-to-back.
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