Tuesday night brought the first of five straight road games for the LA Kings, and it ended up being a successful start. Although they needed overtime in St. Louis, coach Jim Hiller’s squad skated to a 2-1 victory over the Blues at Enterprise Arena.
Showcasing resilience, depth, and standout individual efforts, the Kings battled to a tense finish, finally breaking through in the extra session for a big road win. LA came out firing early, getting the first six shots of the game and doubling up on the Blues after the first period with 10. However, Blues goalie Jordan Binnington stood strong, stopping everything in sight — usually with glove saves.
Corey Perry brought some veteran spark to Hiller’s newly configured lineup, helping balance the attack by adding more scoring depth and a net front presence. He had several scoring chances throughout the first frame. Things remained scoreless through 20 minutes, though.
The deadlock finally broke early in the second period, after a turnover from Justin Faulk when Alex Laferriere zipped in on a breakaway. He faked out Binnington, and coolly tucked home his first of the season, also giving the Kings their first goal of the game (for only the third time this season). St. Louis responded in the third period, with Faulk, who seems to have a knack for scoring against the Kings, finding the back of the net on a power play to tie things up.
With the stage set for a dramatic conclusion, both teams were pushing for the winner. In overtime, Adrian Kempe delivered on the power play, notching his ninth point and sealing the victory.
This win launched the Kings road trip with a bang and highlighted LA’s depth, grit, and clutch performers. At the same time, it was a bit of ‘grind the other team down’ type win. The Kings blocked 14 shots and utilized shot suppression to hold the Blues at bay. St. Louis played a puck possession game, and even with several high danger chances, just didn’t convert. Dallas will likely be a tougher test on Thursday.
Game highlights vs. Carolina can be viewed here:
Additional game notes:
— Goalie Darcy Kuemper looked sharp in his return from injury, making key saves to keep the Kings in control. In total, he stopped 17 of 18 shots. Collectively, the Kings limited the Blues to their lowest shot total of the season.
— Kempe recorded his ninth point, giving him a new career high at this stage of the season. This also marked the third straight road game where Kempe has scored a goal and an assist.
— Laferriere’s opening goal was his first of the season after scoring a career-high 19 last season.
— Faceoffs: LA only won 46.5% of the draws (27-of-58).
— Special Teams: LA went 1-for-3 on the power play, and killed off 2-of-3 shorthanded situations.
Pregame notes and lineups can be found in the article linked below.
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