With two victories in three tries on a recent homestand, the visiting Los Angeles Kings now hit the road for a meeting against the San Jose Sharks, out to get a better handle on away games.
The Kings are in third place in the Pacific Division, with the second-best goal differential (plus-six) among their regional rivals, while sitting 5-5-2 in road contests. They now head to the Bay Area to face the Sharks, who are bringing up the rear in the division.
Los Angeles’ attention to detail while on the road had paid dividends during a strong start to the season, but two defeats on a recent trip to Calgary and Colorado proved that more work is left to be done. The Kings were outscored by a combined 7-3 in those games.
A return home got them back on track. They got the best of the Seattle Kraken 2-1 on Saturday when Adrian Kempe and Quinton Byfield scored second-period goals for a 2-0 lead that withstood a Kraken onslaught in the third period. David Rittich had 19 saves.
The Kings are finding success without defenseman Drew Doughty (ankle) and forward Arthur Kaliyev (collarbone), while goaltender Darcy Kuemper also is on injured reserve.
Byfield’s goal on the power play was his third of the season and came in his 200th career game.
“A lot of challenging moments in those 200 games, but to come across it still 22, so still young and hopefully a lot more (to come),” Byfield said.
Already with his 11th start this season, and third consecutive, Rittich has allowed just one goal in each of his past three starts, as well as four of his last five going back to Nov. 5. He made 22 starts all of last season, his first in Los Angeles.
“We’ve got a pretty deep team and that’s all that matters if somebody gets hurt,” Rittich said. “Obviously, Drew is a huge, huge part of this team and it’s an opportunity for other guys to step up.”
The Sharks are on a three-game losing streak after a 4-2 defeat to the Buffalo Sabres at home on Saturday. San Jose has won just once in its last seven games (1-3-3).
The Sharks had two separate leads Saturday, the first on a goal from Fabian Zetterlund in the first period and again for a 2-1 advantage when Luke Kunin scored in the second period. It got away when Buffalo scored three times in the third, including the go-ahead goal that came short-handed.
“We had 10 scoring chances on the power play but obviously the short-handed goal really hurts and stings. It’s a kick in the gut, really,” Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “I think (the power play) is starting to come. We’ve gotten some better looks at it and they’re starting to see a little more chemistry.”
As it stands, San Jose is 26th on the power play (16.4 percent), but it’s still better than the Kings (15.6, tied for 28th).
The teams have split two meetings this season, with the Sharks earning a 4-2 victory over the Kings at home on Oct. 29. Former Los Angeles forward Tyler Toffoli scored for San Jose in that game and has 16 points on the season.
–Field Level Media