The Kings’ arduous three-game journey through Canada will continue Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets, following their split of a pair of shootout matches against the team directly beneath them in the standings and the one right above them.
The Kings secured three points of a possible four points to cap a grueling three-games-in-four-nights stretch, even as they continued to play without top defenseman Drew Doughty, among several others.
Not only did they play back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday, but both went the distance: 60 minutes of regulation, five more of overtime plus a shootout. The Edmonton Oilers’ big guns Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl quelled the Kings’ rally from a 3-1 deficit on Wednesday, as they each scored in regulation and the shootout to hand them a 4-3 defeat. But the Kings earned both points against Coach Darryl Sutter’s Calgary Flames. They ceded a second-intermission lead, fell behind, tied the score in the third period, carried play in overtime and ultimately excelled in the shootout for a 3-2 win.
“The west is really tight and we’ve got to earn every (inch of) ice there is out there, so it’s fun to play,” said winger Viktor Arvidsson, who scored the tying goal on Thursday.
“We wanted the win yesterday against Edmonton, they’re right behind us, but we got one point there, two points here and now we go to Winnipeg to try to finish the trip really well,” he added.
The Kings (37-23-10) entered Friday’s games three points ahead of Edmonton and five behind Calgary in the Pacific Division. The Flames’ goal differential is plus-69, while the Kings are a considerably more modest plus-two. What the Kings have lacked in terms of high-octane offense, marquee players or convincing victories, they have more than made up for with moxie.
“We were running on fumes,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said Thursday. “Somebody asked me about the heart of the team, with these types of wins, the heart just gets bigger and stronger as we roll along.”
Winger Alex Iafallo scored his first goal in 24 games against Calgary, and now he might put former Ducks winger Teemu Selanne’s “ketchup bottle theory” to the test. Selanne said if a scorer goes dry for an extended period of time, he should treat his game like a bottle of Heinz 57 – keep banging on the bottom until all the goods flood out at once.
“Often when top-end players go dry for a while, they begin to cheat and it doesn’t go well for them. A.I. isn’t that type of player. The whole bench was happy for him,” McLellan said. “If I’m him now, I’m shooting every puck I get my hands on because maybe he’ll turn hot.”
Winnipeg (33-26-10) most recently lost by an NFL-esque score in a CFL market, dropping a 7-3 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Jets had won seven of their previous nine games to stay in the playoff mix, sitting three points behind the final wild-card spot entering Friday’s action.
The Jets already underwent a coaching change this season when Paul Maurice resigned after nearly eight years and exactly 600 games behind the Winnipeg bench. He was replaced by Dave Lowry. Lowry’s son Joel was once a prospect in the Kings’ system (he now plies his trade in Austria) and his other son, Adam, is a center for the Jets.
Related Articles
Kings edge Flames on Lias Andersson’s shootout goal
Surging Oilers edge Kings in shootout, tighten standings
Kings look to get back on track with consecutive games in Canada
Kings squander opportunity with lopsided loss to Kraken
Kings ready for another crack at the Kraken
The Kings won’t have to contend with winger Kyle Connor, who has been an elite weapon this season, stacking up 82 points in 67 games. He and defenseman Nate Schmidt entered the COVID protocols on Wednesday. Connor set up all three goals in a 3-2 Jets win at what was then Staples Center on Oct. 28 and then scored the first goal in a second Jets victory by an identical score in Winnipeg on Nov. 13. That second meeting halted the Kings’ season-best, seven-game unbeaten streak.
Veteran forwards Mark Schiefele and Blake Wheeler have combined for 118 points in 118 games. The Jets are decidedly more offensive-minded on the blue line with defensemen Josh Morrisey, the absent Schmidt and Neal Pionk all bringing skill to the table. But that hasn’t kept All-Star goalie Connor Hellebuyck from facing more shots than any other goalie in the league, and with the added strain of playing in front of one of the league’s five worst penalty-kill units.
KINGS AT WINNIPEG
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: Canada Life Centre
TV/Radio: Bally Sports West / iHeartRadio