LA Kings vs. Ducks: Adrian Kempe excited to have fans back (series preview)
By Ryan Sikes
The LA Kings are about to get a heavy dose of the Anaheim Ducks, and Adrian Kempe is excited to have fans back at STAPLES Center.
Five of the next seven games for the LA Kings will come against the Anaheim Ducks. Los Angeles hasn’t played since last Wednesday, with the Colorado series being canceled due to COVID cases within the Avalanche organization.
Tuesday’s game with the Ducks will also mark the first time this series that STAPLES Center will be allowing fans to return!
The Kings are 1-1-1 against the Ducks this season, scoring 11 goals while allowing 10. In their last series in early March, Anaheim took a 6-5 OT victory in a back and forth affair, one that saw Adrian Kempe tally a hat trick in a losing effort. The following game, he scored two more, so perhaps this is a great opportunity for the 24-year-old to finish the season off on a positive note.
Kempe has yet again proven to be inconsistent in producing points, despite shooting the puck at a 12.9 percent clip. Along with the rest of the Kings, he hopes having fans in the building can spark this team to an improbable playoff push.
He spoke with the media following Monday’s morning skate.
Kempe on having fans back at STAPLES Center
We’ve been missing our fans a lot this year. And, obviously, everybody’s been excited for them to come back, and especially when you play in some buildings that have fans. So, you know, they are always extra fun to play in. I think everybody is really excited to have some fans back, and I think there as well.
On how the team used the unexpected time off to their advantage
We were looking at, you know, our last couple of games, some details we have to get back to, and just some structure in our game that we have been working on the last couple of practices and some five-on-five situations.
On how much the team has talked about the standings
We talk about almost it every game. The last few games we’ve played have been frustrating, and the funny thing is, you know, we still have a good chance of making the playoffs. And we just got to put a good stretch together here. I think everybody can see that we’re still in it, and it just comes down to us. We got to put down a good stretch together here and be excited for every game.
Kings vs. Ducks – Tale of the Tape
Powerplay
Kings: 21.4% (13th)
Ducks: 10.7% (31st)
Penalty-Kill
Kings: 84.4% (4th)
Ducks: 78.8% (17th)
Faceoffs
Kings: 51.4% (9th)
Ducks: 51.2% (10th)
Goals Per Game
Kings: 2.69 (20th)
Ducks: 2.22 (30th)
Goals Against Per Game
Kings: 3.00 (18th)
Ducks: 3.15 (24th)
Top Scorer
Kings: Anze Kopitar – 9 goals, 34 assists, 43 points
Ducks: Max Comtois – 13 goals, 14 assists, 27 points