The Los Angeles Kings are fighting for playoff positioning with the end of the regular season rapidly approaching and returned to Crypto.com Arena after two on the road, which they split with a loss to the Minnesota Wild and then a win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
This game was not expected to be easy as the Carolina Hurricanes are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and had won their previous eight games. However, this game wasn't even really close and the Kings took control almost immediately after scoring three in the first period and taking a 6-1 lead into the third period.
Both teams would add goals in the third period for the final score of 7-2 but neither team will have much time to think about this game. The Kings and Hurricanes both have games on Sunday with Carolina playing Anaheim while the Kings remain home for a game against the Boston Bruins.
These are three takeaways for the Los Angeles Kings from the game on Saturday.
13 Los Angeles Kings with points against the Carolina Hurricanes
It seemed like everyone on the Los Angeles Kings left with at least one point from this game and that was certainly the case as 13 players would have at least one and six of them had two. What might be even more impressive is that seven different players had a goal, including Andrei Kuzmenko.
The Kings traded for Kuzmenko at the NHL Trade Deadline and he hadn't registered a point in his first seven games with the team. However, he ended that streak in the first period as he was credited with an assist on the power play goal by Anze Kopitar.
Kopitar would return the favor as he would get an assist on Kuzmenko's goal that came with just about five seconds left in the period with a one-timer near the top of the circle.
OMG OMG KUZY'S FIRST AS A KING!!!! pic.twitter.com/1z8WsZsUEp
— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 22, 2025
Game script took pressure off David Rittich in a bounce back game
With back-to-back games, the Los Angeles Kings were almost certainly going to split the goaltending duties between Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich. Considering the Hurricanes have been one of the top teams, it felt like Kuemper would get the start with how Rittich has struggled as of late.
Clearly, Jim Hiller knew something and it paid off in a big way as Rittich got the start and was able to have a bounce back game on Saturday. In his last three starts, Rittich allowed 12 goals and a save percentage of .855%.
However, the early goals seemed to take some pressure off Rittich and allowed him to settle and make some good saves over the course of the game. He finished allowing only two goals and had 34 saves on the day. After the game, Hiller was quick to acknowledge Rittich's performance and said he should have earned one of the Stars of the Game
Jim Hiller thought David Rittich should’ve been awarded one of the stars of the game.
— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) March 22, 2025
“He was a really important player, probably our most important player.”
The Kings at this point will want to continue to rely on Darcy Kuemper but it was good to see Rittich deliver when needed.
13 straight home games with at least one point for LA Kings
The Los Angeles Kings have been pretty much unbeatable at home all season but especially recently as they have now secured a point in 13 straight home games. Over that stretch they have a record of 10-0-3 and in the process have beaten some really good teams like the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Vegas Golden Knights, and Washington Capitals.
The last time the Kings didn't record a point in a home game was back on January 20th when they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins by a final score of 5-1.
For the Los Angeles Kings the focus most of the season hasn't been just to get to the playoffs, they did that the previous three seasons, but to advance out of the first round, something they didn't know in any of those three trips. The key to achieving that could be as simple as earning home ice advantage and if they do that, they have to like their chances.