Quinton Byfield continues his hot streak into 2025
Quinton Byfield was playing great hockey at the end of 2024 and continued that play into the new year as he was able to extend the Kings' lead 2-0 with a third period goal. In the last eight games, he has at least one point in six of them and has nine points total.
The one thing that jumps out is the goals as he has six goals during that stretch, with only two goals in the first 29 games of the season. For most of the season, it has been Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe shouldering most of the offensive production but if Byfield continues playing like this, it will drastically change this offense.
Darcy Kuemper performance covers up a lot of mistakes by Los Angeles Kings
Even though the Kings would get the win, it was not anywhere close to their best performance. In fact, there were a lot of mistakes and turnovers that are not typical for this team. One of the biggest issues was penalties (some that were certainly questionable) and the Devils would end up with six power play opportunities.
However, Darcy Kuemper had an exceptional night in the net that it didn't really matter. He would end up with his second shutout of the season (after the Kings challenged a goal and it was overturned), stopping 32 shots which included 10 shots with the Devils on the power play.
Since returning from injured reserve in December, Kuemper has not lost a game in regulation and is now 6-0-2.