3 takeaways and notes from LA Kings 3-1 win over the New York Rangers

The Los Angeles Kings continued their record-setting streak with a 3-1 win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. The win extended their streak to 15 straight home games with at least a point.

This game was certainly much closer than their last two games when they outscored the Hurricanes and Bruins by a total of 14-4. The Rangers would actually get the scoring started with J.T. Miller registering the first goal of the game, one where the puck barely crossed the line but after review was ruled a goal.

However, it was all Kings from that point forward as Kevin Fiala would tie the game up with a power play goal in the second period. Phillip Danault would follow with a power play goal of his own before the end of the second period.

It remained close through most of the third period but the Kings were able to seal the win with Kevin Fiala scoring an empty net goal. The Kings now go on the road to play the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday but already appear that they will not be at full-strength for this game.

Injuries starting to add up for the LA Kings

Over the past few games, injuries have been a minor storyline that the Los Angeles Kings have had to navigate. On Sunday against the Bruins, Trevor Moore would miss the game due to an upper body injury but fortunately it wasn't anything serious and he returned for the game against the Rangers.

However, Alex Turcotte would miss the game against the Rangers with an upper body injury and it is considered day-to-day. This opened the door for Trevor Lewis to play in his second straight game after sitting out most of March as a healthy scratch.

During the game, the Kings would deal with another injury as Tanner Jeannot left the game early and head coach Jim Hiller has already said he will not travel with the team to Colorado. At the very least, Lewis will play in his third straight game but if Turcotte also is not able to play Akil Thomas should be the next player up.

Power play continues to improve with Andrei Kuzmenko

For most of the season, the power play unit for the Los Angeles Kings has been a big weakness as they ranked near the bottom of the league in power play goals and power play percentage. However, since adding Andrei Kuzmenko it has looked like a completely different unit.

Against the Rangers, Kuzmenko extended his point streak to three after finding Kevin Fiala with a beautiful pass to open the scoring for Los Angeles. The second power play goal Kuzmenko wasn't on the ice but by having him part of the first unit it has helped solidify the second power play unit.

As Zach Dooley noted during the game, the Kings have a power play percentage of 27.3% since the trade deadline. That percentage over an entire season would be the fifth best in the NHL. While they are unlikely to see their ranking change for the regular season, they have to be very confident going into the playoffs with how the power play is performing.

Darcy Kuemper so close to another shutout

Darcy Kuemper put together another impressive performance for the Los Angeles Kings as he would stop 22 of 23 shots and came so very close to another shutout. He would actually stop the puck with his pad on a rebound shot by J.T. Miller but it was just a split second late as the entire puck crossed the line for the goal.

In the last four games, Kuemper has gone 3-1 and allowed only six total goals in that stretch. In fact, the last time that Kuemper allowed three or more goals in a single game was March 3rd, when he gave up four to the Blackhawks.

Kuemper is playing some of his best hockey right now and is heading back to Colorado where he won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche back in 2022.