4 takeaways from the LA Kings 2-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken

The LA Kings returned to the ice on Monday after a big win this past weekend over the Edmonton Oilers. They would be playing a Seattle Kraken team that has been looking to play the role of spoiler as they have already been eliminated from playoff contention.

That is exactly what they were able to do against a Kings team that was short-handed for this game as they would score two goals in a two minute stretch in the first period. Those two goals were all they needed as they would win 2-1 over the Kings.

The Kings will now have a few days before they play the Anaheim Ducks and try to get back into the win column. These are some of the takeaways from this game.

Drew Doughty and Joel Edmundson scratches for the game

The Kings are still missing Tanner Jeannot and Alex Turcotte, who have been out for awhile now, but they also scratched two key parts of their defense in Drew Doughty and Joel Edmundson. Head coach Jim Hiller has talked a lot recently about having to manage the ankle injury Drew Doughty suffered in the preseason so it wasn't surprising to see him sit in this one as the focus is now getting everyone as healthy as possible for the playoffs.

Joel Edmundson though was a bit of a surprise and was ruled out with an upper body injury that is described as day-to-day. It will be interesting to see what updates we get in the next day or so but this could be another instance of the Kings being overly cautious.

In their absence, the Kings saw players like Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence see their most ice time almost all season as both were over 20 minutes and Spence was over 24 minutes. The silver lining in this is that it is good to get some of these younger players extended time on the ice as that will only help their development.

Darcy Kuemper with highlight reel save

Even though the Los Angeles Kings would suffer the loss, Darcy Kuemper was once again playing incredible hockey in net. He would have 26 saves on 28 shots and extended his streak of allowing two or fewer goals in a game to 14 straight games.

Kuemper was able to extend that streak because of this highlight reel save against the Kraken.

The fact that he was not only able to extend his stick to stop the shot but then have the awareness to pull the puck back to cover it was remarkable. Connor Hellebuyck is likely to win the Vezina Trophy but Darcy Kuemper has definitely made a strong case to be in the discussion.

Quinton Byfield with an incredible goal to open the scoring

The plays were tough to come by for the Los Angeles Kings but when they did make plays, they were fantastic. Similar to Kuemper's save, Quinton Byfield had a highlight reel type goal early in this game that opened the scoring.

In the highlight below, Byfield is able to get his stick on the shot and deflect it down. However, he continues to stick with the play, and as he is falling down he is able to shoot the puck past Joey Daccord. What makes this play even more remarkable is that the defender is holding his left hand and he is able to control his stick with only one hand throughout.

This was Byfield's 20th goal of the season and he now has two consecutive seasons with 20 or more goals. He continues to be a difference maker for the Kings and they are going to need the young center to play that role in the playoffs.

LA Kings get closer to securing home ice in the NHL Playoffs

The LA Kings with the loss probably won't be able to capture the Vegas Golden Knights for the Pacific Division but got some help from the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night. The Ducks were playing the Edmonton Oilers and would beat the Oilers by a final score of 3-2.

Even though the Kings did lose, because of the Oilers' loss the magic number is now down to six for them to secure home ice in that first round, which likely will be another matchup with Edmonton.