The Los Angeles Kings played their final three games before the Olympic break. The first game in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 1 ended their five-game road trip. Followed by their final two games, first at home against the Seattle Kraken on Feb. 4 and the next night on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Early-February struggles highlight the pre-Olympic break games in the West for the Los Angeles Kings
After their overtime win in Philadelphia the day before, the Kings flew down to Raleigh for an afternoon matchup against the Hurricanes. Unfortunately for the Kings, Carolina struck first with a power-play goal by Jordan Staal, his 13th of the season. The game remained scoreless throughout both the remainder of the first period and through the second.
In the third period, the Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead when defenseman Alexander Nikishin scored. However, less than two minutes later, the Kings got on the board when Samuel Helenius scored his 3rd goal of the season, making the score 2-1.
Only three minutes later in the same period, Quinton Byfield earned his 11th goal of the season (his second in two games after scoring the overtime winner in Philadelphia the previous day). The score remained tied, forcing overtime for the second time in as many days.
Puck possession is crucial in overtime, and the Hurricanes won the faceoff. Sebastian Aho scored just over a minute into the overtime session, giving the Hurricanes the win. Even though the road trip ended with an overtime loss, the Kings earned a respectable seven out of 10 points on the trip.
The Kings had the first of their final two games before the Olympic break at home against the Kraken on Feb. 4. Prior to the game, the Kings held a sendoff for their five players going to Italy. This is the first time NHL players have returned since 2014. Kings players attending are defenseman Drew Doughty and goaltender Darcy Kuemper, playing for Canada, forward Joel Armia representing Finland, forward Adrian Kempe playing for Sweden, and forward Kevin Fiala representing Switzerland.
After a slow start, the Kings got on the board first when Andrei Kuzmenko, on his 30th birthday, scored his 12th goal of the season, which was on the power play. Only two minutes later, Shane Wright of the Kraken tied the game. Less than a minute later, the Kraken took the lead when Adam Larsson scored his 5th goal of the season.
The Kraken then got an insurance goal when Vince Dunn scored 8th goal of the season, which was on the power play. Halfway through the second period, Kuzmenko got another power-play goal, leaving the Kings down by one, which is how the period ended.
Unfortunately for the Kings, the Kraken got a power-play goal from Wright, which was his second of the night. The game ended in a 4-2 loss for the Kings, continuing their home ice struggles.
The Kings had their final game before the break on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 5. This was their final road game of the month, due to the condensed schedule. The division-leading Golden Knights struck first with Jack Eichel scoring his 21st goal of the season just eight minutes into the game. About three minutes later, Vegas gained a 2-0 lead when captain Mark Stone scored his 21st goal of the season.
The Kings looked tired and ready for the break after Pavel Dorofeyev scored on the power play, making it 3-0. Before the Kings could catch their breath, forward Mitch Marner scored 30 seconds later, giving Vegas a 4-0 lead. With about five minutes to go in the first period, the Kings finally got on the board when Trevor Moore scored his seventh goal of the season.
The lone bright spot of the game was when Kings captain Anze Kopitar earned his 1,300th point in his career, for the secondary assist on Moore’s goal. Unfortunately, this would be the lone goal for the Kings. There was no score for the final two periods, with both teams looking like nobody wanted to get hurt. After a strong road trip, the Kings looked tired in their last two games.
The break will hopefully give them a chance to regroup. When the Kings get back on the ice for practice on Feb. 18, they will welcome new forward Artemi Panarin. He will hopefully add some firepower to the offense.
The Kings will resume action on Feb. 25 with a six-game homestand. The first three will be against the Golden Knights for the final time this season, followed by the Oilers the next night. They will wrap up February against the Flames on Feb. 28.