The Los Angeles Kings wrapped up January with a five-game road trip starting against the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 24, followed by back-to-back games on Jan. 26 in Columbus against the Blue Jackets which was postponed due to weather, Jan. 27 in Detroit against the Red Wings, followed by a game Jan. 29 in Buffalo against the Sabres and finally Jan. 31 in Philadelphia against the Flyers.
Los Angeles Kings take a hot streak on the road into the Olympic break in the next week
In St. Louis, the Kings got on the board first when Taylor Ward, the son of former King Dixon Ward, scored his 2nd goal of the season about four and a half minutes into the game. The Kings took a 2-0 lead in the second period when defenseman Brian Dumoulin scored his first goal of the season, which was also his first goal as a King. Only a minute later, forward Dalibor Dvorsky got the Blues on the board, making the score 2-1.
In the same period, forward Brayden Schenn tied things up for the Blues on the power play, making the score two-all. Two minutes later, the Blues got a 3-2 lead when Jordan Kyrou scored his 10th goal of the season. The Kings tied things up at three-all when Alex Laferriere scored his 13th goal of the season. In the third period, Trevor Moore scored his 6th goal of the season, which was also his 100th career goal. It was his first game back from injury, and he gave the Kings a 4-3 lead.
Late in the same period, Jordan Kyrou scored his second goal of the night, tying the game, forcing overtime. The overtime period was scoreless, forcing a shootout. The Kings eventually won in the shootout when Moore scored the game-winner in his first game back from injury, giving the Kings a great start to the road trip.
Their game on Jan. 26 in Columbus was postponed due to severe winter weather. This game was rescheduled to Mar. 9.
The Kings flew on to Detroit for the Jan. 27 game. The first period had no score for either team. The Kings struck first in the second period when forward Samuel Helenius scored his 2nd goal of the season.
The score remained 1-0 until Andrei Kuzmenko scored his 11th goal of the season on the power play in the third period, giving the Kings a 2-0 lead. Late in the same period, the Red Wings got on the board when forward Alex DeBrincat scored his 28th goal of the season. The goal was assisted by Patrick Kane, who is now tied with the most points in the NHL from a U.S-born player.
He is tied with Mike Modano with a total of 1,374 points. This would be the lone goal for the Red Wings. The victory was sealed for the Kings when Corey Perry scored an empty-netter, making the final score 3-1, continuing the road trip on a positive note.
The next stop was Jan. 29 in Buffalo. The Sabres got an early lead in the first period when Syracuse native Alex Tuch scored his 20th goal of the season on the powerplay. In the same period, Mattias Samuelsson scored, giving the Sabres a 2-0 lead. In the second period, Alex Laferriere thought he scored for the Kings but it was waived due to goaltender interference.
Luckily, it did not result in a minor penalty. Still in the same period, the Sabres went up 3-0 when Tuch scored his 2nd goal of the night. The Kings finally got on the board when Adrian Kempe scored his 18th goal of the season on the power play.
His goal tied him with Kevin Fiala for the team lead. Unfortunately, this would be the lone goal for the Kings, and it snapped their three-game winning streak. The victory was sealed for the Sabres when Tuch scored on an empty net, giving him his 4th career hat trick.
The road trip continued with a matinee in Philadelphia on Jan. 31. The Kings came out fast when Adrian Kempe scored his team-leading 19th goal of the season just over three minutes in the first period. Still in the first, Kempe scored his second of the day, giving him 20 goals on the season and the team lead, giving the Kings a 2-0 lead.
Just a few minutes later, Andrei Kuzmenko thought he scored but the Flyers challenged it for offsides and were successful, keeping the score 2-0. With less than a minute to go in the period, Kings defensemen Drew Doughty got called for cross-checking, which gave the Flyers a powerplay which carried over to the second period. Only 39 seconds into the period, the Flyers capitalized on the power play when Trevor Zegras scored his 20th goal of the season.
The score remained 2-1 for the rest of the period. Only 25 seconds into the third period, Flyers forward Travis Konecny tied things up. The third period would end in a 2-2 tie, forcing another overtime session. During overtime, the Flyers had a breakaway chance that struck the iron, making Flyers fans think the game was over.
However, on the ice, the players kept skating. The Kings regained possession of the puck, and Quinton Byfield scored the game-winner, quieting the arena. Doughty got the secondary assist, giving him his 700th point, the most for a Kings defenseman.
The game was also important because it was captain Anze Kopitar’s first game back after missing 11 games due to injury. In a postgame discussion I had with Kings forward Alex Laferriere, I asked him about the importance of Kopitar’s return. “It’s great to have him back for his leadership in the locker room and his ability to win faceoffs!” Laferriere said.
The Kings wrap up their road trip on Feb. 1 in Raleigh against the Hurricanes. Then their final two games before the Olympic break will be at home in Los Angeles against the Seattle Kraken on Feb. 4 and the next night on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 5.