The Los Angeles Kings continued with their final four home games of the regular season. With strong performances that kept them firmly in the Western Conference wild card race.Â
Anton Forsberg catches fire for the Los Angeles Kings in a successful homestand this past week in the West in the Pacific Division in early April this month
Their homestand continued on April 4 against the Maple Leafs. Toronto jumped out to an early lead, with Matthew Knies scoring four minutes in for his 22nd goal of the season. The Maple Leafs continued to dominate the period when Steve Lorentz scored a short-handed goal, his sixth of the season. The Kings responded early in the second period when Quinton Byfield scored his 19th goal of the season on the power play. Two minutes later, Adrian Kempe tied things at two-all with his team-leading 31st goal of the season.
The Maple Leafs regained the lead when John Tavares scored his 30th goal of the season on the power play. The Kings then tied things up again six minutes later when Artemi Panarin scored his 27th goal of the season. Toronto then got itself a 4-3 lead when Easton Cowan scored his 10th goal of the season on the power play. The third period began as a defensive battle, until Kempe scored his second goal of the night about six minutes in, tying things at four-all.Â
Under a minute later, Samuel Helenius gave the Kings their first lead of the night at 5-4, with his fifth goal of the season. The Kings then went up 6-4 just over a minute later when Alex Laferriere scored his 19th goal of the season, matching his career high. It was also the 50th goal in his career.
The Maple Leafs got back within one when Nicholas Robertson scored his 15th goal of the season. With about seven minutes left in the game, Toronto then tied things up at six-all when Knies scored his second goal of the night. Regulation ended with a 6-6 tie, forcing another overtime session for the Kings, their 31st of the season, which unfortunately extends their NHL record. The Kings won in overtime when Byfield scored the overtime winner, his second of the night, earning the Kings a much-needed two points.Â
On April 6, the Kings faced the Nashville Predators for the final time of the season. The Kings struck first, almost six minutes into the game, when Joel Armia scored his 12th goal of the season. The remainder of the period stayed scoreless, even though the Kings outshot Nashville 12-4. Nashville tied the game in the second period when Steven Stamkos scored his 39th goal of the season on the power play.
The Kings then regained the lead with about six minutes left in the period when Scott Laughton scored his 13th goal of the season. There was no score during the remainder of the period, with the Kings holding a 2-1 lead. The Predators then tied things up again about four minutes into the third period when Roman Josi scored his 13th goal of the season in the third period.
Regulation ended with a 2-2 tie, forcing yet another overtime session, the third in a row for the Kings and their 32nd of the season. Overtime ended with each team having two shots on goal, forcing a shootout. The Kings eventually won in the third round with Adrian Kempe scoring the game-winner. It was a gritty win, helping the Kings keep the second wild card in the West.
The Kings entered the second-to-last home game of the season against the Canucks on April 9. The Kings scored first about two minutes in when Adrian Kempe scored his team-leading 33rd goal of the season. Vancouver tied things up 15 minutes into the first period when defenseman Marcus Pettersson scored his third goal of the season.
This would be the Canucks only goal of the game. Just over a minute later, the Kings regained the lead when Joel Armia scored his 13th goal of the season. The first period ended with the Kings up 2-1.
Both played great defense and clogged the neutral zone until with less than 30 seconds left in the second period when Kempe scored his second of the night, giving the Kings a 3-1 lead after the first two. The Kings then went up 4-1 in the third period when Trevor Moore scored his 12th goal of the season. That’s how the game ended, giving the Kings their third home win in a row, keeping them in the second wild card spot in the West.
The Kings concluded their regular season homestand against the Oilers on April 11 in a matinee. Artemi Panarin scored the game’s only goal on a first-period breakaway, his 28th of the season and his ninth with the Kings.
Kings goalie Anton Forsberg was outstanding in net, earning his 3rd shutout of the season and the 11th of his career. It was an emotional game for the Kings as they wanted to send off Kopitar with a win. On this impressive homestand, the Kings earned 11 out of a possible 14 points, allowing them to keep their lead in the wild card race.
The Kings will wrap up the regular season with their final three games on the road, starting April 13 in Seattle, followed the next night in Vancouver, and concluding on April 16 in Calgary.