The Los Angeles Kings rolled into the middle of January with a home-and-home season finale of the Freeway Faceoff against the Ducks on Jan. 16 in Los Angeles and Jan. 17 in Anaheim. Their final home of the month was against the New York Rangers on Jan. 20.
Los Angeles Kings bounce back with a big win over the Rangers early this week on Tuesday night
On Jan. 16, the Kings struck first when Quinton Byfield scored his 9th goal of the season in the first period. The Kings gained momentum in the second period when forward Joel Armia, in his first game back from injury, scored his 10th goal of the season and gave the Kings a 2-0 lead. However, less than a minute later, the Ducks got on the board when Ryan Strome scored on a slapshot.
Two minutes later, the Ducks tied the score at two when rookie center Tim Washe scored his first career NHL goal. The game remained two-all during the third period and through overtime. The Ducks eventually won 3-2 in the shootout, with Mason McTavish scoring the game-winner. This gave the Kings a much-needed point in their playoff chase.
The next night, on Jan. 17, was the conclusion of the Freeway Faceoff in Anaheim. The Ducks came out fast when forward Mason McTavish scored his 12th goal of the season six minutes into the game. In the second period, the Kings answered when Adrian Kempe scored his 16th goal of the season on the power play.
The score remained tied through the third period with both teams clogging the neutral zone, pushing the game into overtime for the second night in a row. The Ducks scored with less than two minutes left in the overtime session when Mikael Granlund scored the game-winner. It was another unfortunate loss for the Kings. They did earn a point but fell further behind than the Ducks in the playoff standings. The win by the Ducks sealed a 3-1 record in the Freeway Faceoff for the season.
The Kings had their final home game of January against the New York Rangers on Jan. 20. The Kings got on the board quickly when Adrian Kempe scored his 17th goal of the season just 18 seconds into the game. The Rangers answered when forward Will Cuylle scored his 1st goal of the season about halfway through the same period.
Less than a minute later, the Kings regained the lead when Kevin Fiala scored his team-leading 18th goal of the season. The Rangers tied the score again late in the period, when J.T. Miller scored on an even-strength goal. About five minutes into the second period, Kings forward Taylor Ward scored his second career NHL goal, which was his first of the season, giving the Kings a 3-2 lead. Later in the same period, Andrei Kuzmenko scored his 10th goal of the season, putting the Kings up 4-2.
In the third period, Kings forward Alex Laferriere thought he scored his 13th goal of the season. However, the goal was successfully challenged by the Rangers for goaltender interference and was overturned, keeping the score at 4-2. With less than 30 seconds remaining in the game, Rangers forward J.T. Miller scored his second goal of the night, making Kings fans anxious. The Kings held on with a regulation win, earning a much-needed two points.
The Kings will wrap up January with a six-game road trip that begins on Jan. 24 in St. Louis.