LA Kings off to tough start post-Olympics

The Los Angeles Kings resumed action following the Olympic Break with a six-game homestand that began with their season series finale against the Golden Knights on Feb. 25. Prior to the game, the Kings held a pregame ceremony for their five players returning from the Olympics, three of whom returned with medals. Defenseman Drew Doughty and goalie Darcy Kuemper returned with a silver from Canada, and Joel Armia earned bronze with Finland.

Los Angeles Kings off to a rocky start in late February and early March this month

The game also marked the Kings' debut of Artemi Panarin, who was acquired from the New York Rangers prior to the Olympic roster freeze. Unfortunately, for the Kings, Kevin Fiala will miss the remainder of the regular season due to an injury incurred at the Olympics while playing for Switzerland. The Golden Knights struck first with Pavel Dorofeyev scoring his 27th goal of the season about eleven minutes into the game.

Four minutes later, Quinton Byfield tied things up for the Kings on the powerplay with new King Artemi Panarin earning the primary assist. In the second period, the Kings went up 2-1 when Adrian Kempe scored his team-leading 21st goal of the season. Panarin also earned his second assist of the night. This was the lone goal in the period. The third period started off with Vegas tying the game at two-all by Colton Sissons eight minutes in. 

Followed by two more goals by Brandon Saad and Reilly Smith in the span of less than a minute, giving the Golden Knights a 4-2 lead, and putting the Kings on their heels. Two minutes later, the Kings regained some life when Byfield scored his second goal of the night. The Golden Knights answered quickly when Dorofeyev scored his second goal of the night on the power play, putting the Golden Knights up 5-3. 

With one minute and six seconds remaining in the game, Brandt Clarke got the Kings back within a goal. The Kings pulled their goalie during the last minute, trying to force overtime. The plan backfired, however, when Ivan Barbashev scored an empty-netter, giving  Vegas a 6-4 victory.

The homestand continued the next night with the Edmonton Oilers in town. The scoring opened up in favor of the Oilers when defenseman Ty Emberson scored his 2nd goal of the season. About a minute later, Vasily Podkolzin gave the Oilers a 2-0 lead.

The Kings got on the board when Warren Foegele scored with less than eight minutes in the same period. Unfortunately, this would be the Kings' lone goal of the game. In the second period, the Oilers came out faster than the Kings  when Andrew Mangiapane scored three minutes in and got them up by two points. About five minutes later, Connor McDavid scored his 35th goal of the season, giving the Oilers a 4-1 lead.

That goal prompted head coach Jim Hiller to pull Darcy Kuemper and replace him with Anton Forsberg.  Shortly after, Zach Hyman scored on the power play and gave the Oilers a 5-1 lead at the end of the period. The third period began with the Oilers scoring just 31 seconds in with a goal by Leon Draisaitl on the powerplay. Defenseman Jake Walman then scored two goals on the deflated Kings, giving them an 8-1 win.  

The Kings hoped to wrap up February with a desperately needed win when they faced the Flames on Feb. 28. The first period was scoreless, with both teams not being able to capitalize on scoring chances. The scoring opened up in the second period in favor of the Kings when forward Alex Laferriere scored his 14th goal of the season on a tough rebound. Ending the period with the Kings leading 1-0.

The Kings held on to the one-point lead throughout the third period, with Kings goalie Anton Forsberg playing well. With about a minute and a half left in the game, the Flames pulled their goalie, Dustin Wolf. The Kings played well defensively with about 30 seconds left in the game, forward Artemi Panarin passed the puck to Adrian Kempe, who made a tough backhand shot into the empty net.

This was Kempe’s team-leading 22nd goal of the season, sealing a much-needed 2-0 victory. The shutout was Forsberg’s second of the season and the 10th of his career. The Kings ended the month with a 1-4-1 record.  This also ended their five-game losing streak and was their only win of February. 

Unfortunately for Jim Hiller, the game against Calgary would be his final game as head coach. The Kings have struggled with injuries and special teams play, but those reasons were not enough to keep Hiller on the job. General Manager Ken Holland felt the time for a change was now, to try and ignite a playoff push. 

The Kings will welcome March and continue their homestand on March 2 against the Colorado Avalanche, followed by the New York Islanders on March 5, and will wrap up March 7 against the Montreal Canadiens.