The Los Angeles Kings would go on to win Saturday by a final score of 2-1 over the Seattle Kraken. After no goals in the first period by either team, Adrian Kempe broke the tie with a goal in the early parts of the second period.
However, it was the second goal that might end up being more impactful, and not only because it was the game-winner. This goal would be less than two minutes after Adrian Kempe and the reason it was such a positive development was it came when the Kings were on a power play and it would be Quinton Byfield who would score the goal.
The Kings power play has been a pretty big disappointment as of late as they have failed to convert the man advantages into goals on the scoreboard. Entering this game against the Kraken, the Kings had gone four straight games without a power play goal and the last one was against the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 9th. In those last five games, the Kings are 1 for 12 on power plays.
After the game, Kevin Fiala was asked about the power play and Zach Dooley quoted Fiala as saying that he hopes it can "open the gates."
Talking about the power play, Kevin Fiala hopes today's goal can "open the gates".
— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) November 24, 2024
Said Kings have been working on it a ton during practices and the focus is to not overthink things.
"You just have to take your chances, don't over think it, don't over pass it."
Quinton Byfield needed this goal for the Los Angeles Kings
The hope is that it not only opens the gates for the power play units but also for Quinton Byfield. He entered this season with incredibly high expectations after posting a 20-goal season last year.
The results haven't been there as Byfield had only two goals through the first 20 games after starting the season without a goal in the first 13 games. He had back-to-back games with goals but has recently had a five-game stretch without a goal.
With the departure of Pierre-Luc Dubois this offseason, the hope was that Byfield would step in as the team's center on the second line. However, with his struggles and also due to injuries, he has been moved around quite a bit to begin the season.
He is definitely going to be a key part of the success, or lack thereof, for the Kings this season. They are going to need him to contribute and hopefully this goal can build some momentum for the former first-round pick that he can build on moving forward.