The Los Angeles Kings are kicking off a seven-game road trip on Tuesday night against the New York Islanders. They are hoping to keep the momentum from their five-game win streak heading into this road trip and the first period was exactly the kind of start they were hoping for.
Even with having to kill two penalties in the first 15 minutes, the LA Kings really seemed to dictate the flow of the game and kept the Islanders on their heels. They would out-shoot the Islanders 11 to 4 and would get the first goal of the game.
Anze Kopitar finds Adrian Kempe to give the Los Angeles Kings a 1-0 lead
In the first period, the Kings had a shot go wide that Trevor Moore was able to control and passed behind the net down to Anze Kopitar. The Kings' captain showed incredible patience, which allowed Adrian Kempe to get in position in front of the net and he wasted no time beating Ilya Sorokin.
Perfectly placed 😌 pic.twitter.com/b4qDBbTiBY
— LA Kings (@LAKings) December 11, 2024
It really isn't much of a surprise to see Kopitar and Kempe getting the Kings on the board early in this game. Both players are playing at a very high level as Kempe has now had back-to-back games with a goal and five goals in the last eight games. The goal today gives him 13 on the season and he moves ahead of Alex Laferriere for the team lead in the category.
As for Anze Kopitar, he continues to add to his franchise leading assist total which is now at 816 for his career. Similar to Kempe, he has been on quite a hot streak with an assist in four straight games now, and 10 in the last eight games.
The Kings will not be able to let up and need to continue to keep the pressure on the New York Islanders if they want to extend their win streak to six games.