The Los Angeles Kings were looking for their first seven-game win streak since the 2021-22 season in what was their second game of a seven-game road trip. They would win 3-1 against the New York Islanders on Tuesday but unfortunately were on the wrong end of the same score against the Devils.
It was a pretty quiet first period for both teams before Jordan Spence got the scoring started with a goal late in the second period. However, the Devils didn't waste any time and Ondrej Palat tied it at one before the end of the period.
In the third period, it was pretty much all New Jersey as Jack Hughes scored a goal to break the tie before Brett Pesce put it out of reach with a short-handed goal in the final minutes of the game.
This was a bit of a weird game for the Los Angeles Kings because it felt like the New Jersey Devils were in control even though the scoreboard never really reflected it until late in the third period. The Kings did have the lead at one point before giving up three straight goals but they would finish the game with only 13 shots on net, compared to 26 by the New Jersey Devils.
The good news is that the Kings limited the penalties, which has been an issue at times, as they were only called once in this game. Meanwhile, they only got one power play against the Devils and that was the turning point. It was late in the game and felt like a perfect chance for them to tie it up but unfortunately, an uncharacteristic turnover by Anze Kopitar set the Devils up to get the short-handed goal.
In the end it was only one game and it will be important for the Los Angeles Kings to turn their focus to their next game. That is on Saturday against a struggling New York Rangers team and while it is a long road trip, these next few games are very winnable with Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Nashville after the Rangers.