The Los Angeles Kings continued January with back-to-back road games in Western Canada that began on Jan. 9 in Winnipeg, versus the league-worst Jets. Followed by a game against their Pacific Division rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, on Jan. 10. Then they had two home games against the Dallas Stars on Jan. 12 and division-leading Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 14.
Brandt Clarke and the Los Angeles Kings struggled with consistency in the West this past week
On Jan. 9, the struggling Jets scored first when forward Vladislav Namestnikov netted a goal less than two minutes into the game. With about two minutes left in the same period, the Jets struck again when Cole Koepke gave them a 2-0 lead. The second period continued going in the Jets favor when Winnipeg native and former Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews gave the Jets a 3-0 advantage.
The Kings finally got on the board when Quinton Byfield scored his seventh goal of the season halfway through the same period. This was the Kings' only goal of the game. About three minutes later, the Jets went up by three goals again when Mark Scheifele scored on the power play, giving the Jets a 4-1 lead. The Jets did not stop there, with Scheifele scoring again, giving the Jets a 5-1 lead. A scoreless third period gave the Jets a 5-1 win.
The Western Canada back-to-back concluded on Jan. 10 in Edmonton with the Kings facing off against the Oilers. The Oilers took an early lead when star forward Leon Draisaitl scored his 22nd goal of the season. Late in the same period, Corey Perry, in his first game back from missing the previous two games due to a personal matter, got the Kings on the board with a power-play goal.
The first period ended with the score being one-all. The second period got the Oilers on the board again when Draisaitl scored his second goal of the night and his 422nd career goal. The Kings tied the game once again at two-all when Andre Lee scored his second career NHL goal and his 1st of the season. It was also his 22nd career NHL game.
In the third period, the Kings finally got the lead when Alex Laferriere scored his 12th goal of the season on a tip-in. Laferriere now has five goals in his last eight games. The Oilers answered back about three minutes later when Connor McDavid scored his 30th goal of the season on the power play. Regulation ended in a 3-3 tie. In overtime, the Oilers thought they had won on a goal by McDavid, but it was waved off due to goaltender interference. The Kings eventually won 4-3 in the shootout with Adrian Kempe earning the game-winner.
The Kings returned to Los Angeles to face off against the Dallas Stars on Jan. 12. They started off slow again when Stars forward Wyatt Johnston scored about three and a half minutes in the first period. That was his 25th goal of the season. The Stars have been great on the road and at home, earning them the 2nd-best record in the NHL behind the Colorado Avalanche. The second period was scoreless, ending with the Stars still leading 1-0.
Close to halfway through the third period, the Kings tied the game when Quinton Byfield scored on the power play, giving him his 8th goal of the season. On the same goal, Corey Perry earned his 500th career assist. Unfortunately for the Kings, this was their only goal of the game.
With less than six minutes left in the game, Stars forward Mikko Rantanen thought he scored, but the Kings challenged for offside, and the goal was disallowed, keeping the game at one-all. With less than four minutes left in the third period, Jason Robertson got the Stars a 2-1 lead with an even-strength goal. Matt Duchene sealed the victory for the Stars with an empty-net goal, giving the Stars a 3-1 win.
The Kings' two-game homestand concluded on Jan. 14 against the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights. There was no score during the first period, with both teams clogging up the neutral zone. The Golden Knights jumped to a 1-0 lead when rookie Braeden Bowman scored his sixth goal of the season about four minutes into the second period.
The same period ended with the Golden Knights still leading 1-0. The Kings finally got on the board about six-and-a-half minutes into the third period until Kevin Fiala scored his team-leading 17th goal of the season, tying the score at one-all.
The Golden Knights got the lead again when former Toronto Maple Leaf Mitch Marner scored his 11th goal of the season on the power play. With only one-minute and a half left, the Kings tied things up when defenseman Brandt Clarke scored his 6th goal of the season. Regulation ended with the score being two-all. The Golden Knights eventually won in overtime, when Mark Stone earned the game-winner only twenty-five seconds into the extra session.
The Kings wrap up the week 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. On Jan. 20, they will face the New York Rangers at home. Then they start a six-game road trip, beginning against the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 24.