The Los Angeles Kings are currently winners of three straight and welcome a Washington Capitals team who is playing just as well. This is expected to be an excellent hockey game between two good teams but there is plenty of storylines outside of just who might win. Let's dive into some of those storylines ahead of tonight's matchup.
Pierre-Luc Dubois returns to Los Angeles
Ahead of the 2023-24 season, the Los Angeles Kings tried to make a big splash by trading for center Pierre-Luc Dubois. He was coming off back-to-back seasons of 60 or more points and was a player that appeared to just be entering the prime of his career.
Unfortunately, Pierre-Luc Dubois only season in Los Angeles was nothing short of a disaster for seemingly everyone involved. He would finish the season with 16 goals and 24 assists, which were career-lows in seasons he played 70 or more games.
There is no doubt that he will be motivated in tonight's game as I am sure he would love nothing more to get a win over his former team.
Darcy Kuemper plays his former team
While Pierre-Luc Dubois tenure with the Kings was a disaster and what they traded to the Winnipeg Jets makes it worse, if there is a silver lining in all of this it has to be the trade they made with the Washington Capitals. The reason was that the Kings would get goalie Darcy Kuemper in return from the Capitals and he has been excellent this season.
This season, Kuemper is 20-8-7 with a goals against average of only 2.29 and a save percentage of .914, both significantly better than last season in Washington. He is even better at home with a 12-1-2 record and a save percentage of .927 and a goals against average of 1.91.
There may not be the same animosity that Kuemper holds against his former team but he certainly will be motivated to also get a win over his former team.
Alex Ovechkin chasing the Great One
One of the biggest storylines across the entire NHL has been Alex Ovechkin's chase for the all-time record for goals, which is currently held by former Los Angeles Kings forward Wayne Gretzky. There was a chance that this could have been the game in which he would break that record, but he is still eight goals behind Gretzky as Ovechkin sits at 886 entering this game.
It will be worth watching if Ovechkin can add to his total as he has historically not played well against Los Angeles. In his career, he has 27 games against the Kings but has only 12 goals and a +/- of -9.
Quinton Byfield's goal streak
For the Los Angeles Kings, there may not be a better goal scorer currently than Quinton Byfield. He has been on a hot streak that includes four straight games with a goal. The Washington Capitals lead the NHL in goals scored per game with an average of 3.66, so the Kings are definitely going to need Byfield to add a goal of two tonight.
Who will keep their win streak intact?
The Los Angeles Kings are entering this game with a three-game win streak with wins over the St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights and New York Islanders. However, the Capitals are entering this game with a win streak of their own, which currently stands at five.
However, this game tonight will be the Capitals' toughest opponent in this stretch of games as they only have one win over a playoff team in this current win streak. There is no question that this will not be an easy team for the Kings but being one of the best teams at home, they should feel confident going into this game.