The Week That Was
It was a light week for the Kings that saw just two games across the whole week. Light on calendar and in the goal department, we saw just four total goals in the two games combined. Splitting the week, three Kings went 1-1-0 and currently third in the Pacific Division with 25 points and a 11-7-3 record after a quarter of the season.
Game Recaps:
Notable News From The Week That Was:
- Anze Kopitar (0-2=2) led the Kings in scoring this past week across the two games.
- Adrian Kempe took sole possession of the lead in goals for the Kings this past week with the game-opening goal on Saturday against the Kraken. Kempe now has 10 goals on the season and leads Alex Laferriere by one goal.
- Kopitar continues to lead the Kings in scoring with 23 points (5-18=23) in 21 games.
- In place of the injured Darcy Kuemper, David Rittich started both games this past week. In two stellar performances, Rittich allowed just two goals across the two games and stopped 37 of 39 shots.
- The Kings power play went 1-for-6 in the two games and ranks 28th in the NHL (15.6%).
- The Kings penalty went 5-for-6 across the two games and also ranks 12th in the NHL (80.6%).
The Week That Is
After just two games last week, the Kings will double that with this week’s schedule. Beginning with a Monday night game in San Jose, the Kings will trade off between home and road games this week. The Kings have a favorable schedule this week as well as three of the next four opponents sit in seventh or worse in the division standings, those being the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators. The outlier? The Winnipeg Jets, the best team in the NHL.
The Kings step into the week in San Jose set to play the Sharks for the third of four times this season. After an early season split between the two teams in October with each winning on home ice, the Kings will make their last trip to San Jose until next season as the final game between the two will take place at Crypto.come Arena on March 30, 2025. Despite having played the Sharks twice already this season, it’ll be the first time that Kings see Macklin Celebrini, the 2024 first overall draft pick. Celebrini has appeared in Sharks last 10 games and in 11 games this season. Since returning, the Sharks have earned point in six of the 10 games going 3-4-3. Celebrini has notched seven points (4-3=7) in his 11 games and has a -6 plus/minus rating while averaging 19:47 time on ice. Also scoring for the Sharks is their only player averaging over a point-per-game, Mikael Granlund. Granlund, who scored two goals in their first meeting with the Kings this season has 24 points (9-15=24) in 23 games. One area to watch for during the game will be when the Kings are on the power play. The Sharks penalty kill ranks 10th in the NHL (81.8%) and have killed off all eight of their penalties against the Kings in those previous two games.
The Kings will return home following Monday’s game and get set to host the NHL’s best team, the 17-4-0 Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. With 34 points so far this season, the Jets sit four points clear of the Minnesota Wild and New Jersey Devils for the top record in league. One of their many reasons for success this season is their health; 16 of their 18 opening night roster skaters have appeared in all 21 games this season with the exception of former King Rasmus Kupari having played in 20 of the 21 games and Logan Stanley, who's missed the last 10 games due to injury. Both high scoring offensively and stingy defensively, the Jets rank second in the NHL in offense, averaging 4.05 goals for per game and rank third in defense, averaging 2.43 goals against per game. Offensively, the Jets are led by Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele. Both Connor and Scheifele are averaging north of a point-per-game as Connor has 26 points (13-13=26) and Scheifele has 25 points (12-13=25), each playing in all 21 games. Defensively, the man in the blue paint has been outstanding. Last year’s Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck has picked up where he left off last season, beginning the year with a league-high 14 wins and three shutouts. Hellebuyck is 14-2-0 this season and holds a .924 SV% with a 2.13 GAA. This will be the first of three games against the Jets this season with the Kings getting the extra home game in this three-game season series.
Following Thanksgiving, the Kings have a quick turnaround with a 12:30 PM day game in Anaheim on Friday. It’ll be the second and last time the Kings have to travel to Orange County this season with the final two games of the season series set to take place at home in 2025. Like the Kings, the Ducks are also used to playing in low scoring games. Ranking 24th in scoring (2.53 GF/GP), Troy Terry’s 12 points (6-6=12) on the season leads his team. Putting that in perspective, Terry’s 12 points would rank sixth on the Kings. Meanwhile, the Ducks are 13th in the NHL in defense (3.00 GA/GP) and their goaltenders are the ones to thank. Even with a 5-6-1 record, Lukas Dostal ranks first in the NHL in goals saved above expected (13.7 xGSAE) and holds the same save percentage as Winnipeg’s Hellebuyck (.924%). Also sharp as he has been his whole career is John Gibson, who since returning from injury is 3-0-1 with a .915 SV%. The Ducks trail the Kings by six points and are 8-8-3 with a pair of games to be played between now and Friday’s game.
Last on the Kings schedule for the week ahead are the 8-11-1 Ottawa Senators. Slumping as of late, the Senators are currently on a five-game losing streak (0-4-1) and have struggled to keep the puck out of the net. On the season, the Senators rank 24th in the NHL in defense, allowing 3.24 goals per game. During their five-game skid, it’s been even worse (4.20 GA/GP). On the other end of the ice, the Senators like life with the man advantage. The Senators rank fifth in the NHL on the power play (28.8%) thanks to the help of their quarterback on the blue line. Jake Sanderson, 22, who is in his first year of an eight-year, $64.4M ($8.05M AAV) deal ranks tied for second among defensemen in the NHL in power play points with 10, trailing only Cale Makar. Also producing at a high level offensively are Tim Stutzle (9-15=24), Brady Tkachuk (10-11=21) and Drake Batherson (8-12=20) who are all averaging at least a point-per-game. This will be the second and final meeting between the two teams as the Kings will look to avenge their 8-7 overtime loss back in mid-October.
Upcoming games and events this week:
- 11/25 @ San Jose Sharks @ 7:00 PM (FanDuel Sports Network)
- 11/27 vs. Winnipeg Jets @ 7:00 PM (FanDuel Sports Network)
- 11/29 @ Anaheim Ducks @ 12:30 PM (FanDuel Sports Network)
All Kings games can be heard on the ESPN LA App.
