The Week That Was
What a week it was for the Kings! After falling on the road to the Minnesota Wild to start the week, the Kings rebounded strongly by winning the final three games by a total of 17-5. Closing out the week with a pair of back-to-back 7-2 home wins over the weekend, the Kings have moved up into a tie with the Edmonton Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division. Both with 87 points, the Kings have one game in hand heading into the week.
Game Recaps:
Notable News From The Week That Was:
- The Kings power play went 2-for-7 in the four games. The Kings power play remains ranked 28th (15.7%).
- The Kings penalty kill went 7-for-10 across the three games. Their penalty kill drops three places to eighth place in the NHL at 81.l8%.
The Week That Is
With 13 games remaining in the 2024-25 regular season, the Kings enter the week tied with the Ottawa Senators for the most home games remaining (10) in the NHL. With three more home games and one road game on the calendar this week, the Kings will have a chance to improve on their NHL-best 25-3-4 home record and break the current tie in standings with the Edmonton Oilers.
Having won eight of their last nine games and coming into the week off of back-to-back 7-2 routings, the Kings will begin their gameplay on Tuesday when they put that home record on the line against the New York Rangers. Entering the week, the Rangers are one point out of the second Wild Card in the Eastern Conference, but have played two more games than the aforementioned Senators who hold that last playoff position. Come Tuesday, the Rangers will happily be beginning a three-game California road trip after going 1-3-0 at Madison Square Garden last week. Back on the road, the Rangers have earned points in five of their last six games away from MSG (4-1-1). Like the Rangers skaters last week, star goalie Igor Shesterkin closed out his weekend strong. Stopping 36 shots on 39 attempts, Shesterkin earned his 24th win in his last outing. Offensively, the Kings should be wary of two threats playing some of their best hockey. First, leading scorer for the Rangers Artemi Panarin (31-44=75), who just had his 11-game point streak (8-8=16) snapped on Saturday. Next, the semi-recently acquired JT Miller, who is now in his second stint with the club after an eight-year hiatus. Since joining the Rangers on February 1st, Miller has recorded 20 points (8-12=20) in 21 games.
Following Tuesday’s battle versus the Rangers the Kings will head to the Mile High city for a quick one-game stint away from home. Taking on a team as hot as the Kings, the Colorado Avalanche also enter the week 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. Having brought in multiple bodies at the trade deadline, the Avalanche added Charlie Coyle (via BOS), Brock Nelson (via NYI), Erik Johnson (via PHI), Ryan Lindgren (via NYR) and Martin Necas (via CAR) dating back to the halfway point into the season. When you play the Avalanche you must start with the all-world superstar Nathan MacKinnon. Currently leading the NHL in assists (77) and points (28-77=105), MacKinnon has had almost double the amount of multi-point games (30) as pointless games (17) this season. Also leading the way among his peers is defenseman Cale Makar. Makar enters the week leading all NHL defensemen in goals (25) assists (55) and points (81). Having added depth at the deadline, the Avalanche have been stingy defensively as they rank third in the NHL in team defense (2.13 GAA) since March 8th.
The Kings will return home following Thursday’s game and get set to take on the 42-25-3 Toronto Maple Leafs. Currently fighting for an Atlantic Division title, the Maple Leafs find themselves in a battle with the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning as all three teams are within four points of each other. Like the Avalanche, the Maple Leafs too added at the trade deadline. Bringing in Scott Laughton (via PHI) and Brandon Carlo (via BOS), Toronto added grit and toughness. Having taken over the majority of the starts as of late, Joseph Woll had won three straight starts prior to dropping his last outing over the weekend. Woll, 26, enters the week with a career high 24 wins this season. The Maple pose multiple threats as a team for the Kings, beginning in the face-off circle. Currently the Maple Leafs rank second in the NHL with a 53.6 face-off percentage. Also loaded and dangerous up front, the offense in Toronto starts with captain Auston Matthews. Matthews has four goals in his last five games and has notched 27 goals and 63 points (27-36=63) this season. Not to be overshadowed, upcoming free agent Mitch Marner leads the Maple Leafs with 85 points (22-63=85), while William Nylander leads the team with 38 goals.
For the second straight weekend the Kings are hosting back-to-back games. This time slated to play the 32nd place San Jose Sharks on Sunday night, the Kings will aim to improve on their 1-2-0 record against their in-state rival to the north. With each team having held serve on home ice so far, the Sharks have outscored the Kings 11-4 in San Jose, while the Kings defeated the Sharks at home 3-2 back in October. Despite the 19-42-9 record, the Sharks remain dangerous and have loads of young talent that can score. Having only appeared in one of the first three meetings, last year’s first overall pick Macklin Celebrini quickly introduced himself to Kings fans on November 25th. Putting together a three-point game (2-1=3) in his debut versus the Kings, Celebrini has continued that production throughout the season. Heading into the week having played 58 games this season, Celebrini has an NHL-rookie leading 52 points (21-31=52). While ranking 31st in team offense (2.59 GF/GP) and 32nd in team defense (3.64 GA/GP), the Sharks are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games but none of their four wins have come against playoff spot holders.
Upcoming games and events this week:
- 3/25 vs. New York Rangers @ 7:30 (FanDuel Sports Network West)
- 3/27 @ Colorado Avalanche @ 7:00 PM (ESPN)
- 3/29 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs @ 4:00 (FanDuel Sports Network West)
- 3/30 vs. San Jose Sharks @ 7:00 PM (ESPN)
All Kings games can be heard on the ESPN LA App.
