Kings Conclude Eastern Road Trip with Back-to-Back Games
The Kings will finish the Eastern portion of their season-long road trip with their first back-to-back games of the 2024-25 season. They’ll face the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Wednesday before heading to Montreal to take on the Canadiens on Thursday.
After an opening-night victory in Buffalo, highlighted by strong individual performances, the Kings experienced a tighter-checking overtime loss in Boston. They are looking to regain their defensive form after a high-scoring 8-7 overtime defeat in Ottawa, where they lost three different two-goal leads but still earned a single point.
“There were a lot of chances, especially this game, and then against Buffalo as well,” said Adrian Kempe, last season’s team-leading scorer. “The 50-50 battles we lost around the bluelines led to three-on-two situations and players being open in the slot. We need to regroup and review.”
Special teams played a significant role in this back-and-forth game, becoming an early-season theme for the Kings. They have drawn the most penalties per game but also taken the second-most. Their streak of 11 consecutive penalty kills ended after conceding four power-play goals in Ottawa, overshadowing the three they scored.
“We were getting really good looks and were confident in each other,” said Brandt Clarke, who had three power-play assists in a homecoming game. “It just wasn’t enough.”
The Leafs have bounced back with two consecutive 4-2 victories, despite a stumble in their opener against Montreal. After five seasons as captain, John Tavares passed the “C” to Auston Matthews over the summer. They are still seeking their first point of the season from Matthews, their former league MVP, while William Nylander contributed with two goals in a win against Pittsburgh.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens fell to the Penguins in their last game, dropping to 2-2-0 on the season. Cole Caufield is tied for second in the league with four goals entering Tuesday’s action.
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