Kings Edge Kraken 2-1 in Matinee Affair – Hockey Writers – Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings (11-7-3) defeated the Seattle Kraken (10-10-1) 2-1 in the Pacific Division championship Saturday afternoon (Nov. 23) from the City of Angels. For Seattle, this was the start of a two-game California road trip after a successful home game, not to mention a chance to tie the Kings at points. As for LA, they looked set to bounce back from Thursday’s shocking home loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

A Scoreless First Period Morphs into an Action-Packed Middle Frame

The opening 20 minutes didn’t treat Crypto.com Arena fans with tons of action. Until then, the visiting Kraken returned to their locker room after the horn with a 5-4 lead in shots on goal. Both David Rittich and Joey Daccord stood tall when called to action.

The tempo has changed in the middle frame. Los Angeles treated the home fans to two separate goals in just a few minutes. It started at 4:19 when Adrian Kempe caught a slick pass from Alex Turcotte in space and fired a shot past Daccord in traffic. The Kings also doubled on the power play. At 6:03, Quinton Byfield received a pass down the right faceoff circle and ripped a one-timer from an incredibly sharp angle to make it 2-0.

If it wasn’t for a great save by Seattle’s netminder with 90 seconds left, it would have been 3-0 for the Kings. These caught their opponents asleep during a power play. This allowed Byfield and Warren Foegele to run for a 2-on-0 opportunity but, surprisingly, failed to capitalize on it.

The Kings Hold the Castle for the Third Time

With their backs to the wall, the Kraken made the expected third-period push. One incredible sequence in the nine-minute mark saw Brandon Montour fire not one but two powerful shots into the slot (he got his own rebound). No one stepped in. The Kings defense picked up a loose puck and sent it into Foegele’s path as he raced out of the break zone but was blocked by Daccord.

Seattle was given one last chance to make something of the afternoon on the power play but failed to do so. Ironically, they would score a consolation goal through Montour at 18:26 with an empty net, but that was as close as they would get. Rittich stopped 19 of 20 shots to help LA secure two hard-fought points.

The Kraken head to Anaheim to face the Ducks on Monday, Nov. 25, in the first home-and-home. The Kings travel north to San Jose to meet the Sharks on the same night.