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The Los Angeles Kings wrapped up their regular season last night, following a back-to-back set on the road where they defeated the Kraken 5-3 on Wednesday, before falling 3-2 in overtime to the Vancouver Canucks.
The Kings had a rough start against the Kraken, managing just two shots through their first 20 minutes and ended up down 2-0 early in the second period. However, goals from Gabriel Vilardi and Phillip Danault evened the game and while Jordan Eberle put the Kraken back ahead, Trevor Moore managed to tie it up once again before the second intermission. Despite Los Angeles being outshot 17-9 in the final frame, an early goal from Lias Andersson and an empty netter from Andreas Athanasiou, along with a total of 37 saves on the night for Jonathan Quick, led the Kings to a 5-3 win.
It was a very different game against the Canucks though, with Los Angeles outshooting Vancouver 13-5 in the first period and then following up with a strong second period, where they went up 2-0 off late goals from Gabriel Vilardi and Adrian Kempe. However, they let up in the third period and goals from Brock Boeser and Alex Chiasson sent the game to overtime. In the extra frame, Boeser was the hero for the Canucks, scoring with just 30 seconds left to play, resulting in a 3-2 overtime loss for the Kings.
Despite blowing a lead against the Canucks, it was still a solid back-to-back set for the Kings. It would’ve been great to pick up the win and carry a six-game winning streak into the postseason but it was only the final frame in the second half of a road back-to-back where they let things slip away.
The Kings have been playing well as of late and entering the postseason, there’s reason to be excited after a surprising and promising year. There isn’t necessarily a ton of pressure or high expectations heading into the playoffs, given that many didn’t expect Los Angeles to make the postseason – and they’re facing a team in the exact opposite position, with the Oilers under a ton of pressure to perform. That said, it would be nice to see the Kings go on a deep run for Dustin Brown.
The Kings’ next game will be Game 1 of their first round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers.
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