Ryan Sikes 
The LA Kings dropped a tough game in San Jose 5-0 on Saturday night. A few takeaways from the loss.
1. Injuries catching up with Kings
The Kings were dealt with yet another injury, with Andreas Athanasiou going on Injured Reserve in advance of Saturday’s game. Athanasiou was playing really well before his injury, picking up the slack for Viktor Arvidsson, who is also on IR.
Unfortunately, only Drew Doughty appears somewhat “close” to returning, as he’s listed as day-to-day. Athanasiou will reportedly miss an “extended” period of time, and the timeline for Mikey Anderson, Brendan Lemieux, and Arvidsson remains to be determined.
2. Learning moment for Jordan Spence
Jordan Spence has been thrown into the deep end with all of the injuries along the blueline. He played well in his NHL debut on Thursday, but he was all sorts of turned around on San Jose’s second goal.
The 21-year-old retrieved a Sharks’ dump-in, only to turn the puck over, losing track of it before Matthew Nieto snuck it past Cal Petersen.
The Long Beach native scores in his 300th game in Teal! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/5ItDBS7CN9
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) March 13, 2022
3. The power-play continues to be a disaster
This takeaway is short and sweet – the power-play is anything but an advantage. Including Saturday, the Kings are just 1-for-11 on the power-play in March in what is essentially a microcosm of the season.
That has to be fixed.
4. Down goes Brown
The Kings were dealt with another blow after Dustin Brown went to the locker room in the middle of the second period. He absorbed a Jordan Spence one-timer and skated off slowly, holding his hand.
Dustin Brown leaves after taking a shot to the hand. At least it wasn't a knee on knee shot, right? #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/hNwguZbxqC
— TEAL TOWN USA – A San Jose Sharks Podcast (@TEALTOWNUSA) March 13, 2022
Not long after, he was escorted across the ice and down the tunnel by the team trainer with his hand in a towel. Let’s hope for the best on that one.
Dustin Brown will not return to the game (upper-body injury), per Kings PR.
— Ryan Sikes (@ryan_sikes10) March 13, 2022
Matt Roy also exited the game in the third period and did not return.
5. Make-or-break week coming for LA Kings
Welp, these were the two games that the Kings should have won when looking at this particular part of the schedule.
Now, they’ll head back home to host the Panthers on Sunday, the Avalanche on Tuesday, and the Sharks on Thursday before going to Vegas on Saturday night. It’s a big week for the LA Kings rolling into next Monday’s trade deadline.
The Kings and Panthers get underway at 7:00 pm PT.
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