Russell Morgan 
The LA Kings debuted their new Reverse Retro jerseys and capped off their four-game homestand with a nail-biting 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Sean Durzi scored twice, and Cal Petersen had a good game to give the Kings their fifth straight win at Crypto.com Arena.
*Brendan Lemieux did not return to the game for the third period.
“He’s probably going to be out for a little while,” Todd McLellan on Brendan Lemieux.#GoKingsGo
— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) November 13, 2022
Scoring
1st Period
LAK – Carl Grundstrom (4), Assists: Rasmus Kupari (2), Alex Edler (2)
9 SECONDS IN!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/b6rUgI95B7
— LA Kings (@LAKings) November 13, 2022
DET – Dominik Kubalik (7) (PPG), Assists: Filip Hronek (9), David Perron (4)
LAK – Kevin Fiala (5) (PPG), Assists: Drew Doughty (7), Adrian Kempe (4)
2nd Period
LAK – Sean Durzi (2), Assists: Phillip Danault (6), Arthur Kaliyev (6)
LAK – Sean Durzi (3), Assists: Arthur Kaliyev (7), Phillip Danault (7)
3rd Period
DET – Dylan Larkin (7), Assists: Oskar Sundqvist (5), Lucas Raymond (3)
DET – Filip Hronek (1), Dominik Kubalik (11), David Perron (5)
Durzi’s Two-Goal Night
There aren’t many players on the LA Kings who are more dynamic than Sean Durzi. On many occasions, it seems he’s either playing well or struggling. Tonight was one of those really good nights for Durzi.
Offensively, he scored two goals, one of which came on the power play. Defensively he was solid. He played the body well along the boards and was on the ice during the final shifts of the game to help close out the victory for LA.
For a player who is only in his second season in the NHL, playing his off-side no less, he’s been an extremely valuable piece to this team’s recent success. Nobody could’ve envisioned Durzi being a player relied upon by head coach Todd McLellan to play important top-four minutes a night, but he continues to prove the doubters wrong.
Quiet night from the Sean Durzi haters.
• 19:01 TOI
• 2 goals
• +1
• 77.8 xGF%
• 73.3 CF%#GoKingsGo— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) November 13, 2022
Power Play Gets Going
It had been a rough stretch for the LA Kings’ power play of late. Coming into the game against Detroit, they had scored just one goal out of their last 16 opportunities with the man advantage. After some retooling in practice and maybe a little luck, LA again found some success with the extra man.
Here’s the new configuration of the first PP unit:
🥅
KopitarDoughty Vilardi Fiala
Kempe#GoKingsGo
— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) November 13, 2022
It didn’t take long for the new configuration of the first power play unit to get on the board. Even though the goal from Kevin Fiala was a bit flukey, there was plenty of good puck movement before the power play tally.
The Kings finished 2/3 with the extra man and were only a few seconds from a perfect on the night. Hopefully, the team can gain some confidence from their success in last night’s game and carry that into the rest of the season.
Tough Roadtrip Ahead
The LA Kings finished their four-game homestand in tremendous fashion, taking all eight points available. The defense was back to form, both goaltenders played well, and the power play got back on the board. But the upcoming schedule doesn’t get easy.
The Kings will now head out of town for a four-game road trip against divisional opponents. They’ll kick things off facing the two Alberta teams with the Calgary Flames next Monday, followed by a rematch of last year’s playoff matchup against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. The roadie ends with a tough back-to-back in Vancouver next Friday against the Canucks and the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.
With LA playing some good hockey of late, these games will be a good test for Todd McLellan’s group to show that they are one of the better teams in the NHL.
Featured Image Credit: (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)