Russell Morgan 
In a barn-burner to end all barn-burners, the Seattle Kraken defeated the LA Kings 9-8 in overtime.
Scoring
1st Period
LAK – Anze Kopitar (5), Assists: Kevin Fiala (16), Drew Doughty (12)
SEA – Matty Beniers PPG (8), Assists: Alexander Wennberg (6), Justin Schultz (11)
SEA – Jared McCann (9), Assists: Jordan Eberle (12), Justin Schultz (12)
LAK – Viktor Arvidsson PPG (5), Assists: Sean Durzi (10)
SEA – Alexander Wennberg PPG (5), Assists: Daniel Sprong (8), Justin Schultz (13)
LAK – Gabriel Vilardi PPG (12), Assists: Kevin Fiala (17), Drew Doughty (13)
2nd Period
SEA – Matty Beniers (9), Assists: Jordan Eberle (13)
LAK – Carl Grundstrom (5), Assists: Blake Lizotte (3), Sean Walker (4)
SEA – Daniel Sprong (5) Unassisted
SEA – Oliver Bjorkstrand (3) Unassisted
LAK – Gabriel Vilardi (13), Assists: Anze Kopitar (14), Mikey Anderson (4)
SEA – Andre Burakovsky (8), Assists: Alex Wennberg (7), Will Borgen (4)
3rd Period
LAK – Sean Durzi (4), Assists: Matt Roy (7), Kevin Fiala (19)
LAK – Mikey Anderson (1), Assists: Adrian Kempe (7), Drew Doughty (14)
Overtime
SEA – Andre Burakovsky (9), Assists: Jordan Eberle (15), Vince Dunn (10)
Defense and goaltending disappear for LA
The LA Kings couldn’t figure it out Tuesday night. They came out firing right out of the gates, with Anze Kopitar scoring 16 seconds into the game. Everything was looking great. But LA decided it was a night to focus primarily on offense and leave any ounce of defense at home. The Kings gave up nine goals at home for the first time since 1993 to drop another game to the Seattle Kraken. They’re now 0-1-2 against their Pacific Division foes.
It’s fine if you want to point to the offense showing some life to keep the Kings in the game by scoring eight goals, but that’s a cop-out. They should never be in that position where that many goals scored doesn’t win you a hockey game. It was another abysmal performance from LA’s overall team defense and goaltending.
“Mass confusion”
Todd McLellan: “It’s mass confusion right now for all of us and we better freaking figure it out quickly.”#GoKingsGo
— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) November 30, 2022
“Mass confusion right now for all of us”. That’s what LA Kings’ head coach Todd McLellan had to say following last night’s defeat. Not something you want to hear from a coach 25 games into the season. Figure it out quickly? Probably something that should’ve been figured out ten or so games ago.
If you want to “figure it out,” start by playing some of the young prospects. It’s clear the team doesn’t have any intention of playing Brandt Clarke anytime soon, but players like Samuel Fagemo, Jordan Spence, Quinton Byfield, and more are ready to take the next step and deserve a long look with the Kings. It can’t be any worse than what we’re seeing now.
Featured Image Credit: USATSI