Russell Morgan The well-traveled LA Kings followed up their dramatic comeback win over Boston on Thursday with a strong shootout win over a rested San Jose Sharks team on Saturday night.
Goal Breakdown
1st period:
LAK: Phillip Danault PPG (8), ASST: Drew Doughty (18), Pheonix Copley (1)
SJ: Timmo Meier PPG (15), ASST: Logan Couture (13), Erik Karlsson (27)
2nd period:
SJ: Kevin Labanc (7), ASST: Timmo Meier (14)
LAK: Jaret Anderson-Dolan (3), ASST: Mikey Anderson (6), Gabriel Vilardi (7)
3rd period:
No goals
Shootout:
SJ: Kevin Labanc
LAK: Kevin Fiala, Trevor Moore
MOOOOORE SHOOTOUT WINNERS FROM THE THOUSAND OAKS NATIVE pic.twitter.com/7OWEcvthQJ
— LA Kings (@LAKings) December 18, 2022
Finding their identity
The LA Kings have been struggling to find themselves all season. On Saturday night, with seemingly everything going against them, the Kings found a way to grab an important two points and turn the tide in their roller-coaster season.
After arriving home at 4 am from Boston on Friday morning, the schedule makers didn’t do the Kings any favors by pairing them with a San Jose Sharks team coming in on three days’ rest the following night.
It’s a difficult task to follow up a long road trip and not get any rest or practice time before getting right back into it the next day, but the Kings showed the resiliency we saw a lot last season. And may have found some momentum to turn this season in their favor.
Pheonix SZN
It’s only been five starts for LA Kings’ netminder Pheonix Copley, but the North Pole, Alaska native has quickly become an important piece to the team’s success. With a 4-1-0 record since joining the Kings, Copley is giving head coach Todd McLellan and the fans confidence in net.
Todd McLellan on Pheonix Copley:
“When he’s in the net he looks confident and calm. He’s made some really big saves he’s made some simple easy saves.—Right now he’s running hot and we’ll likely keep going there.”#GoKingsGo
— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) December 18, 2022
Jordan Spence’s season debut
We’ve been waiting a long time for some sort of change on the blueline with all the struggles defensively, and we saw a big switch last night with the season debut of Jordan Spence.
Spence provided a typical Jordan Spence-type game. He was excellent with the puck and even started to show a bit of that strength and size he gained over the summer.
Sean Walker isn’t a player who will have a future with the LA Kings. With the plethora of right-shot defensemen in the organization, giving players like Spence or Brandt Clarke once he’s back from the World Juniors should be a higher priority.
UP NEXT: The Kings get two days of rest before facing off against their freeway rival Anaheim Ducks
Featured image: (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)