Ryan Sikes 
The LA Kings secured a 2-1 overtime victory against the St. Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center on Tuesday night. It was truly a battle of the goaltenders, as Darcy Kuemper and Jordan Binnington went head-to-head in a low-scoring affair. The Kings outshot the Blues 28–18 overall, including a 19–8 advantage through the first 40 minutes of play. Los Angeles opened the scoring early in the second period, before St. Louis tied it on the power play early in the third. In overtime, Adrian Kempe netted the game-winner.
Big Picture
By most metrics, this was a game the Kings arguably should have lost. According to MoneyPuck.com, the Blues held the edge in expected goals in all situations, 2.52-2.15. The Kings generated the first six shots on goal in the opening period, though none were particularly high-danger chances. St. Louis didn’t register its first shot on goal until nearly seven minutes into the frame but found its footing in the final five minutes or so. Per Natural Stat Trick, the Kings held the edge in expected goals for (51.17% xGF%) and high-danger chances for (57.14% HDCF%) at 5v5 in the frame.
Los Angeles broke through early in the second period after a turnover in the neutral zone led to Alex Laferriere’s backhanded goal on a partial breakaway. St. Louis responded with a few quality chances, but none found the back of the net. Additionally, the Kings held the Blues without a shot on goal for the final 15 minutes of the frame. Phillip Danault hit the crossbar on a setup from Quinton Byfield, but the Kings were unable to extend their lead.
Early in the third, St. Louis capitalized on a power play, with Justin Faulk scoring from the high slot. The Blues generated several other high-danger chances in the final 20 minutes. LA also had a couple of strong opportunities, including high-danger looks from Kevin Fiala on a jam attempt and Andrei Kuzmenko on a wraparound, but neither was able to convert. In the third, the Kings posted a 69.77% xGF at 5v5.
Individual Impacts
By individual expected goals (xG) contributions, Adrian Kempe (0.44 xG) led all LA Kings skaters on Tuesday night. He finished with two shots on goal and netted the overtime winner. Kempe also played a key role in the Kings’ first goal, forcing a turnover in the neutral zone before setting up Alex Laferriere’s tally—one of his two takeaways in the game.
Kevin Fiala posted the second-highest xG total for Los Angeles at 0.34. He tied for the team lead with three shots on goal and, as previously mentioned, nearly converted on a jam attempt in the third period. Fiala also had a quality shot from the point through traffic in the first period but was unable to capitalize.
Andrei Kuzmenko (0.28 xG) had the wraparound attempt in the second period and another chance in overtime, where he powered to the net but couldn’t finish. The Kuzmenko-Laferriere-Kempe line was statistically the Kings’ best at 5v5, posting a 100.0% xGF share in 6:18 of ice time.
The LA Kings’ third line of Warren Foegele, Phillip Danault, and Trevor Moore struggled to generate scoring chances as a unit, finishing with a 25.64% xGF share, per Natural Stat Trick. Danault was the most effective of the trio, recording one official shot on goal, a backhand attempt in the low slot following a turnover by the Blues in their own zone during the first period. Although it didn’t count as a shot on goal, Danault also hit the crossbar in that same period and finished with 0.21 xG overall.
Corey Perry made his LA Kings debut on Tuesday night. He registered just one shot on goal, which came in the first period, and finished with a 0.18 xG share, per MoneyPuck.
Among the defensive pairings, Mikey Anderson and Drew Doughty, who skated together for part of the second period, allowed zero shots on goal against in 4:11 of 5v5 ice time. Anderson registered one shot on goal, a point shot through traffic in the second period that was turned aside.
Doughty spent the majority of the game paired with Brian Dumoulin, and that duo was analytically the Kings’ most effective. Together, they posted a 76.1% xGF share over 14:25 of TOI in 5v5 play. Dumoulin had three shots on goal, with his best opportunity coming from above the left-wing circle in the first period.
As always, we end with the goaltender. Darcy Kuemper was instrumental in securing two points for Los Angeles. He allowed just one goal on 18 shots and finished with a 2.52 expected goals against (xGA), per MoneyPuck, meaning he outperformed the metrics by nearly 1.5 goals.
Featured Image Credit: AP Photo