The Los Angeles Kings have had a fantastic home record this season, making Crypto.com Arena a lively place almost every time they play. On Saturday, they will face the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that has celebrated more than any other team this decade.
The Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 and reached the Final again in 2022, nearly becoming the first team to win three straight titles since the New York Islanders won four in a row from 1980 to 1983.
However, the past two seasons have seen the Lightning exit in the first round, just like the Kings, who have also struggled in the past three seasons.
While the Kings decided to part ways with Pierre-Luc Dubois after just one season, the Lightning said goodbye to their longtime captain, Steven Stamkos. Both teams also lost an important defenseman (Matt Roy for the Kings and Mikhail Sergachev for the Lightning).
This season, the Lightning are competing in an Atlantic Division where the last three playoff spots are separated by only four points, and the top five teams are within 10 points of each other, the smallest gap in any division.
The Kings are also fighting for a playoff spot in the Pacific Division, where they, the Edmonton Oilers, and the Vegas Golden Knights have been the top three teams in the NHL by points percentage since November 12.
A big part of the Kings’ success has been their penalty kill, which played a key role in shutting out the New Jersey Devils 3-0 in their most recent game. The Kings killed all six penalties they took, and opponents have often commented on their mix of aggression and discipline on the penalty kill.
Since allowing six power-play goals in two games on October 14 and 16, the Kings have had the second-best penalty-kill percentage in the NHL. Their aggressive new system has been effective but requires a lot of energy, quick decisions, and strong stick play.
“It’s difficult to go against that type of penalty kill, but it’s equally as difficult to penalty kill that way. It requires a ton of energy, a ton of quick reads and, most importantly, a very good stick,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said.
“Primarily, it’s (Joel) Edmundson, (Vladislav) Gavrikov and (Mikey) Anderson … I’m really proud of those three [defensemen] in particular, they do a lot of work there and they have really bought in and understood how that system works.”
The Kings’ penalty kill could get even better with reports suggesting that forwards Trevor Moore and Trevor Lewis are close to returning from their injuries. Moore hasn’t played since December 12, and Lewis has been out since November 30, when he was injured during his 999th career game.
If Lewis plays on Saturday, he will receive his Silver Stick for playing 1,000 NHL games. Moore had five points in five games before his injury and could return either for Saturday’s game or the one against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.
“The team’s been buzzing, so I’m looking forward to joining them and to just keep rolling,” Moore told Kings media personality Zach Dooley.
Tampa Bay’s top players have been consistently productive for years. Nikita Kucherov, the team’s top scorer, was ranked fourth in the league in points before Friday’s games. The newest addition to the Lightning’s core is former Pittsburgh star Jake Guentzel, who is on track to surpass a point-per-game pace for the fifth time in six seasons.
