The Los Angeles Kings will continue their road trip when they face the Calgary Flames on Saturday, but their collective thoughts are back home.
With the impact of the wildfires that have besieged the Los Angeles area fresh in the minds, the Kings will try to follow up a strong showing in Friday’s 2-1 overtime victory against the Winnipeg Jets.
“I think everybody played for all the people back in LA tonight,” forward Adrian Kempe said after scoring a goal 1:14 into overtime, per lakingsinsider.com. “I think everybody showed that, and that was nice to see.”
The Kings and Flames were supposed to meet in Los Angeles on Wednesday, but that game was postponed due to the horrific wildfires that have resulted in at least 11 deaths and razed thousands of homes.
The Kings opened a five-game road trip with a victory that runs their winning streak to five games and has them enjoying a 13-2-2 run.
Kempe’s winning goal, his seventh career overtime tally, has him riding a four-game goal-scoring streak and six-game point spree (four goals, four assists). Kempe also has scored 20 or more goals in four consecutive seasons.
Those offensive achievements aside, the key to the Winnipeg victory was shutting down a potent Jets squad that leads the league in goals scored. Winnipeg registered only 19 shots on net.
“I think we should pat ourselves in the back,” defenseman Jordan Spence said, per lakingsinsider.com. “We knew that Winnipeg, they were going to come out hard and it was going to be a hard-fought battle, but at the end of the day, I think we just did our job, executed well in the OT. … Hopefully there are some fans back there that are watching, that we kind of can give positive vibes.”
The Flames return to action for the first time since that postponed clash, which was part of a trip with their mothers.
“It was emotionally just a whirlwind, just preparing to play the game and obviously we were expecting to play, for it to be called off was a little unexpected,” center Nazem Kadri said after Friday’s practice. “But you’ve first and foremost got to think of the people affected, Obviously, our thoughts are going out to all the Californians that might be struggling out there. It was a bit of a scary scene.”
The Flames snapped a two-game losing skid with a 3-2 overtime victory Tuesday night in Anaheim. Calgary is one point back of the Vancouver Canucks for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot.
“What I do like about our team is I think they understand what our identity is,” coach Ryan Huska said. “We have a very strong leadership core and done an excellent job of pushing themselves to be a better team.”
The Flames announced center Connor Zary would not need surgery after he was on the receiving end of a knee-on-knee hit in Tuesday’s game. Zary, however, is out indefinitely.
The Flames summoned Rory Kerins from their minor league affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. Kerins, a 2020 sixth-round draft pick, leads the American Hockey League with 21 goals and is on the verge of making his NHL debut.
“A dream come true,” said Kerins, who spent the bulk of his first pro season in the ECHL working up the ranks. “Obviously, it was a long road to get here. It makes it worth it.”
–Field Level Media
