After a not-so-successful road trip, the Los Angeles Kings return home to face the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.
The Kings went 2-3-0 on their five-game trip that concluded with a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night.
They’ll return home for two games before heading out on another five-game trip next weekend.
“Could have had a better record, but it’s OK, we get to go back home and then refresh and go back on the road again,” Kings forward Phillip Danault said.
The trip got off to a good start with a 2-1 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 10, which marked the fifth straight victory by the Kings.
Los Angeles then combined for one goal in losses to the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers before bouncing back with a 5-1 victory against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. The Kings were unable to head home on a high note, however, losing to the Kraken.
“It’s an unsuccessful road trip for us, so we have to just gather ourselves, get a rest and put it behind us,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “There’s more coming in two days from now.”
The Kings visited the Penguins on Dec. 17 and lost 3-2 in overtime.
Los Angeles forward Adrian Kempe scored in that game and he’s also scored in the past two games, giving him 22 goals on the season. It keeps him on pace to surpass his career high of 41 goals in 2022-23.
“We know when we play the right way, we can win almost every game,” Danault said.
The Penguins are getting desperate after losing four of their past five and eight of 10.
Pittsburgh opened its season-long seven-game road trip with a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, but couldn’t ride the momentum and lost 4-1 to the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
Goaltender Joel Blomqvist was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League after Tristan Jarry was placed on waivers. The 23-year-old rookie made 28 saves against Washington in his first start for the Penguins since Nov. 11.
“He was awesome, kept us in it there until the end of the game,” Penguins forward Bryan Rust said. “Obviously, he’s a really good goalie, so I’m sure he’s going to keep on building on that.”
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said he likes the way Blomqvist moves laterally and covers post to post.
“He’s a good goaltender,” Sullivan said. “He’s played extremely well in Wilkes. We thought he played well for us at the beginning of the year when he was here, but that would be probably the biggest thing that jumped out.”
Blomqvist was a second-round pick of the Penguins in 2020. He made the team out of training camp this season and started five games in October and two more in November before he was sent back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
“I’ll try to make the most out of it,” Blomqvist said. “I’m happy for this opportunity. I’m just going to do the best that I can.”
Rust has been the hottest offensive player for the Penguins of late.
He has scored a goal in three straight games and owns a four-game point streak overall.
–Field Level Media
