The Kings have captured nine of their last 10 possible points in the standings and will put their five-game points streak on the line against the Pacific Division leader when they welcome the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.
Vegas had won just two of 11 games before they entered the 4 Nations Face-Off break with a pair of victories. They extended that string against Vancouver on Saturday, when the Kings pushed past Utah HC in a game that featured a mix of enthusiasm and resilience, albeit not their most crisp or clean effort.
That affair saw Kevin Fiala bring his scoring outburst from before the pause into the stretch run with a goal and assist, while Drew Doughty appeared to go from uncertain footing to perfect balance after winning gold with Canada mere weeks after returning from ankle surgery. He notched two assists and his first goal of the season. He put a second puck past the goalie, only to be thwarted by the intersection between the post and crossbar.
“I thought Drew was as good as I can remember, even going back to last (season), that would have been one of, probably, his top 10 games,” Coach Jim Hiller said.
With Mikey Anderson returning from his upper-body injury, the Kings dressed seven defensemen rather than scratching 2021 lottery pick Brandt Clarke as they had done during Doughty’s first two games back prior to Anderson’s injury.
Yet Clarke played just 5:15 on Saturday and didn’t see the ice in the final 26 minutes of the match. Hiller was asked if despite the Kings’ ostensible win-now focus he might be concerned that such a lack of playing time could harm Clarke’s development.
“I don’t think I would use the word ‘harm,’ but we don’t want Clarkie playing five minutes a night, that’s for sure. That’s not good for a young player at all,” HIller said. “So what’s better? What are the alternatives?”
Despite racking up seven power-play points early in the season, Clarke has since languished behind Jordan Spence (three power-play points in nearly a full campaign to date), mainstay Doughty and even lost opportunities to a five-forward unit. He’s shown the ability to make game-changing plays in the offensive zone, but has had to operate from the periphery rather than being treated as a core piece thus far.
His typical partner, Joel Edmundson, was paired with Doughty on Saturday for the first time, and Doughty said he made it a point to tell Edmundson right after the game that he “loved playing with him.”
Just as delightful for Doughty might be the high level of competition strolling into town.
Vegas will have a healthy Alex Pietrangelo, whom Doughty replaced at 4 Nations, but not Shea Theodore, Doughty’s Canadian teammate who injured his wrist during the tournament. Theodore is expected back at some point in 2024-25, but perhaps not until the postseason. Vegas was already without another key component, center William Karlsson, who missed his selection to Team Sweden because of a lower-body injury. Former Kings winger Tanner Pearson returned to action on Saturday for Vegas, playing for the first time since Feb. 2.
Leading scorer Jack Eichel (United States) and captain Mark Stone (Canada), two of the West’s top two-way players, were also central to the 4 Nations event, with both competing in the final and playing significant roles for their countries.