As the Kings compiled the NHL’s best home record, there has been a party at Crypto.com Arena almost every time they have hit the ice this season, and on Saturday they’ll welcome the franchise that has celebrated more than any other during this decade.
The Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 before reaching the Final in 2022 to nearly become the first team to win three consecutive titles since the New York Islanders captured four straight from 1980 to 1983.
Yet the last two seasons have brought first-round exits for Tampa Bay, just as the Kings have produced in their past three campaigns. While the Kings cut ties with onerous acquisition Pierre-Luc Dubois after just one season, the Lightning bid adieu to longtime captain Steven Stamkos, and both clubs parted ways with a key defenseman (Matt Roy for the Kings and Mikhail Sergachev for Tampa).
This season, the Lightning are in the middle of an Atlantic Division where the last three current playoff qualifiers are separated by just four points and the top five teams have the tightest spread, 10 points, of any division. Winners of eight straight at home, the Kings are in the thick of a Pacific race in which they, the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights have been, in reverse order, the top three teams in the NHL by points percentage since Nov. 12.
Part of the Kings’ success has been their penalty kill, which played an enormous role in shutting out the New Jersey Devils 3-0 in their most recent performance. The Kings killed all six penalties they took, and opponents remarking on their uncommon mix of aggression and discipline on the PK has become commonplace in visiting dressing rooms.
Since allowing six power-play goals in two games on Oct. 14 and Oct. 16, the Kings have the NHL’s No. 2 penalty-kill percentage from Oct. 17 onward. Their aggressive new-look system has been as effective as it is exigent.
“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’ PK could get additional boosts as multiple reports from practice indicated that forwards Trevor Moore and Trevor Lewis were on the precipice of returning from their respective injuries. Moore last played Dec. 12 and Lewis has been out since Nov. 30, when he was injured in career game No. 999. If he plays Saturday, his Silver Stick, which is given to players with 1,000 NHL games, will arrive imminently. Moore had five points in five games before his injury, and could also be a possibility for either Saturday’s match or Wednesday’s meeting with the Calgary Flames.
“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.
Buzzing for years on end have been Tampa Bay’s leading scorers both up front (Nikita Kucherov) and on the back end (Victor Hedman). Kucherov was situated fourth in the league in points entering Friday’s slate of games. The newest addition to the Lightning’s core was former Pittsburgh star Jake Guentzel, who remained on track to surpass a point-per-game pace for the fifth time in six seasons.
Tampa Bay at Kings
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV: FDSNW