FINAL – Kings 4, Ducks 1 – Kopitar, Kempe, Yawney

The LA Kings extended their road point streak to 10 games with a 4-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday evening at Honda Center.

Forward Adrian Kempe had a three-point night (2-1-3), while Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist and Carl Grundstrom also scored in his return to the lineup. With 24 saves on 25 shots, goaltender Jonathan Quick collected his 350th career victory.

The Kings opened the scoring with the lone goal in the first period, as Grundstrom got on the board in his return to the lineup. Quinton Byfield tracked down a loose puck in the right-hand corner and sent a spinning, centering feed to Grundstrom, who redirected it past Anaheim netminder John Gibson to open the scoring.

LA scored three times during the second period to open up a large advantage heading into the second intermission. First, Kempe doubled the advantage for the visitors, as Kopitar won the puck below the goal line and fed his linemate in the left-hand circle, where Kempe wired home his shot for the goal.

Kopitar added a goal of his own, a power-play tally, off a Kempe assist, later in the period, with the captain hitting the 15-goal mark in the process. Kempe capped off a high-octane second period as he added his second of the evening, an unassisted goal, a wrist shot from a distance that went through the legs of a defenseman and in, Kempe’s 25th of the season.

Anaheim got on the board just over two minutes into the third period, as Troy Terry weaved his way into the low slot and fired just inside the near post from a dangerous area. Terry’s goal was his team-leading 27th of the season, bringing the hosts to within 4-1, though they would pull no closer.

Hear from Anze Kopitar, Adrian Kempe and Assistant Coach Trent Yawney. Yawney ran the bench tonight in the absence of Todd McLellan, who entered COVID Protocol before tonight’s game in Anaheim.

Anze Kopitar

LA Kings move to 2nd in the division!! #GoKingsGo | #FreewayFaceoff | @LAKings | @CarrlynBathe pic.twitter.com/fs6h36Iz7U

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) February 26, 2022

Adrian Kempe
On what’s going so well for the team right now offensively
Overall, our 5-on-5 game has been good the entire time and special teams is starting to be better too, that gives us confidence. We get one on the power play, it gives us confidence going into 5-on-5 and you feel better too, that helps a lot. The team is playing really good, every line is playing good, we’re all on the same page with forechecks, the way we want to play in the d-zone, stuff like that. It builds confidence in the team and I feel like every line is playing good right now and it’s a good thing we can produce because that’s why we’re out there.

On improvements on special teams over the last five games
It’s great, it can win games some nights. As I said, it gives momentum and confidence, not just for special teams but at 5-on-5 too. We were relying on our 5-on-5 play and it’s been good enough to win us games, when special teams haven’t been good enough. I feel like the last couple of games, we’ve taken some good steps in the right direction, scored a few goals on the power play, moved the puck a lot quicker, shot a lot more. That helps. When you get a goal, you feel the momentum, you feel better next game and not frustrated. PK, I feel like it’s been good all year, been unlucky a times. A couple of goals in the back of our net, but lately, a little bit more aggressive and that’s been helping us a lot too. The battle between pressure and not pressure, it’s been good.

On moving into second place with a win over a rival
It’s big. We haven’t played these guys in a while. Going back to last game against Arizona, we felt like we needed to play a lot better to beat [Anaheim], I feel like they’re a better team, they’re in the playoff hunt too. We had to be on our toes right away and we did a good job of that. For the rest of the season, every game is going to be huge, we can’t relax now. We’re in a good spot right now and we can’t fall off, it’s going to be important games.

On the crowd tonight, including a large showing of Kings fans
Yeah, we heard them there were a lot of Kings fans, it was very nice to hear. I feel like, whenever we play here, or in LA, there’s always a good mix, it’s a good rivalry and it’s fun to play in front of.

Trent Yawney
On how things transpired today, with McLellan testing positive and him taking over as head coach
We actually didn’t know until we got to the game. Todd had said he wasn’t feeling that great, talked to the medical people, and [Chris Kingsley] said he should get tested, and he tested positive. We were going through our regular pre-game preparation and knock on the door, come with me, seen that movie before. We had to adjust a little bit and everybody had a hand in it.

On his conversations with McLellan after finding out the news
For three years, it’s been a collective effort. If you were ever behind the scenes with our staff – [Todd] is the head guy and when we leave the room it’s his voice – but he gives us a lot of leeway. He wants our opinions and it was no different even tonight, as we were preparing. What you saw on the ice was pretty much what we’ve been doing for three years. They probably didn’t need anybody behind the bench tonight, in terms of the magnitude of the game at this time of the season, rivalry, that kind of stuff. They played very, very well, it was nice to see them have success.

On if the Grundstrom lineup change was predetermined, or made after
That was predetermined. I thought Grunny was really good, I thought Q and that line was really solid for us. Grunny, he plays a really North-South game and is physical. I thought that was pretty evident tonight and good for him, he’s been working really hard in practice, waiting for his opportunity. I thought he added to the line and having said that, I thought all four lines had an impact on the game.

On the overall improvements on special teams since the All-Star break
I think that our PP, when we have motion, we’re moving around and they’re interchangeable parts, it becomes much harder to defend. I think the goal was pretty evident of that, Kopi was low, Juice was high, and we’ve pounded away at that, Todd and Marco have, of getting a little bit more movement. The last couple of games, they’ve been rewarded with it and hopefully that will continue. The penalty kill, for the most part, I know statistically it hasn’t been great, but at the same time, we needed to get a little bit more aggressive in some areas and at the right time. We were doing some good things…we got four goals scored against us in St. Louis and as long as I’ve been in the league, you’re not recovering from that. The guys have done a great job with it, they’ve pressured together at the right times, it’s been good.

On the younger players learning from the veterans
We’re fortunate with our young players. On D, they get to watch Drew, they see a guy who, what hasn’t he done in his career, and he’s really, really good with the young guys. Up front, Phil and Kopi down the middle, they play the game the right way, they don’t cheat the game and that’s probably the best coaching you can provide your young players. The best coaching you can provide your young players is watching those players perform on a nightly basis. Q gets to see that, where he’s at in his career, like I said, I don’t think there’s any better coaching than that.

On Jonathan Quick tonight and getting his 350th career win
That’s outstanding. That’s quite a milestone, that’s kind of lost maybe in the win, but I thought he was great. Quickie, when he’s put in those situations where someone needs to rise up, he doesn’t get enough credit for his leadership qualities, because of his position. He was there in terms of providing that, you saw it in the second period in that scrum. He’s fiery and gave us a chance. He made some huge saves.

*Yawney indicated that the plan for tomorrow is for him to be the head coach again tomorrow against the Islanders, assuming that McLellan is still in protocol

Notes –

– Goaltender Jonathan Quick earned the 350th victory of his NHL career tonight, with 24 saves on 25 shots. Quick is the 24th goaltender all-time to win 350 games and the fourth American to hit the milestone.
– Forward Adrian Kempe scored two goals tonight as he broke the 25-goal mark for the first time in his NHL career. Kempe has scored two goals in three of his last four games.
– Kempe continued his dominance of the Ducks, with nine goals from his last nine games against Anaheim, including seven from his last five games at Honda Center.
– Forward Anze Kopitar became the third Kings player to reach 15 goals scored this season, with his tally in the second period. In full-length seasons, Kopitar has scored at 15 goals in all but one.
– Kopitar also tallied an assist tonight, giving him four multi-point games from his last seven games played.
– Carl Grundstrom returned to the lineup for the first time since January 24 and scored the game-opening goal in the first period, his seventh of the season.
– Forward Quinton Byfield collected his first assist of the season with the primary assist on Grundstrom’s goal.

The Kings are not scheduled to hold a morning skate tomorrow, and will return to the ice tomorrow evening at 7:30 PM at home against the New York Islanders.