A lot is going right with the Los Angeles Kings just now. And if we can add Cam Talbot’s goaltending to the list, the squad might really be in business.
The Kings had a fairly wild weekend, scoring four unanswered goals to storm back and beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-4 Friday night in the desert, before falling 4-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights on home ice 24 hours later. That loss came in a shootout, after L.A. failed to protect the 2-0 lead it built earlier in the game.
Some things to be happy about, some things to lament.
The worst part of the weekend came early, when Pheonix Copley allowed three goals on six shots to the Coyotes before Talbot came on in relief. To be fair, none of the goals Copley allowed were obvious stinkers, but something had to give. Of course, we all wondered about the Kings goalie battery coming into the season and, sure enough, the worst five-on-five save percentage in the NHL right now belongs to Los Angeles at .875.
That should change, though, if Talbot can be a stabilizing element. The 36-year-old stopped 14 of 15 shots against the Coyotes and held his own against the high-flying Knights on Saturday. After the Vegas loss, coach Todd McLellan highlighted some of the things the 36-year-old veteran brings to the Kings crease.
At this point, the Kings just need Talbot to be OK because the offence is definitely firing.
Drew Doughty had himself a weekend, notching the game-winning goal with 1:59 to go in Arizona before netting another late marker on Saturday to square the Vegas affair with just 63 seconds remaining.
In all, the veteran D-man had a three-goal weekend while his partner, Mikey Anderson, had three points in the two games and now sits at seven in eight outings this season. Doughty and Anderson represent one of the best tandems in the sport right now.
Up front, Kevin Fiala had a couple of assists and leads the team with 11 points in eight games; ageless Anze Kopitar found the back of the net versus Vegas and Quinton Byfield — still trying to find his footing at the highest level — had a 1-1-2 night in Arizona.
Add it up and the Kings actually possess the top-ranked offence in the league right now at 4.38 goals-per-game. That’s a huge eruption for a squad that made the playoffs the past two seasons despite having an attack that ranked 19th in the NHL during those years by scoring 3.10 goals-per-game.
Of course, the goals against (3.50, worse than all but six teams) are still a little heavy for an L.A. squad many want to consider a true Cup contender. And while that number is obviously about more than goaltending, in the Kings’ case, even average showings in the crease could mean it’s about to be Showtime in L.A.
Other Takeaways
• Carolina basically had to have two points on Friday night and, thankfully, with the San Jose Sharks in town, that wasn’t a huge problem. Teuvo Terravainen’s hat trick — he’s up to seven goals in nine games this year — was all the offence the Canes needed in a 3-0 win. The schedule-maker has not been kind to Carolina out of the gate, with the squad playing just four home games in its first 15 outings. Sebastian Aho picked up a couple apples versus the Sharks in his third game back since returning from an upper-body injury and, all in all, it just felt like a bit of a get-right showing — albeit against a winless team — for Carolina.
Speaking of those Sharks, it’s getting pretty painful to watch San Jose struggle. Forty-eight hours after getting blanked by Carolina, the Sharks lost 3-1 in Washington. The Fins failed to pick up a point on the five-game roadie that concluded in Washington and have scored more than one goal just one time (!) in nine outings this season. Obviously the hope coming into this year for any Sharks fan was the 2024 first-overall pick, but nobody on that team can be having any fun right now.
• Terravainen’s three-goal outing was one of two hat tricks this weekend, the other belonging to Frank Vatrano of the Anaheim Ducks. Anaheim has suddenly won three in a row after its 7-4 win over the Flyers on Saturday thanks largely to the line of Mason McTavish between Vatrano and Ryan Strome. McTavish is having the stellar second season many predicted, but Vatrano and Strome are worth monitoring, too. Both are in their second year with the Ducks and, at least in the case of Vatrano, getting more offensive opportunity than at any previous stop. The 29-year-old Vatrano — who scored a career-best 22 times last year — is up to eight goals already, while the 30-year-old Strome now has 10 points in eight games after recording three versus Philly.
Early-season blip or late-bloomer breakout? There’s at least some chance it’s the former, especially with the two guys flanking McTavish.
• Obviously Calgary, following its 5-2 defeat in the Heritage Classic, tops the class when it comes to early-season concerns, but don’t sleep on Seattle — 2-5-2 after a 3-2 loss to Florida — and Pittsburgh, now 3-5-0 after losing 5-2 to the Sens on home ice Saturday.
• The collective hockey heart breaks for Adam Johnson. Love and support to the entire family.
Weekend Warrior
Joe Thornton — the only player to be traded during the middle of an MVP campaign in league history — officially hung ’em up on Saturday. Nobody has more assists than Thornton (1,080) since the start of the 1999-2000 campaign that kicked off this century of NHL hockey.
If you looked like Big Joe, you’d never wear a shirt, either.
Red and White Power Rankings
1. Toronto Maple Leafs (5-2-1) The Leafs lost in extra time in Nashville, but still put together a solid 3-1-1 roadie. The Buds are now home for six of their next seven outings.
2. Vancouver Canucks (5-2-1) We’ve spent all this time wondering what Elias Pettersson’s next contract will look like, but what about Filip Hronek’s next deal? The right-shot defenceman picked up two more assists in Saturday’s overtime loss to the New York Rangers and now has seven points through eight contests this year while playing huge minutes beside Quinn Hughes. The soon-to-be-26-year-old will become an RFA on July 1 if he doesn’t ink an extension with the club that dealt first- and second-round picks to get him from Detroit last spring.
3. Montreal Canadiens (5-2-1) Kaiden Guhle had a great return to the lineup from a concussion on Saturday, notching two assists in a come-from-behind shootout victory over Winnipeg. The 21-year-old hasn’t scored yet this season, but has three helpers in just four outings. Meanwhile, another young D-man — righty Justin Barron — scored for the third time this year in the win over Winnipeg.
4. Winnipeg Jets (4-3-1) Adam Lowry’s tenure as Jets captain is off to a productive start. The big centre had 1-1-2 versus Montreal on Saturday and has six points through eight games.
5. Edmonton Oilers (2-5-1) There’s scoring your first NHL goal, then there’s doing it outside against your team’s biggest rival in the Heritage Classic. What a way for Vincent Desharnais to get on the board.
6. Ottawa Senators (4-4-0) Drake Batherson finally got off the schneid, notching his first goal of the year — a breakaway beauty — in a huge 5-2 road win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
7. Calgary Flames (2-6-1) The worst five-on-five save percentage in the league belongs to the Kings; the second-worst belongs to Calgary (.876).
The Week Ahead
• It was a tough end to Blake Wheeler’s tenure with the Winnipeg Jets, but surely he’ll be warmly welcomed back when the New York Rangers visit on Monday. Wheeler’s 795 points in 874 games is the most by anybody to wear the Winnipeg uniform in the Jets 2.0 era and the American served as team captain for six seasons.
Monday also features a prime rookie matchup — Connor Bedard and the Hawks visiting Logan Cooley and the Coyotes — as well as a first-round rematch between the Florida Panthers and the Boston Bruins squad they shocked to kickstart their run to the Stanley Cup Final.
• Erik Karlsson returns to San Jose on Saturday as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s hard to imagine anybody getting too choked up during the video tribute, though, given Karlsson made the post-season just once in San Jose. Also, every point is already crucial for the Penguins in the playoff chase, while the Sharks could still be desperate for their first win at that point.
