LOS ANGELES — There were more plotlines than goals scored for the Kings and Washington Capitals on Thursday night, but when the final horn sounded, a resounding statement win for the Kings was the only headline.
They blanked the Eastern Conference leaders, 3-0, with former Cap Darcy Kuemper recording his third shutout as a King this season after being traded for embattled center Pierre-Luc Dubois this summer.
Kuemper’s shutout signified that Alex Ovechkin drew no nearer to Kings legend Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record: The Great 8 remained nine shy of surpassing The Great One and recorded no shots on goal for the first time since the season opener despite playing nearly 19 minutes (8:41 of it on the power play). It also meant that the fans at Crypto.com Arena heckling Dubois made more noise in the stands than he did on the ice.
The Kings won their fourth in a row following a season-high five-game losing streak and leapfrogged the Edmonton Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division. They also chalked up a home win against each of this year’s Presidents’ Trophy favorites for the NHL’s best record. They beat the Western Conference-topping Jets twice, on Nov. 27 at home and on Jan. 10 in Winnipeg.
Warren Foegele scored a goal for his 200th career point. Kevin Fiala converted on a critical power play to open the third period and then spoonfed Quinton Byfield for an insurance marker to secure two massive points. Kuemper made 21 saves.
Charlie Lindgren had 24 saves for Washington, which saw its five-game winning streak end.
It was the first return to Los Angeles for Dubois and defenseman Matt Roy since the former was traded to Washington and the latter signed in D.C. as a free agent. The Kings opted for a combined video tribute in the first period, which divided the crowd between praise for Roy one moment and somewhat tempered disdain for Dubois the next.
There was also a mix of jeers and sarcastic cheers in the second period, when Dubois was whistled for a holding penalty, and each touch of the puck by No. 80 prompted a bit of razzing as well. Dubois, however, is still enjoying a career season.
Roy was a seventh-round draft pick who in 2022 was voted the Kings’ best defenseman, while Dubois’ trajectory was the complete opposite. He demanded a hefty sum in terms of both trade assets and contract dollars two offseasons ago, only to disappoint vastly and prompt the Kings to pound the eject button, trading him for Kuemper.
Kuemper allowed the Kings to clog up the game as they went nearly 28 minutes between goals and slowed the pace for most of them.
With the game up for grabs heading into the third, the Kings seized control. They scored twice, 47 seconds apart, at 1:05 and 1:52, to seal the Caps’ fate.
One giveaway deserved another as the Kings turned the puck over in the Caps’ zone, only to steal it right back, setting up Fiala’s two-on-one dish for Byfield in the inner part of the right circle for his 16th goal of the season. It was Byfield’s fifth consecutive game with a goal.
Fiala had given the Kings a bit of security with a one-timer from the right circle on the power play from the right faceoff dot, his 25th goal of 2024-25.
In the first 40 minutes of action, the near misses abounded for both teams – Washington’s Taylor Raddysh had another particularly hellish night in terms of puck luck after the same happened in Anaheim during Tuesday’s 7-4 win over the Ducks – but the Kings escaped with an edge.
The Kings got the better of the first period, carrying a one-shot advantage and, more importantly, a one-goal lead into the first intermission, despite having to kill a pair of penalties. The Kings killed 10 straight penalties across four periods after they killed eight against the New York Islanders, scoring twice shorthanded in the process.
Foegele scored his 19th goal of the season, 13:08 after puck drop. Phil Danault’s slap shot almost went through Lindgren, before Danault and Trevor Moore went to work below the goal line, finding Foegele in front for the game’s first strike.
More to come on this story.
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