LOS ANGELES — The Kings were looking to use Saturday night’s game as a prime opportunity to grab a win in front of the home crowd and begin to erase the narrative behind their struggles at Crypto.com Arena so far this season. However, they struggled early as a first-period goal from Owen Tippett gave the Flyers the early lead. In the second period they would keep adding on, as Morgan Frost’s first 2 goals of the season put Philly up 3-0. Carl Grundstrom would get one back in the period, and the game headed to the third and final frame with the Kings down 3-1. Cam Atkinson and Adrian Kempe would trade goals to cap off the scoring on the night, and the Flyers ended up getting their revenge exactly one week after their shutout loss to the Kings.
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
Cal Petersen has his revenge game
In the Kings’ first matchup of the year against the Flyers last Saturday, they dominated on the road with a 5-0 shutout. That came against one of their ex-players, Cal Petersen. He was making his first start of the year at goalie and did not fare well against the Los Angeles attack. In their newest matchup, the Flyers turned to Petersen once more to make just his second appearance of the season. With a chance to respond and set a new tone, he played much better. On the night, Petersen was able to stop 35/37 shots and limit the Kings to just 2 scores.
Los Angeles did manage to put many more shots toward the net than Philadelphia, with 37 shots compared to their 26. It didn’t matter in the end as Petersen brought his best and flipped the script against his ex-team. The two squads will not face off again this season, so the Cal Petersen vs. Kings rivalry is going to have to wait until 2024 for the next chapter.
Adrian Kempe scores in fourth consecutive game
While the Kings went home with a loss on Saturday night, Adrian Kempe added yet another score in the contest and kept his impressive play going. His third-period goal was his 7th on the season, and it was the fourth game in a row with a score for the 27-year-old. His hot start to the year has been one of the main reasons for the team’s success, and they will need him if they want to figure out how to start collecting some wins in front of the home crowd.
Another impact player for the Kings in the contest was Carl Grundstrom. He knocked in his 6th score of the year in the second period, which is good for second-most on the team. Unfortunately, Kempe and Grundstrom were the only players to score on the night for Los Angeles, and their lack of offense led to their eventual loss at the hands of Philly.
Kings fall to 1-3-3 at home to start the season
The curse of Crypto.com Arena continued on Saturday night for the Kings. While the defeat was their first regulation loss in 9 games, it was another rough home game that further neutralized the effect of their red-hot start on the road. Now at 1-3-3 in their home stadium this season, the team will need to do some reflecting and figure out what has plagued them during home games.
It’s their worst start at home in the past 3 seasons, and with 4 days off before their next matchup, it should allow the team some time to get good practice sessions in and further develop their chemistry. Ironically enough, the Crytpo.com-using L.A. Clippers have had almost the opposite story. They have gone undefeated at home while failing to find a win on the road so far this season. Perhaps the 2 teams will be able to get together and reach some sort of cross-sport agreement that allows them to balance things out and get some more W’s in the win column soon.
The Kings’ next battle will be right back in front of the home crowd on Thursday night as they take on the Panthers. It will be a good test against another solid team, and hopefully, Los Angeles can officially begin to turn their home game luck around.
The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. PT.
