LOS ANGELES — 44 shots. That is how many the Los Angeles Kings took on Wednesday. Despite the season-high total, they only scored once, losing to the Seattle Kraken 2-1.
The loss was the Kings’s first since Dec. 13, snapping their two-game winning streak. They avoided their first time being shut out in the 2023-24 season when Blake Lizotte scored a shorthanded goal around halfway into the third period. He pressured the Kraken into making a mistake and scored in a nearly empty net.
The goal was Lizotte’s 100th NHL point, a memorable mark for the former undrafted player.
“To get 100 points in this league is something that is pretty special,” Lizotte said. “Growing up, as a kid, it was in my wildest dreams to even be in the league. Now, to be able to put 100 (points) in, it is pretty special.”
Nonetheless, the Kings fell due to the efforts of the Kraken in the second and third periods in which they scored. The Kraken opened the game’s scoring in the second period when Brandon Tanev had two chances to score (scoring the second) on Kings goaltender Cam Talbot. They added another goal in the third period.
Talbot made his 20th start of the season. Recently, against the Kraken on Dec 16, he allowed two goals in a shootout victory. He was solid again on Wednesday, stopping 28-of-30 shots in the loss.
The Kings could not support Talbot offensively due to their lack of productivity on the power play. They struggled to enter into the offensive zone early in the game. And even once they did, they were unable to get many shots on net.
“I thought we move like turtles on it,” McLellan said. “We were thinking rather than playing. Those are all obvious things. So the offensive part of it that’s that’s the disappointing thing for me. Little bit of a player on the net. But that can be repaired.”
The Kings’s penalty kill was outstanding, though, as it has been for most of the season. They entered Wednesday third in the NHL in penalty kill % (PK%), and that was on display. They held the Kraken scoreless on three power plays. However, they could not score on their own four power plays.
Next, the Kings play the Calgary Flames on Saturday with a chance to get back to their winning ways. The power play is a point of emphasis for them in getting back on track.
