Kings’ winger Adrian Kempe piling up goals against Canadian teams
BILL BEACON
MONTREAL — Adrian Kempe insists he has nothing against Canadian-based NHL teams, it’s just that he keeps scoring against them.
“Not really, no,” the Los Angeles winger said Thursday before the Kings’ second meeting in nine days with the Montreal Canadiens. “After the last couple of games I’ve got more confidence out there, so I’m starting to play better.”
The 21-year-old Swede has five goals in nine games this season — three against Montreal and one each against Toronto and Ottawa. Plus a shootout winner against the Senators on Tuesday night.
“The team’s been playing good all year,” Kempe said. “The first couple of games I didn’t play as good as I wanted, but then I stepped it up. I just try to make an impact every game, try to play my game and play the way the team wants to.”
His five goals came in a four-game stretch that began with his first career hat-trick against Montreal on Oct. 18, when he got the gamewinner in the third period and then added two more in a 5-2 victory.
After going scoreless against St. Louis, Kempe got one in a 3-2 loss in Toronto on Monday night. Against the Senators, he scored the tying goal late in the third period, then secured the win with a nifty deke to the forehand in the shootout.
Now the question is whether the speedy six-foot-two left-winger can keep it going. He was a good but hardly prolific scorer as a teenager playing in Sweden’s top league, or in two seasons with the Ontario (California) Reign in the American Hockey League, where he had 23 goals in 101 games.
He was called up for the Kings’ final 25 games last season and scored twice — against Washington and Buffalo.
“I don’t know if he’ll produce at the rate he has but he’s got really good speed and skill,” said Kings coach John Stevens. “He’s got a desire to get to the tough areas, so I don’t see why he won’t continue to have success with his skill set, his willingness to compete and go to the hard areas to score.
“I think there was a question of whether he can finish or not. I think he’s proven that he can.”
Kempe was drafted 29th overall in 2014, just after the Kings won a second Stanley Cup in a three-year span. It now appears the native of Kramfors in northern Sweden will be a keeper, although it will be tough to keep up what so far is a 40-plus goal pace.
“When I got drafted they won the cup so I knew right away I wasn’t going to take a spot on the team,” said Kempe. “I was willing to do the work to get here.
“I had two years in the minors and I think they were very important for me. A lot of guys here played with me in Ontario. It was good learning for me.”