Momentum the goal with Sharks in town
Correspondent
Coming off their first home victory since Dec. 27, the Kings will host those same San Jose Sharks that they beat way back in 2023, when a stretch of two wins in a dozen games seemed more a nightmare than a reality.
The Kings did prevail, 2-1, on Saturday night over the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers and former Kings cornerstone Jonathan Quick, providing needed promise while simultaneously exacerbating some broader concerns.
Although GM Rob Blake was non-committal on Quinton Byfield sliding back into the middle from the wing on Thursday, Blake was playing the pivot Saturday. His presence invigorated the third line, energizing Alex Laferriere and helping motivate Jaret Anderson-dolan to make perhaps his strongest play of the season while creating Byfield’s winning goal.
Byfield, a center at every level until last season, was again pedaling his way through the center of the ice with speed and force.
“In the first (period) I maybe had a tricycle, had to take off the training wheels, but I think I found my footing back down the middle,” said Byfield, whose work in the faceoff circle and defensively elicited plaudits from coach Todd Mclellan.
Yet drive down the middle was what the Kings expected from Pierre-luc Dubois when they forced tectonic shifts in chemistry, personnel and salary-cap space to add a player who has often shown the sort of uninterested play without the puck that doomed former scoring champion Ilya Kovalchuk’s calamitous and truncated tenure
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Today: with the Kings.
Dubois was on the flank of team captain Anze Kopitar opposite 40-goal scorer Adrian Kempe, defying the purported rationale of his acquisition on a night when Byfield demonstrated that the Kings had a prototypical center in their midst all along.
The result? In 15:36 of ice time Dubois had no hits, shots, assists or goals, adding to his $68 million collection of exotic goose eggs.
In net, David Rittich was phenomenal, bolstering a penalty kill that had stolen points here or there for the Kings during their funk and flat out won them the game against the Rangers. They staved off the NHL’S second-most efficient powerplay unit three times, including a 6-on-4 advantage for the final 1:39 of the contest.
“In my mind, Rittich is starting (tonight),” Mclellan said. “That’s not a reflection on (goalie Cam Talbot) at all, he’s going to the All-star Game in two weeks, and he deserves to be there.”
Yet once again presentday reassurance hinted at long-term insecurity. Talbot and Rittich have been shrewd additions, earning less than $2 million combined in base salary after Blake prioritized Dubois’ addition over an established No. 1 netminder. While they’ve both performed more than admirably this season, neither is under contract for next year, when Talbot will be 37.
However, these all seem like first-world problems in comparison to the Sharks’ myriad woes. Even after a 5-3 victory over the Ducks on Saturday, they had the NHL’S lowest point total.