The Kings final game before the 2023 All-Star ended with an overtime loss against the Carolina Hurricanes. Wrapping up a six-game road trip, the Kings overtime loss resulted in a 3-2-1 record on the trip. While an over .500 record on the the trip was a success, the way it ended leaves a sour taste in the Kings locker room. Here’s why…
The Kings and Hurricanes played a tight first period, something both teams are used to doing. In the low-event period, the lone goal came from offensive defenseman Brent Burns as the former San Jose Shark converted on a perfect shot to beat Pheonix Copley glove-side.
It was the second period where things got wild and the game opened up. In the period, the Kings scored four goals. Beginning with an early period goal, Anze Kopitar set up Adrian Kempe back door for his 21st goal of the season. Just under 10 minutes of gameplay later, the Kings offense struck again. This time, Kevin Fiala scored a beautiful goal, beating Frederik Anderson glove-side on a 2-on-1 rush. Then, just three minutes later the Kings scored a pair of goals exactly one minute apart. Starting with another Kempe goal, the Swede took a stretch pass from Drew Doughty and buried a shot in tight. 60 seconds later, Kopitar netted a power-play goal stemming from a beautiful sequence of passing by Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Doughty again.
Entering the third period up 4-1, the Kings let the three-goal lead slip away and would go into overtime tied 4-4. There, the Hurricanes would score a power-play goal and earn the extra point.
In net for the Kings was Pheonix Copley, who made 25 saves on 30 shots. Copley’s record with the Kings is now 15-3-1.