The Kings remain in search of their first victory of the new season and to pursue it they’ll go to a place where many have won big but many more have lost it all: the Vegas Strip.
They’ll confront a Golden Knights franchise that has captured five Pacific Division crowns, three Clarence S. Campbell bowls as Western Conference champs and a Stanley Cup in just nine seasons of existence. After reaching the Stanley Cup Final last season, they started this campaign 4-1-0.
The Kings (0-2-1), meanwhile, possess a solitary point in the standings, positioned above only the rebuilding Calgary Flames. Only those same Flames have given up more goals on average than the Kings’ five per contest and only the Vancouver Canucks have killed penalties at a lesser clip.
On the other side of the special-teams coin, the Kings’ power play has sandwiched a 2-for-3 performance between a pair of blank spots. They went 0 for 4 in their season opener and 0 for 5 in a 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers in their home opener.
One key piece of their first unit, free-agent addition Mats Zuccarello, won’t be in Vegas, per multiple reports from practice.
Over the past five years, all of which were playoff seasons for the Kings, no player topped 100 cumulative power-play points in black and silver. Their most productive man-advantage weapons across that span, Anže Kopitar and Kevin Fiala, are retired and injured, respectively. After Adrian Kempe’s aggregate 93 points a man up, Drew Doughty’s 67 are the next highest total.
Zuccarello, who played for the Minnesota Wild during that time and signed a one-year deal with the Kings in July, racked up 127, despite missing 65 total games due to injury. He was limited for most of training camp due to a shoulder problem.
With the trip consisting of a quick one-game excursion, the Kings recalled former University of Denver forward Jared Wright from the minors.
Wright has three points in the AHL in two games this season, an assist and two goals, including an overtime game-winner. He had four points in 23 appearances with the Kings last season amid a slew of injuries and departures via trade up front.
For Vegas, Jack Eichel entered Friday’s slate of games tied with Edmonton’ Connor McDavid for the league lead in scoring with 12 points. Captain Mark Stone has five points in as many appearances after signing a two-year contract extension this fall. Defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who vetoed a trade to the Kings before last season, landed in Vegas and also extended. His campaign to date has been rocky though, posting just one point and a -6 rating.
Kings (0-2-1, 1 point) at Vegas (4-1-0, 8 points)
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
How to watch: ABTV