The Kings got through 60 minutes of their 5-1 loss to the Calgary Flames unscathed on Thursday night, the most important goal for a team bound for the playoffs and a Game 1 grudge match with the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
David Rittich stopped 24 shots in the Kings’ season finale at Crypto.com Arena, which was rescheduled from Jan. 8. Taylor Ward skated in his first NHL game and for one of the six franchises his father Dixon played for in his career, and scored his first goal during a late power play as the Kings’ four-game winning streak ended with only their fifth loss in 22 games since the trade deadline.
The Kings will face Edmonton in a best-of-seven first-round playoff series for the fourth consecutive season – but with home-ice advantage for the first time in a season when they have been dominant in their own arena.
Nazem Kadri continued to spearhead the Calgary attack with two goals, while captain Mikael Backlund contributed a goal and an assist. Dryden Hunt chipped in two assists. Dan Vladar had 30 saves. Four players made their NHL debut for Calgary on Thursday: Zayne Parekh, Sam Morton, Aydar Suniev and Hunter Brzustewicz, with Morton and Parekh both scoring in their auspicious beginnings.
“It is a little tricky, we had a lot of adrenaline against Edmonton and we had a good win against Seattle, but we still wanted to win this game, and, clearly, we weren’t good enough,” defenseman Jordan Spence told reporters. “At the end of day, we’ve got to move on. It’s Game 1, and we’re really excited.”
The game had been rescheduled due to the harrowing blazes that burned in January, and though the Kings lost their first home game after that in a dud against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they were an extremely tough out at home overall (an NHL-best 31-6-4).
“We’re proud of the regular season we had, extremely proud, as an organization, as a city, as fans. We had some lousy times with the city this year, and hopefully we provided some entertainment,” Kings coach Jim Hiller told reporters. “I thought we battled really hard, but it is over.”
The Kings’ 31 home wins are a franchise record that tied them with Carolina for the most in the NHL this season. They also stayed at 48 wins and 105 points, both of which tied franchise single-season records, from 2016 and 1975, respectively.
Ward, 27, was rewarded for his enthusiastic performance with some extra-man minutes and reciprocated with a follow-up to Spence’s one-timer. The Kings have scored at least one power-play goal in five straight games and are 8 for 24 during that stretch. It was the first time since 2002 that three different players scored in their debut in a single game, per NHL PR.
“It was a long road to get here tonight, and I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to come and play here in this building, for this team. It’s the best night of my life,” Ward told reporters.
He added: “I wanted to score very badly, I was hoping I might get one a little earlier with all the chances I had.”
Calgary cashed in four times in a span of 5:30 in the third period, at 6:05, 7:28, 8:24 and 11:35.
Backlund challenged Drew Doughty – the Kings played their six regular defensemen but rested some players at every other position – and tucked a rising shot under the crossbar to make it 5-0.
Backlund had set up Parekh for a long shot through traffic for the 2024 lottery pick’s first ever goal. Could he have scripted a more perfect maiden voyage?
“Not one bit, I think that’s as good as it gets. I’m just thankful for the boys, for being so kind and being so open to me,” Parekh said.
Kadri potted his second goal of the game 83 seconds after Morton hit the score sheet. Hunt created a two-on-one rush with a savvy chip to himself off the wall. His saucer pass over a prone Mikey Anderson found Kadri for a one-timer. Kadri extended his single-season career high to 35 goals after depositing 15 in his past 23 games as the Flames fell just short of a postseason berth.
Another saucer pass from Hunt was the secondary assist on Morton’s goal, which came off a counterattack as well, after Kevin Fiala and Quinton Byfield couldn’t convert on an odd-man rush of their own.
Just 2:15 into the second period, Calgary put the game’s first goal on the board. The long reach of 6-foot-8 Adam Klapka disrupted the clearing attempt of his Czech countryman Rittich, extending Calgary’s possession. Kadri swooped in and scored off a wraparound shot that went over Rittich’s pad and inside the post for a short-side tally.
The Kings had another slow start to the first period but gained some momentum toward the end of the frame and continued a pair of trends. They killed a penalty and another later in the match, leaving Calgary 1 for its past 17 power plays on the road, and shut the Flames out through 20 minutes, their 19th no-goals-allowed first period in 22 games since the trade deadline.
Note: This report was compiled remotely.