The Los Angeles Kings will attempt to change their fortunes at home when they meet the Calgary Flames on Saturday in the final clash for both teams before the holiday break.
Despite being in the chase for top spot in the league, the Kings have a surprisingly mediocre record on home ice. While the Kings have racked up an outstanding 13-1-1 mark on the road, they are 5-6-3 at home.
A visit from the Flames is an opportunity for the Kings to banish their latest home disappointment, a 2-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.
“Sometimes you don’t get the bounces … but we needed to work a little bit harder to get the bounces,” said forward Blake Lizotte, who scored the Kings’ lone goal in the loss. “You make your own luck.”
The Kings have lost two straight home games and have only two victories in their last six outings (2-3-1).
On average, the Kings are scoring nearly one fewer goal per game at home compared to on the road, and surrendering one more goal. Their power play has clicked at 27.5 percent on the road but only 14 percent at home.
The struggles were front and center against Seattle, even though Los Angeles fired 43 shots on goal.
“The volume was there. I didn’t think we did a real good job at the net,” coach Todd McLellan said. “We didn’t really want to get dirty or get down and dig in around the net. If it was going to be easy, we were going to take it, but they … didn’t give up much there.”
The Flames arrive after a 3-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, a win in which goaltender Jacob Markstrom stopped 25 shots to earn his first shutout of the season and 200th career victory, becoming only the third Swedish goalie in NHL history to reach that mark.
“I didn’t know (about the milestone) until before the game. I’m sure they told me so I’d be ready now to buy a Christmas gift … and put some money on the board for the guys,” Markstrom said. “We’re just looking forward, and looking forward to 201.”
The Flames have been trying to claw back into the playoff picture after winning only two of their first 10 games to start the season. They also struggled during a nearly two-week spell when Markstrom was sidelined due to a broken finger.
Since returning from that ailment, Markstrom has stopped 58 of 59 shots in consecutive wins.
“He’s kind of been our rock all year, we’ve talked a lot about that,” coach Ryan Huska said. “When he’s been in net, he’s given us a chance to win all the time. Two hundred wins in the NHL is no easy task to get yourself to, it was awesome to see the guys do a really good job in front of him to make sure he locked it down with a shutout.”
The Anaheim victory marks the first time this season the Flames have won three consecutive games. The quest now is to push forward.
“That was a big win for us, we’re .500 with a game left before the break,” said defenseman Nick DeSimone, who scored his first NHL goal against the Ducks. “We’ve put ourselves in a great spot to finish off strong here in L.A.”
–Field Level Media
