Exactly 183 days separated the Kings’ last game at Crypto.com Arena and their home opener Thursday, which pitted them against the San Jose Sharks, a squad still searching for its first victory of 2024-25.
That’s the sort of opponent the Kings have savored again this year, after their tepid overall performance against playoff teams last season. They earned a third straight postseason berth, in large part, by beating lesser clubs and may now be following that same script.
“It’s a fair comment, but I don’t know that there’s a theme there yet or not,” said Kings coach Jim Hiller when asked if his club was already struggling to defend top-end scorers this season. “Those teams have good offensive players and they can burn you if you give them the opportunity.”
After winning in similar fashion against the Ducks and Montreal Canadiens – both were 2-1 games in the third period that became 4-1 wins – the Kings closed out their road trip in Las Vegas with a 6-1 loss to the Golden Knights on a night when former Shark Tomáš Hertl lit them up for four points.
It was the third time in seven matches the Kings allowed six or more goals. Vegas was opportunistic early and the Kings further fluffed up their advanced stats late, but the result was seldom in question and Vegas dominated on special teams. It scored on both its power plays and killed all four of its penalties while blocking nine more shots than the Kings.
“Funny game,” Hiller told reporters. “We got our chances. It wasn’t a 6-1 game, but that’s what the scoreboard reads, and we have to accept it.”
Overall, the Kings’ seven-game journey pitted them against four teams presently in playoff position (including three qualifiers from last season), all of which resulted in losses or overtime losses. They played three non-playoff clubs in terms of last year’s finish and this year’s current position, and those were their three wins on the trip en route to capturing eight of a possible 14 points.
Special-teams play for the Kings has been volatile thus far, as they’ve either allowed multiple power-play goals or none at all while connecting on the power play in just two of their seven games (they scored another quasi-power-play goal in a third match).
The departure of Tuesday’s first star, Hertl, from San Jose at last year’s trade deadline was the latest in a series of changes toward a more forward-facing roster as the Sharks have metamorphosed from model franchise to bottom-dweller.
Even though the injured Macklin Celebrini and scoreless Will Smith, a pair of rookies, were the names on the marquee at SAP Center this preseason, the Sharks are paced in scoring by two veterans. Mikael Granlund scored the lone goal in a 3-1 loss to the Ducks on Tuesday to tie former Kings winger Tyler Toffoli for the team lead in points.
Toffoli, who signed with San Jose over the summer, broke his stick in disgust at the end of the Sharks’ seventh game without a victory to open this season.
“That’s a guy that’s driven to win,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We need to hate to lose more than we love to win right now, and that’s kind of been the message.”
San Jose at Kings
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Crypto.com Arena
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network West
