LOS ANGELES –– The schedule was finally in the Kings’ favor and they took full advantage by summarily dispatching the weary Detroit Red Wings, 4-1, at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday evening.
The Kings finally had a chance to recharge after enduring an early-season stretch with nearly three weeks on the road and their first seven games away from home, including three back-to-back sets. They were fresh and rested as they began a three-game homestand.
The Red Wings played their second game in 22 hours in the penultimate match of their four-game road trip, losing 6-4 to the Ducks Friday.
Adrian Kempe scored twice and the Kings also got goals from Mikey Anderson and Tanner Jeannot. Trevor Lewis tacked on two assists. David Rittich made 17 saves in his latest stint as the No. 1 while Darcy Kuemper nursed another lower-body injury.
Jacob Moverare made his season debut on defense instead of the injured Caleb Jones. Alex Turcotte’s return to the lineup from an upper-body injury including Jeannot’s return from a three-game suspension shuffled forward lines, leading to Andre Lee’s reassignment to the minors.
Cam Talbot returned to Crypto.com Arena for the first time after backstopping the Kings last season, halting 37 of 40 shots.
Though Larkin’s pivoting backhand bid as he fell to the ice broke up Rittich’s shutout with 1:27 remaining in the match, Kempe bookended the third period with an empty-net goal in the final minute and a breakaway just 15 seconds into the closing frame. Kempe scored both goals in a 4-2 loss to Colorado on Wednesday. His four goals in two games brought his total to nine, tying Alex Laferriere for the team lead.
Through 40 methodical minutes, the Kings nearly tripled the Red Wings’ shots on goal, 29-10, and allowed little in the way of high-quality opportunities.
The Kings did not score in the second period and, for much of the first, had some menacing moments but nothing in the way of goals. They waited out the Red Wings early before pouncing with two goals in 22 seconds as the first intermission loomed.
With 1:33 left in the period, a Detroit miscue in the Kings’ zone sent Lewis and Jeannot off on a two-on-one counterattack. Lewis waited out a diving Jeff Petry to find Jeannot at the back post for a rapid redirection. Jeannot scored his second goal as a King in his return from a three-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Vancouver’s Brock Boeser.
Trevor Moore’s takeaway in the neutral zone and Phillip Danault’s perfectly weighted saucer pass led to the first goal, with Anderson banking the puck off Talbot’s pad and in from a sharp angle. It was Anderson’s third goal of the season, halfway to his career high for a season after just 19 games.