Los Angeles Kings vs. New York Rangers Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 14th 2024
Preview and Prediction
Amidst a notable hot streak, the Los Angeles Kings have soared to nearly the top of a crowded Pacific Division, while the New York Rangers are still struggling to break free from a prolonged slump.
On Saturday afternoon, the Rangers will attempt to iron out their issues when they face off against the Kings in New York.
After coach Jim Hiller took over for Todd McLellan last season, the Kings recorded a 21-12-1 record. Although they dropped three consecutive games in the opening week of this season, they have gradually accumulated points with an 8-3-3 start and their current streak.
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Since suffering back-to-back losses on the road against the Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche, the Kings have gone 8-3-0 in their last 11 games. Their success can be attributed to their ability to prevent goals, as they have allowed two goals or less in each of their victories.
During a six-game winning streak, which ended with a 3-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, the Kings outscored their opponents 21-8. Defenseman Jordan Spence scored the lone goal, and captain Anze Kopitar failed to produce a point for only the third time in his last 14 games.
The Kings are hoping to adopt a more aggressive approach to their offense after managing only 14 shots on goal and conceding two goals in the third period, including a game-winning goal to Jack Hughes.
"Perhaps we need to be more aggressive from the start," said Los Angeles forward Phillip Danault. "It wasn't a terrible game. They just capitalized more, but I think we had a good pace. I didn't mind our performance, it's just a matter of capitalizing on our chances."
The Rangers have gone 10-12-0 in their last 22 games after starting the season 5-0-1. Their struggles have been evident since winning three consecutive games from November 14-19. In their last six games, they have split the results, following a five-game losing streak from November 21-29, which coincided with general manager Chris Drury's announcement that he was open to making trades.
On December 6, Drury traded captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks, and the Rangers have since split their four games. They secured a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on that day, but their performances in losses to the Seattle Kraken and Chicago Blackhawks were subpar.
The Rangers managed to avoid a third consecutive defeat by holding on for a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. Struggling Mika Zibanejad scored a power-play goal, while Reilly Smith and defenseman Adam Fox also found the back of the net. This game came after a 2-1 loss to Chicago, during which coach Peter Laviolette criticized the team's lack of effort.
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"That's what we talked about before the game," Zibanejad said. "Just one win. That's all we care about. And obviously you want to be able to stand here with an unbelievable effort for 60 minutes, and have only positive stuff. But I'll take the win. We'll take the win. And keep building."
The victory came at a cost, as K'Andre Miller was placed on injured reserve on Friday due to an upper-body injury he sustained on Wednesday. Miller has scored two goals this season, and the Rangers have called up Connor Mackey to replace the former first-round pick. He will be paired with Braden Schneider on Saturday.
"We feel like we have good pieces in place to come up," Laviolette said after Friday's practice. "Now it's their turn to step up."
Los Angeles Kings vs. New York Rangers Recap DEC 14TH 2024
The Los Angeles Kings erupted for three goals in the second period to take a commanding lead and finished off 5-1 road victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday.
Adrian Kempe, Quinton Byfield, Alex Turcotte, and Warren Foegele each tallied a goal and an assist in the victory, while Darcy Kuemper turned aside 31 of 32 shots he faced.
Anze Kopitar added two assists for the Kings, who won for the seventh time in their past eight games.
Byfield, Kempe, and Phillip Danault all scored in the first 5:04 of the second period to chase Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin from the net.
The Kings jumped out to the lead 7:05 into the contest as Turcotte took a crafty feed from Kempe on a 2-on-1 rush and scored.
Less than a minute after the game's opening goal Connor Mackey tried to spark the Rangers as he fought with Samuel Helenius.
With 4:54 left in the first period Byfield fed Foegele out in front of the net and after failing to score on his first shot, he picked up his own rebound and doubled up the Kings' advantage.
Byfield then increased the Kings' lead to 3-0 just under three minutes into the second period as he took the feed from Foegele and wired the puck past Shesterkin.
The Kings saw their lead grow to 4-0 as Kempe took a no-look backward pass from Kopitar and fired it into the empty cage with 15:20 left in the second.
Danault scored a rebound goal just 24 seconds later, forcing the Rangers to turn to former Kings netminder Jonathan Quick, who stopped all 13 shots he faced in relief.
Filip Chytil got the Rangers on the board with 7:43 left in the second period as his harmless shot from the boards bounced off a defenseman and snuck past Kuemper.
Just over a minute later Chytil drew a penalty, but the Rangers were unable to capitalize on the man advantage as Vincent Trocheck's wrist shot rang off the crossbar.
Mika Zibanejad sprung loose for a shorthanded breakaway with 13:48 remaining but was unable to slide the puck through Kuemper's legs.