A Winning Streak and Strong Performance in the West

The Los Angeles Kings extended their winning streak with a crucial 5-4 shootout victory on the road against the St. Louis Blues. This win not only solidified their position in the Pacific Division but also extended their four-game point streak to five games this season. The Kings, now sitting at 21-16-13, have shown resilience and determination, especially after a tough game that saw them overcome a deficit.

Early Lead and a Back-and-Forth Game

The Kings started strong, taking a 2-0 lead in the first period. However, the Blues fought back, tying the game in the second frame. The Kings’ forwards, including Alex Laferriere and winger Trevor Moore, played key roles in pushing the game into overtime. Moore ultimately scored the game-winning goal in the shootout, marking a significant moment for the team.

Coach Jim Hiller’s Postgame Comments

After the win, head coach Jim Hiller shared his thoughts with the media, highlighting the importance of the victory and the impact of key players like Moore. Here are some of the key points from his comments:

• On the impact of Trevor Moore:
  
  “Close to 20 minutes of ice time. Mooresie is such a reliable, dependable player, has been for a long time for the franchise. We clearly missed him, but he had to get healthy and you can just see how important he is to the team.”

• On how Moore started offensively:
  
  “I thought he was dangerous from the start. He had the snapshot. He came off the wall with the backhand. So, I didn’t notice any rust in his game whatsoever. He’s been skating and working hard with Derek Johnson. So that part translated pretty well. I think Army was the same thing coming back. Jumped right in, played big minutes. I really liked his game tonight.”

• On the team’s reaction to the win:
  
  “We started good. Second period, the three goals in a short amount of time was really disappointing, when they made mistakes, obviously. So, when you make a mistake and it goes in, you want to hold it. We weren’t able to do that and gave them three, but I really liked the pushback after that, to tie it was important. I thought the third period was our best period. They scored a big one late, but the third period was good, we had other chances. It was nice to see the one go in, at least, to get us back ahead.”

• On flipping momentum during the game:
  
  “Everybody was disappointed. The bench was pissed off, as we should have been. We just did a few things that were uncharacteristic of us. Frankly, if we play that style and it’s going the other way, we have a hard time outscoring those mistakes, so we have to play it pretty, clean, or else we’re going to have a tough time. We got four tonight, so that’s excellent, but we don’t get four on a lot of nights. The guys cleaned it up. They were mad, they cleaned it up and again, proud of the effort in the third to come out and play our best.”

• On Brandt Clarke’s actions during the game:
  
  “You love to see it. I think Sammy Helenius has been showing us that too and back at it again tonight for Sammy. To see Clarkie jump in there, this is what Clarkie is. He’s an ultra-competitive player and that shows in a lot of different areas on the ice. That was just another example of it.”

• On Brian Dumoulin’s first goal of the season:
  
  “We were all happy for Dumo, for sure. It was just a simple indirect, and again, Corey Perry was standing in front of the goalie, but it was a good shot. It was a really good shot, up high in the net.”

Looking Ahead

With the win, the Kings are set for a five-game road trip, starting with their next game in the East. Hiller and the team will need to maintain their momentum and continue building on the positive results they’ve seen in recent weeks. The Kings’ ability to bounce back from setbacks and perform under pressure has been a defining trait of their recent success, and fans are eager to see how they will fare in the upcoming games.