Kings head to San Jose looking to build off strong defensive homestand

While they might not be producing a wealth of offense, the Kings have been penurious defensively of late and will take that stinginess northward to San Jose for a matchup with the Sharks on Monday.

They surrendered just one goal in each contest during their three-game homestand and no five-on-five markers, most recently restraining the Seattle Kraken in a 2-1 win. Seattle had won five of its past six games, whereas San Jose has dropped six of its past seven.

David Rittich, who has made three straight starts since Darcy Kuemper sustained his second lower-body injury of the young campaign during a loss in Colorado, has posted six one-goal-allowed efforts in 11 starts, with five of those performances being wins. The sixth was a 1-0 loss to Buffalo on Wednesday, which coach Jim Hiller said he thought gave the Kings additional motivation against Seattle.

“I think we played really well the last couple (games), but (against Seattle) we did something extra with obviously scoring goals, which gives us the opportunity to win,” Rittich said.

Individual Kings had plenty of motivation, too. Their second-period power-play goal represented the first point in seven games for Kevin Fiala and the first goal in six for Quinton Byfield, as well as the first power-play goal by any King against a goalie in the past seven games.

Byfield’s scoring woes have been longer-standing. Byfield said he’d like to better integrate the physical side of his game into his offense, but for now was pleased to have broken through, and with an authoritative snipe, no less.

“It’s obviously tough. You do think about it, but you’ve got to stay positive. I’ve learned from the best, Kopi, all the time he’s just even keel,” said Byfield, referring to Kings captain Anze Kopitar. “I try to be happy, that’s just my personality. I don’t want to bring anyone else down around me. It always comes eventually, and hopefully it’ll pile up.”

Saturday also marked Byfield’s 200th career game, and he joined seven other players who have crossed that threshold from his 2020 draft class.

He accumulated those games across parts of five seasons, some of which saw him bounce between the NHL and AHL while he also battled serious injuries and illnesses.

“It was tough. There was a lot of adversity and a lot of challenging moments in those 200 games,” Byfield said.

There might not be a ton of adversity ahead for the Kings in San Jose, given that the Sharks remain in a half-decade-long rebuild still waiting to take off and have been mired in a funk lately, too.

But the Kings managed to lose to them and another bottom-dweller, the Chicago Blackhawks, in the same week, and their 4-2 loss in San Jose on Oct. 29 featured an 0-for-6 display on the power play.

Five days earlier, the Kings had beaten the Sharks, 3-2, in L.A. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, Macklin Celebrini, did not compete in either meeting for San Jose.

He’ll be healthy Monday and has scored seven points in 10 games, production spearheaded by three multi-point outings. Veteran Mikael Granlund’s 24 points are eight more than any other Shark has contributed this season.