Newcomer Andrei Kuzmenko has ignited Kings’ power play
The Kings darted off to Denver for Thursday night’s mile-high melee against another one of the NHL’s hottest teams, the Colorado Avalanche.
The Avalanche have been the top squad in the NHL since Feb. 26, winning 11 of 13 games to post a league-best .885 points percentage in that span. Since March 6, the Kings have been the league’s best performer, their .900 points percentage one-upping even the Avs and surging St. Louis Blues, who are tied at .850 over that same period.
On Tuesday, both clubs prevailed, with the Avalanche decking Todd McLellan’s Detroit Red Wings, 5-2, and the Kings stifling the New York Rangers, 3-1, in a contest that was a fraction of an inch from being Darcy Kuemper’s fifth shutout of the season. Kuemper is now the league leader in home save percentage (.935) as well as goals-against average (1.67) on home ice among goalies with five or more starts.
Though Kuemper has been a constant, trade deadline pickup Andrei Kuzmenko has been aboard for just 10 games, and nine of them have been victories. He has four points in his past three outings and turned in a Herculean effort on the power play, spoon feeding not one but two linemates at the back post, the second time resulting in a crucial goal. In between, he took some punishment from countryman Igor Shesterkin.
Since Kuzmenko’s arrival, the Kings’ power play has converted at a 26.1% rate, up from just 15% for the season to that point. Though it’s a small sample, the eye-test evaluations have also been compelling.
“I mean, it looks a lot better, doesn’t it, with Kuzmenko? Whether we score or not, can we all agree that it looks a lot more dangerous?” Coach Jim Hiller asked after what he called Kuzmenko’s best game as a King on Tuesday.
Hiller described Kuzmenko as feeling “freer” since he scored his first points as a King. But he appeared liberated even in his debut, a day after he changed addresses for the second time this season after going from Calgary to Philadelphia and now arriving in Los Angeles.
The consistent use of Brandt Clarke and the breakout of early-season doldrums for Kevin Fiala, including three goals and five points in his past three games, have dovetailed with the offensive resurgence of Quinton Byfield and growing potency of Warren Foegele to create a noticeably more dynamic Kings attack of late.
The lower rungs of the forward group will be tested now though. Tanner Jeannot was not expected to travel with the team to Denver and Alex Turcotte’s status was doubtful. The Kings recalled from the minors forward Jeff Malott, a 28-year-old Cornell alumnus with no NHL experience but who has shown linear progress over five seasons at the minor pro level.
WOOLEY SIGNS ENTRY-LEVEL CONTRACT
The Kings signed prospect defenseman Jared Woolley to a three-year, entry-level contract on Wednesday.
Woolley was a sixth-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, when the Kings made just four picks. Woolley becomes the third among them to ink his entry-level deal, following pacts for Liam Greentree (Round 1) and Carter George (Round 2).
At 6-foot-5, the London Knights (Ontario Hockey League) blue-liner thinks defense first and plays with a physical edge to boot, capable of making big open-ice checks or controlling vital space in the trenches.
He’s accumulated a +49 rating this year in junior competition, the sixth-best mark in the OHL. Greentree is one of three first-rounders ahead of Woolley, as is league leader Sam Dickinson, Woolley’s London teammate and a lottery pick of San Jose Sharks. That’s remarkable since Woolley was in a lower-level junior league when the Kings set their sights on him, and he ultimately went well below any of the aforementioned players in the draft.
KINGS AT COLORADO
When: Thursday, 7 p.m. PT
Where: Ball Arena, Denver
TV/radio: ESPN