Live Game Recap: Kings Fall to Golden Knights in Preseason

The Los Angeles Kings are coming into this preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights in hopes of establishing some roster spots and deciding who will play in the NHL for the team in two weeks from now. I have decided to give a live game recap as the match goes on, and give my thoughts.

Period 1

Dustin Brown started the period off early by sending Viktor Arvidsson all alone on a breakaway in the first minute of the period, but Laurent Brossoit gloved it. Gabriel Vilardi and his linemates had a good rush and just barely got stopped by Brossoit. Very fast-paced, low-stoppage period.

Daniil Miromanov buried a goal for the Golden Knights on their first shot of the game off of a great feed from Jonathan Marchessault, up until then the Kings were doing a great job at minimizing quality scoring chances.

The Brown-Kopitar-Arvidsson line had a great period, tons of energy and they were heavily grinding away during their shifts. Mikey Anderson also had a great period, he did very well in his own end and was also looking to get the puck towards the net offensively at all times, which led to some sneaky scoring chances.

Quinton Byfield looked very poor in that period, his skating form was choppy, he was slow, and he couldn’t be consistent with the puck. You would hope to see that change in the coming periods.

The Kings were definitely the better team that period, however, an unlucky bounce had them down 1-0 after the first. Cal Petersen finished the period with four saves on five shots, good for a .800 save percentage and -0.40 GSAx. Not his best period but he really didn’t get many shots either.

Period 2

Dustin Brown continues his high-pace game, creating an early three-on-one rush before being stopped by Brossoit on an off-angle shot. He has had a great game through these two periods.

The Kings went down 2-0 after Alec Martinez let a slapshot fly from the right circle and it just went blocker side on Petersen. The Golden Knights were just dominating the cycle game on that powerplay.

Rasmus Kupari has silently had a nice night. Just got another good look on a shot there, had a good shift creating some scoring chances around the 6:00 minute mark.

Brossoit had himself a great game through two periods. If there was any doubt he would be the backup goaltender in Vegas, there isn’t anymore. Has made some huge saves on some high-quality Kings chances. He has saved all 27 shots that came his way thus far.

Petersen at the end of the second period has saved 13 of 15 shots faced, good for an .867 SV% and -0.15 GSAx. Rough game by his standards but not his fault the Kings are losing, team needs more offense.

Period 3

In the first minute of the third period, Alex Pietrangelo just flicks it over to William Karlsson at center-ice, who just whips it on net and scores to put the Golden Knights up 3-0. Petersen was frustrated with that one.

Miromanov scored his second of the game off of a give and go. He outwaited Petersen at the end to tuck it in. He is looking like he could legitimately contend for a spot on the blueline regularly in Vegas. That is definitely a goal Petersen wants back though.

Arvidsson, despite being down 4-0 in a preseason game, gets low and blocks an almost certain goal on Evgenii Dadonov. Love to see that effort from him, he’s been a bright spot all night.

The late-game Kings powerplay is buzzing. Vladimir Tkachev with a shot pass to the front of the net for Arvidsson, who got denied by Brossoit. This powerplay has potential in the regular season, some silent, but deadly weapons offensively.

Final

The Kings fell to the Golden Knights by a score of 4-0. Petersen finished with 24 saves on 28 shots, good for an .857 SV% and -1.10 GSAx, obviously not his fault for the loss when Los Angeles failed to score a goal, but there were a couple there that he would want back.

The top Kings skaters in xG% were Carl Grundstrom, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Rasmus Kupari, Olli Maatta and Dustin Brown, while the worst were Trevor Moore, Quinton Byfield and Lias Andersson.

The Kings weren’t even all that bad, however, Brossoit was just too good, saving all 38 shots he faced for a 3.10 GSAx.

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