LOS ANGELES – Quinton Byfield continued his impressive scoring streak, netting a goal for the fifth game in a row as the Los Angeles Kings triumphed over the Washington Capitals with a 3-0 victory on Thursday night.
Darcy Kuemper was stellar between the pipes with 21 saves, contributing significantly to the Kings’ victory. Kevin Fiala added both a goal and an assist, and Warren Foegele chipped in with a goal, helping the Kings secure their fourth consecutive win following a previous bout of five-game losses.
Charlie Lindgren stood out for the Capitals with 24 saves, yet it wasn’t enough to keep their five-game winning run alive. In a rare occurrence, Alex Ovechkin failed to register a shot on goal, despite playing almost 19 minutes, including 8:41 on the power play.
Ovechkin is still nine goals away from surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s legendary NHL career record of 894 goals. The formidable power play of the Washington Capitals was neutralized by the Kings’ effective penalty kill, which thwarted scoring in all five attempts. This powerful defensive display followed a similarly strong performance where they shut out the New York Islanders across eight power play attempts just two days prior.
The Kings started pulling away early in the third period, scoring two rapid-fire goals just 47 seconds apart, courtesy of Fiala and Byfield. Fiala netted his 25th goal of the season, marking the third time in four seasons he reached this milestone. He connected on a one-timer during a power play, then provided an assist for Byfield’s goal during a rush.
Observations from the game noted that Pierre-Luc Dubois received boos frequently whenever he had the puck, still feeling the remnants of discord from his challenging tenure in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the Kings benefited from the productive line of Foegele, Phillip Danault, and Trevor Moore, which has combined for a goal in three straight games, adding much-needed offense that had been previously lacking.
A critical moment in the game occurred when Ovechkin, paired with Matt Roy on a potential two-on-one play during the second period, was unable to capitalize. Mikey Anderson forced Roy into a tough shot, which ultimately hit the crossbar, allowing the Kings to maintain their 1-0 lead.
A notable statistic from the match is Ovechkin’s failure to have a shot on goal, an unusual event considering it has only happened once before in the past 50 games, during the season opener against New Jersey.
Looking ahead, the Capitals are set to visit San Jose on Saturday, whereas the Kings will take on Nashville at home the same day.
