LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Tampa Bay Lightning continued their California road trip for the second game of 2025 against the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings activated Trevor Lewis off of injured reserve ahead of his 1,000th NHL game. During warm-ups, his teammates wore “61k” hats to honor the veteran forward who’s been around the block in the NHL for 17 seasons.
As for good news and sighs of relief for the Bolts and its fans, the captain, Victor Hedman, played during this game after taking a puck to the ear that made him leave the rest of the game against the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 2. Meanwhile, Gage Goncalves and Akil Thomas were healthy scratches for their respective teams, as the Kings ran with seven defenders and 11 forwards, while the Bolts had six d-men and 12 forwards.
To start the first period, Hedman opened the scoring from a rocket at the blueline point just 1:18 in. The captain played a pivotal offensive and defensive role during the first, as his ear injury did not take away his veteran capabilities.
Then, with 15 minutes to play, the Lightning drew a power play opportunity, as the Kings were sent to the box for delay of game, with the Bolts testing out their first PP opportunity of the game. However, the home team buckled down and tore away the Lightning’s previously dangerous and red-hot power play unit of Kucherov, Point, Guentzel, Hagel, and Hedman.
Minutes later, the Kings broke ice and put a goal on the board. Right off the faceoff, Mikey Anderson wristed one through Vasilevskiy’s pocket from the blue line to tie it up at one.
Afterward, the Bolts saw good breakouts into the Kings’ zone. Still, the Kings’ defensive core played physically and backchecked any connecting scoring opportunities—with a lot of help from Kuemper, who stood his ground in the blue paint. The Point-Guentzel-Kucherov line saw a lot of ice time during this frame.
But after 20, the score was tied at one leading into the second; Tampa outshot LA 11-4.
In the second, both teams played keep away in their respective offensive zones and blasted good scoring chances on Vasilevskiy and Kuemper. Then, with 12 minutes to go, the Kings finally got a power play opportunity but couldn’t capitalize on it despite having some good shots on the net.
The Los Angeles Kings power play has been horrendous in the last few games, and it was no different for this one at home. However, after the PP expired, the team generated and held a lot of momentum away from the Bolts as the visiting team struggled to bypass their offensive unit.
But that changed with four minutes remaining, as the Bolts pressured more on the Kings and generated more offense than they had earlier. Testing what they had, Jon Cooper hysterically pulled Vasilevskiy for an extra attacker with two seconds remaining in the second, as the team had a faceoff in the Kings’ end.
Impressively, the team won the faceoff and got a shot off, but did not hit Kuemper, and the game was still tied at one heading into the final frame.
With less than six minutes left in the third period, the Kings capitalized on a Lightning turnover. Alex Turcotte shot on Vasilevskiy, and Adrian Kempe intercepted the rebound and scored to break the tie.
A poor cross-ice pass in Los Angeles’ zone by the Lightning created a breakout opportunity for the Kings, who were also getting a needed line change and had a scoring chance, with Turcotte off to Kempe to score a much-needed tie-breaking goal. Cooper waved Vasilevskiy to the bench for the extra attacker as the final buzzer loomed.
The top unit was on during the extra-man advantage, and the team executed finely at first to keep control in the Kings’ zone. But with seconds winding down to put something in deep, the Kings took no exception and made the necessary clears out, though they did not capitalize on the empty net.
The Lightning fell short by just a goal as the horn blew, so the Kings took this game at home 2-1.
Three Stars
- Darcy Kuemper (34 saves)
- Trevor Lewis (1,000 NHL games)
- Alex Turcotte (1 assist)
ITR 35: Round One – Inside The Rink
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Your spell checker changed something it shouldn’t have, the hats were 61K and it was an intentional pass from turcote to kempe for the gwg.