Los Angeles @ Washington preview
Capital One Arena
Last Meeting ( Jan 7, 2024 ) Los Angeles 3, Washington 4
The Los Angeles Kings look to close a seven-game road trip on a high note when they visit the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
The Kings are 3-1-2 thus far on their trip, most recently rallying for a point in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators on Saturday. Los Angeles trailed 2-0 after two periods before scoring twice in a four-minute stretch in the third period.
On Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Kings were down by a goal late in the second period before captain Anze Kopitar forged a tie with 44 seconds left. Los Angeles scored four more goals in the third period of a 7-3 win.
"I think the third period, those are the most important periods right there," center Quinton Byfield said. "We go into the (third period Thursday) tied, (Saturday) we go down into the third down 2-0; it just shows the commitment that we have and the will that we want to win. I think everyone, when it comes to the third, ups their game."
Byfield has scored half of his six goals on the season over the past four games, totaling four points in that stretch. He mustered just two points (one goal, one assist) in 12 games from Nov. 13 to Dec. 12. He's averaging a career-high 17:26 of ice time this season.
The Capitals, meanwhile, will be looking for a second straight win after snapping a two-game skid with a 3-1 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.
Washington was 11-2-1 before dropping consecutive games to the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks early in the week. On Sunday, the team opens up a back-to-back set -- concluding with a visit to the Boston Bruins on Monday -- before the NHL pauses for the Christmas break.
The goal for the Capitals is to stay in the moment and not look ahead.
"It's been a grind, the first 34 games, and you let your mind drift," Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. "And it's the teams that can really stay on task and stay in the moment for these last four or five days, while there's a lot of things going on externally and, in your mind, those are the teams that can finish out the pre-holiday break playing well. And that's what we want to do."
Although the team remains without superstar captain Alex Ovechkin, who was cleared for contact but won't return before the break, fellow forward Connor McMichael has done his part in his absence. The 23-year-old scored his 16th goal of the season Friday, passing Ovechkin for the team lead.
"Any time a guy with that scoring ability goes down, a lot of guys feel like they need to step up and I think we've had contributions from all over the lineup, not just one or two guys," McMichael said. "It feels nice whenever I can help the team, but a lot of guys have stepped up in his absence."
He's two goals shy of his career high set last season and has 28 points in 32 games, five points back of last season's total in 80 games.
--Field Level Media