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Los Angeles Kings at New Jersey Devils

Sat Oct 243:30 PM ETESPN+Newark, NJ
By JR·2 min read
Kings(2-4-2)
Devils(6-4-0)
Saturday 10/243:30 PM

TLDR: Los Angeles went from 0-for-6 to a 2-game win streak in a matter of days, and now it walks into a Prudential Center building where New Jersey has handled everybody on this homestand. Saturday afternoon is a fair test of whether the Kings have actually fixed something or just found a hot goalie.

SAT 10/24, 3:30 PMESPN+
Kings
(2-4-2)
WWLLL
Devils
(6-4-0)
WWLWW

Los Angeles comes to Newark having won 2 straight after an 0-6 start, with Artemi Panarin and Adrian Kempe scoring again and Darcy Kuemper stealing Thursday's overtime win on Long Island. New Jersey closes its homestand having won 4 of 5 with scoring from all over the lineup, despite missing Seamus Casey and Nick Bjugstad. The game likely comes down to whether the Kings can stop giving up shots in bulk, or whether they need their goalie to save them a 3rd straight time.

Los Angeles Kings
  • Panarin has 5 points in the 2 straight wins
  • Kempe scored twice in the October 20 win over Washington
  • Kuemper made 71 saves over the last 2 starts
  • Outshot 43-26 by a short-handed Islanders team
  • Dropped the first 6 games of the season
  • Afternoon road game right after Thursday's overtime
New Jersey Devils
  • Have won every game of this homestand so far
  • 4+ goals in 4 of the last 5 games
  • Hischier power-play goal in the 4-1 Anaheim win
  • Seamus Casey out 6-8 weeks after knee procedure
  • Bjugstad on long-term IR, thinning forward depth

Start with the Kings, because their October has been 2 different seasons. They lost their first 6 games, the last of them a 4-1 loss to Boston, then scored 5 straight goals to beat Washington 5-2 on October 20 behind 2 goals from Adrian Kempe and a goal and 2 assists from Artemi Panarin. Then came Long Island, where Panarin scored twice in the 1st period and Brandt Clarke ended it with 2:18 left in 3-on-3 overtime. That's 5 points in 2 games for Panarin, and the top of the lineup looks like the one LA built over the summer.

The catch is how the Islanders win went. New York outshot Los Angeles 43-26 while short-handed, came back from 2 down, and the only reason the Kings left with 2 points is Darcy Kuemper's 41 saves. Add the 30 he made against Washington and he has carried a heavy load across 2 starts. Mats Zuccarello came off injured reserve on October 20, so the Kings have another veteran forward to work in. This is also the first fall in a long time without Anze Kopitar down the middle, and the team is still figuring out what it looks like without him.

New Jersey has been the steadier team. The Devils closed out Anaheim 4-1 on Thursday: Nico Hischier scored on the power play, Arseny Gritsyuk added another, it was 2-0 after the 1st period, and the Ducks never really pushed back. Before that came a 4-3 win over Colorado and a 7-1 beating of the Rangers in this building. Saturday's 3:30 PM ET puck drop closes a 3-game homestand that the Devils have won so far.

Los Angeles Kings
(2-4-2)
10/22W@Islanders3-2
10/20W@Capitals5-2
10/18LvsBruins1-4
10/14LvsOilers1-4
10/11L@Golden Knights1-2
New Jersey Devils
(6-4-0)
10/22WvsDucks4-1
10/20WvsAvalanche4-3
10/17L@Capitals2-4
10/15WvsRangers7-1
10/13W@Red Wings5-4

The Devils are 6-4-0 and have won 4 of their last 5. The only loss in that run was a 4-2 game in Washington. Their scoring has spread out: 5 against Detroit, 7 against the Rangers, 4 in each of the last 2. That's a problem for a Kings team that just gave up 43 shots to a short-handed Islanders group. If New Jersey gets that kind of volume, LA needs Kuemper to be great a 3rd straight time, and whoever starts in goal for the Kings on an afternoon slot right after Thursday's overtime game will be under pressure from the opening faceoff.

The Devils' absences are on the back end and in depth. Seamus Casey is out 6-8 weeks after a knee procedure, which costs them a puck-moving defenseman, and Nick Bjugstad's pectoral injury has him on long-term injured reserve. Neither one has held back the offense. Both teams played Thursday, so neither gets a rest edge. That leaves the Kings, finally getting results from Panarin and Kempe, against a Devils team that has been winning without having to lean on its goalie.

Kings vs. Devils: Polymarket Odds & Prediction (Oct. 24) — Kings Bring a 2-Game Pulse Into Newark for a Saturday Matinee · Barstool Bush