When Kings GM Rob Blake pulled off deals to add Phil Danault, Viktor Arvidsson, and Alex Edler in the summer of 2021, he essentially won the NHL summer. Looking to build on that success, he traded a first-round pick and one of his top 5 prospects to add Kevin Fiala in the summer of 2022. It’s a bit too early to say he won the summer again… or is it?
Already leading LA in points, and having been named to the All Star Game just a few days ago, Fiala added to his narrative by recording a hat trick in a pivotal mid-season game in Vegas on Saturday. With his team looking to keep pace with the Pacific Division leading Golden Knights, the 26-year-old forward went into their house and delivered a masterful performance.
Three stats from the game:
— Goaltender Pheonix Copley is now 10-2 on the season and he’s beaten Vegas twice in less than two weeks.
— Per NHL PR, Fiala required the fewest games by a Kings player to register his first 40 career points with the franchise since Pavol Demitra (34 GP in 2005-06) and Craig Conroy (40 GP in 2005-06).
– Anze Kopitar now has 500 career road points after assisting on Matt Roy’s goal. The only other Kings player in franchise history to reach that mark was Marcel Dionne (607 total). Additionally, only five other active skaters have hit the 500 road point mark: Alex Ovechkin (703), Sidney Crosby (649), Patrick Kane (750), Evgeni Malkin (521) and Eric Staal (513).
Below are select highlights from Thursday night’s game:
Additional Post-Game Notes:
https://twitter.com/BallySportWest/status/1611966133418033152
STATS CHECK
How different is this year's LA Kings team vs last yr?
They're on pace to have six 20-goal scorers. Last season, they had three.
Digging further – they've never had more than four while playing in DTLA.
And the last time they had six was… *checks notes*
1992-93 pic.twitter.com/91fkIndtn5
— The Mayor | Team MM (@mayorNHL) January 8, 2023
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