There is just no quit in these Los Angeles Kings. For the second game in a row, on a back-to-back, this group rallied back in the third period to secure the win. Being down two goals at one point didn’t matter, if you have paid any attention to the 2024–25 Kings you would know that they leave it all on the ice during the final 20 minutes. They did just that to hand the Philadelphia Flyers a 5-4 loss and pick up their seventh straight win at home.
“Just sticking with the program, showing the character, the grit, and we were able to come back,” said forward Anze Kopitar.
A fast and energetic start from the Kings made it feel like they didn’t just play the day before. It was all Kings five minutes in which led to Kevin Fiala opening the scoring. They got off to the start they wanted but it wasn’t long until the Flyers joined in on the fun, scoring two in a row. Much like the game in Philadephia just over a week ago, it was wide open for a lot of it.
“They create a lot of chances off the rush but they also give up a lot off the rush so it’s easy to fall into that kind of game when you play a team like that,” said forward Adrian Kempe.
Kopitar Led The Way
It was not that big of a shock that the captain forged the path toward a comeback. Kopitar, the ageless leader, did it again, scoring two goals in a row to tie the game up at four and eventually pot the game-winning goal.
Kopitar started the season the same way scoring all three goals against the Buffalo Sabres in a game his team had no business winning. It’s out of this world that he still has what it takes to deliver performances like this at this stage of his career. He’s been Mr. Clutch, now with five game-winning goals this season. At 37 years old and in his 19th season in the NHL, Kopitar is still leading the Kings in points.
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Forget about the points. Kopitar went up against Connor McDavid for three periods the day before and then came out and delivered that type of effort the next day. He’s just as reliable as it gets, day in and day out, and he has been for the longest time.
“He is who he is, so you get him out there and good things happen […] he goes to the net, he knows how to score,” said head coach Jim Hiller.
Kings Keep on Sticking With It
The Kings were down twice in this game, at one point 2-1 and at another point 4-2. There just seems to be a mindset that switches when the third period rolls around. They have what it takes to either come back or close out games, and they know they have a team capable of doing it on a consistent basis.
In a second period where it felt like the Kings were controlling most of the play, finding the back of the net was difficult. Once they managed to enter the offensive zone, they were able to cycle the puck around and create chances. While they looked great offensively, generating the most scoring chances with 13, they also allowed the Flyers their most amount of scoring chances with 10. The Flyers were moving the puck up the ice with ease and capitalized twice off the rush giving them a 4-2 lead. Just when it felt as if all the momentum was in the Flyers’ favor, Warren Foegele picked off a pass and went in all alone on a breakaway. He buried his second attempt to cut the Flyers’ lead in half with just about five minutes left in the second. A pivotal goal that started the eventual successful comeback. Right from that point it was all Kings and it was shocking they didn’t tie it up before the second period came to an end.
FOEGY FOLLOW UP pic.twitter.com/vlDSeN0Fb4
— LA Kings (@LAKings) December 30, 2024
Don’t let the Kings head into the third period still within reach of winning a game because they will make you pay. There is too much evidence to prove it. Whether they are leading, trailing, or tied heading into the third it doesn’t matter. This group continues to dig deep when it matters most and continues to find ways to either drag the game to overtime or finish the job in regulation.
Last time these 2 teams played the Kings scored 4 in the third. Regardless, this is where the Kings leave it all on the ice. I’d be more worried for the Flyers right now especially with the way the Kings ended the 2nd. #GoKingsGo
— Raz Devraj (@razdevraj) December 30, 2024
“At this point, there is a belief […] I think we start to get 36 games in and I start to think you just go like okay we have done this, we can do this, and there’s just a feeling it’s hard to describe and some years you never get it how you want to get it and this year it feels like we have it,” said Hiller.
That belief remained strong again. The third-period rally was enough to get the two points. The last 20 minutes have been so successful for the Kings that even their atrocious power play was able to convert; and quickly too. Less than three seconds into their first power play of the game, Kopitar got a piece of Kempe’s shot from the point.
What’s great about this team is that they don’t wait until the third period to start playing, they just find another level and put in even more effort to try and pull out a win in the final frame.
The Kings finished off 2024 in the win column. The five-game homestand will continue in 2025. New Year’s Day is the next time the Kings play as they host the New Jersey Devils for the only game on Jan. 1.
