The Los Angeles Kings are a different team with Adrian Kempe in the lineup.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will have to account for Kempe on Saturday evening in Los Angeles.
Kempe erupted for three goals and an assist in his last game, a 7-2 win against the visiting San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.
Kempe missed the previous game, a 3-2 loss to the visiting Buffalo Sabres last Saturday, with an illness.
“He’s played so well and I feel like he hasn’t really been rewarded,” Kings head coach Peter Laviolette said. “I think he’s playing strong, he’s playing well, he’s getting chances and looks. The line’s been good, so it’s nice to see. It’s nice to see his contributions pay off on the scoreboard.”
Although Quinton Byfield hasn’t played on the same line as Kempe recently, he likes what he sees from the bench and on the power play.
“It’s amazing,” Byfield said of Kempe. “The skill, the speed, the shot. When he’s going, he’s one of the best players in the league, and to have him on our team, it’s so exciting to watch. Just being on the same power play, seeing the moves he makes, it’s awesome.”
Los Angeles has four games remaining on the seven-game homestand and would like to build some momentum heading into the rest of November and the holidays.
“With this home stretch, we’ve got an opportunity to really defend our home ice and make it so people don’t want to come play here,” Byfield said. “That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Laviolette said the Kings are trending in the right direction.
“I’ve said I felt like we’ve been playing better,” he said. “Doing things the right way and still not scoring when we need to, and losing games and thinking maybe these games could be going a different way if we can find the back of the net.”
The Penguins have lost four in a row for the second time this season, most recently falling 6-2 against the visiting Boston Bruins on Thursday.
“We’ve just got to be better,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “We’re not consistent enough through games. We’re just making mistakes that are big ones, you know, big chances that we’re giving up.”
Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said the Penguins need to be sharper with the smaller details, such as defensive positioning, boxing out around the crease and getting sticks in passing lanes.
“For me, it’s the stuff that’s totally preventable,” Muse said. “The number of breakaways that we gave up (against Boston), you can’t expect our goalies to come up with those saves. There’s nothing sustainable there.”
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin had one shot on goal in 16:11 of ice time against Boston after missing the loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday because of a lower-body injury.
The three-game California swing continues with a back-to-back against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, giving the Penguins little time to correct any flaws from Saturday’s matchup.
“We are not going to fix them all overnight, but we have to start making those corrections,” Muse said. “The biggest thing for me are the things that are totally preventable.”
