Kempe, Byfield score as Kings hold off Kraken for 2-1 win
Adrian Kempe and Quinton Byfield scored in the second period, and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Seattle Kraken 2-1 on Saturday.
David Rittich made 19 saves for the Kings, who improved to 6-2-1 at home.
Kempe and Byfield scored 1:44 apart in the second period. Byfield buried a sharp-angle slap shot on a power play while dropping to a knee. It was his 98th career point in 200 games.
Brandon Montour got the Kraken on the board with 1:26 left in the game. He converted a long shot with Joey Daccord off for another skater, but Los Angeles held on.
Daccord finished with 19 stops for Seattle.
Takeaways
Kraken: Jordan Eberle will miss at least three months after undergoing surgery on his pelvis. He had six goals and five assists in 17 games before he got hurt against Chicago on Nov. 14.
Kings: The power play had been in a 1-for-16 rut (6.25%) over the previous six games before Byfield found the net. It was the Kings' lone opportunity with the man-advantage.
Key moment
After following its 1-0 loss to Buffalo on Wednesday with a fourth straight period of extreme low-event hockey, Los Angeles created a lot more activity and offense to start the second and generate its two goals.
Key stat
The Kings know how to close out games, improving to 9-0-1 when leading after two periods.
Up next
The Kraken visit Anaheim on Monday, and the Kings play at San Jose on Monday.