FINALE – Kings 3, Sharks 2 – Foegele, Laferriere, Spence, Hiller

The LA Kings found a way to get the job done in their home opener, picking up a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night.

The Kings gained an early advantage through defenseman Jordan Spence, who sank his first goal of the season to open the team's lead on home ice. Forward Trevor Moore showed patience on the rush, cutting inside the left wing and finding Spence, who joined the play and worked his way into the slot. The defender picked up the pass and fired his shot past Sharks goalkeeper Mackenzie Blackwood to get the hosts on the board.

The 1-0 became 3-0 thanks to striker Warren Foegele, who scored two goals in the opening period to give the Kings a three-goal lead before the second intermission.

First, Foegele ripped the puck free behind the net and attempted a wraparound that was thwarted by Blackwood, but after the puck was deflected back to him, he fired the rebound into the net, scoring his second goal in as many games. Foegele scored his second goal of the half with a deflection as he got into position in front of the net and repelled a shot from Brandt Clarke into the top corner for a 3-0 lead.

Midway through the second half, when San Jose completed its third power play of the night, the visitors came onto the field. After a lengthy sequence in the offensive zone, striker Mikael Granlund's shot from the left circle went off the back post and into the goal, past Kings goaltender David Rittich on the glove side. Granlund's goal brought the Sharks within 3-1 heading into the second intermission.

Late in the third period, with the Sharks playing 6-on-4 and the goalie pulling away, Granlund scored his second goal of the game, bringing his team within one point. After winning a faceoff in the offensive zone with his team having a man advantage, Granlund fired another shot through traffic from the top of the circle that found the net with 60 seconds left to tie the score.

After today's game, hear from Foegele, Laferriere, Spence and head coach Jim Hiller.

Alex Laferriere
On his line he continues to score goals around the goal area
Yes, I think our line is at its best when we direct the pucks into the net. I mean, they don't all have to be nice goals, they all count the same. So as long as we're getting pucks over the net and towards the net, it's going to go in for us.

Why this line complemented each other so effectively
I think our games somehow complement each other. We're all hard-working guys who like to anticipate and recover pucks. Foegs has an incredible shot, he only needed one to get there, and Turcs is a playmaker. He will find you when you don't even think you're open. Just two really easy players to play with.

On the team's quick start, which didn't carry over into the last 40 minutes
I think we were looking forward to playing on home ice and whoever you play in this league will be good, they're a good team there. I know they haven't gotten what they wanted so far, but they're a good team and they're going to play hard and everyone's going to play hard every night. I think we had a lot of excitement in the first game and I think we got away from that a little bit, but I think it's just something to look forward to in the next game.

Warren Foegele
Finally being able to experience this building as a home player
Yeah, it's pretty exciting to come back home and be in this locker room for the first time without having a preseason game here. But the fans were great. They were loud. It's nice to see the new renovations that have been done and I'm obviously happy about both points.

He scored two goals tonight and three in his last two games
Yeah, I think if I move my feet and try to attack the net, then I'm playing my game. Tonight I was rewarded for going to the net a few times and I couldn't have done it without the linemates. I thought the last couple of games we were really on a roll, had a good cycle and did a good job of moving our feet. Good things happen when you go online.

To score points at home and feel like part of the team
I think whenever you can contribute to the score sheet it kind of boosts your confidence, but there are other aspects to the game. Whether it's taking a penalty or blocking a shot, we have a lot of people here who will do whatever it takes to win. Of course it's nice to score a goal, but little things help win.

Jordan Spence
We want to win, but we need to improve in certain areas of the game
Yeah, definitely I think that's the biggest thing. If we play like this we will lose a lot of games. We were lucky today, but at the same time we got the win, but I wouldn't be surprised if Jimmy talked about what we did in the third period.

On rotating defensive pairs, sometimes from game to game, early in the season
Dewey being out is an important factor for our D-Core, but at the same time we are trying to do our best. I think we've done a pretty good job, but at the same time I think we've reached another level that we can step up to and do better.

Did the Kings even consider that a team from San Jose wouldn't win a game?
To be honest, we didn't really think about it, but at the same time I think it was in some of our minds. In this league, everyone can win games and, above all, they really want to win, and you can see that in the third period. I think it's important to get the win today, especially in our home opener.

Jim Hiller

Notes –
• Jordan Spence (1-0=1) scored his first goal of the season. With the goal, Spence extends his point streak against the Sharks to a fifth game (1-4=5), dating back to December 19, 2023.
• Warren Foegele (2-0=2) scored his second and third goals of the season. Foegele has now scored three goals in his last two games, the 11th time in his career he has scored goals in back-to-back games, and only the fifth time he has scored three goals in two games.
• Trevor Moore (0-1=1) registered his first assist of the season for his 100th career assist, becoming the first undrafted California-born skater in league history to do so and the seventh from California born skater who achieved this overall.
• Phillip Danault (0-1=1) picked up his third assist of the season. Danault now has five assists in his last five home games, dating back to April 11, 2024 against CGY.
• Alex Laferriere (0-2=2) picked up his second and third assists of the season for the second multi-assist game of his career (0-2=2; January 4, 2024 vs. DET). Laferriere has now scored four points (2-2=4) in its last four games.
• Brandt Clarke (0-1=1) recorded his fifth assist of the season, moving Anze Kopitar to the team lead. The assist marked his first career point against the San Jose Sharks.
• David Rittich saved 24 of 26 shots on goal, improving his season record to 3-2-0.
• According to NHL PR, the Kings scored three goals in the first period of their home game for the third time in the franchise
Story. The others: 1976-77 (4) and 1980-81 (3).

The Kings return to the ice for practice tomorrow at 11 a.m. at the Toyota Sports Performance Center.