Over the past few years, the Los Angeles Kings have become the “Buffalo Sabres of the West,” at least on the blueline. Over the past few years, several former Sabres defensemen have played in Los Angeles, including now-retired Robyn Regehr. That phenomenon will continue this season, thanks to a few free agent signings.
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Perhaps one of the bigger pieces the Kings got this offseason, however, came in via trade: forward Milan Lucic. The ever-hated-by-Sabres-fans forward was sent to Los Angeles, with Martin Jones, Colin Miller and a draft pick headed back to Boston. There’s no doubt it will have an effect on things when the Sabres and Bruins face each other; how about the Sabres and Kings?
Another big piece: goaltender Jhonas Enroth. The former Buffalo Sabres netminder signed with Los Angeles on July 1st after finishing last season with the Dallas Stars. Enroth will join Jonathan Quick as part of the Kings’ goaltending tandem.
The Kings lost former Sabres defenseman Andrej Sekera, who signed with the Edmonton Oilers in free agency, but no fears – they replaced one former Sabre with another! Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff, who last played with the Pittsburgh Penguins, signed with the Kings in the offseason, too. He joins Jamie McBain, another former Sabres blueliner, in the Kings organization.
Two other players who left Los Angeles via free agency this summer were forward Jarret Stoll, gone to the New York Rangers, and forward Justin Williams, who signed with the Washington Capitals. Players who re-signed with the Kings include Vincent LoVerdge, Nic Dowd, Andrew Crescenzi, Jordan Weal, Nick Shore and Andy Andreoff.
Last season, the Kings narrowly missed the playoffs by just two points, finishing the season ninth in the Western Conference with 95 points. Their record was 40-27-15, including a remarkable 25-9-7 at STAPLES Center.
One point where the Kings were not strong, however, was the shootout. They won just two of 10 shootouts the team was involved with last season. In general, the number of shootouts in the NHL will likely decrease due to the new 3-on-3 overtime format, and this will only help teams like the Kings who don’t find their strong suit in the shootout.
Last season, both games between the Sabres and the Kings ended in shutouts. Los Angeles won the first meeting 2-0, with Buffalo taking the second 1-0.
Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar had the goals for Los Angeles, with Drew Doughty, Tyler Toffoli and Carter notching assists.
Tyler Ennis had the lone goal for the Sabres in the season series, assisted by Matt Moulson and Drew Stafford.
For the Kings, Jonathan Quick played in both games, racking up 34 saves on 35 shots faced. Jhonas Enroth had 71 saves on 73 shots against in the pair of games.
This season, the Sabres and Kings will face off twice, starting on December 12th at 7 p.m. in Buffalo. They’ll meet again, this time in Los Angeles, on February 27th to close out the season series with an 11 p.m. EST meeting.
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