Kings go from Australia to Las Vegas for more preseason action

The Kings traveled to the ends of the earth to start their preseason. Now they’ll go from the bottom of the globe to the top of the league when they head to Vegas for a meeting with the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

They achieved a split with the Arizona Coyotes in Australia as winger Adrian Kempe’s two goals, along with two periods of solid work from goalie Cam Talbot in his Kings debut, earned them a 3-2 victory. A Kings group made up mostly of prospects lost to the Ducks by the same score in overtime Sunday at Honda Center.

“Everybody was pretty excited to be [in Australia], obviously to go to a completely new country to play, get some good team bonding together,” Kempe told reporters. “I think it was a good, fun experience for everybody. Obviously we got some work in as well, and now it’s back to L.A.”

These were the first NHL matches played in the Southern Hemisphere, but the fans on hand knew exactly how to respond to the action.

“The atmosphere here was unbelievable,” Talbot told reporters. “To have two sold-out games on back-to-back afternoons, it was pretty incredible, and they were into it the whole time.”

Talbot has re-entered familiar territory as he played under Kings coach Todd McLellan during his prime years with the Edmonton Oilers. Talbot was one of three Kings’ goalies who saw time in Australia and had the strongest showing, albeit in a small sample.

“Once I got comfortable out there, it was kind of like riding a bike, not too much has changed,” Talbot told reporters.

The even more prominent new King, center Pierre-Luc Dubois, was held scoreless in two matches but registered five shots on goal in the Kings’ victory. Forward Alex Turcotte, a former fifth overall pick who has battled concussion symptoms, skated in the second game and recorded a shot on net.

Next up will be Vegas, whose winning ways haven’t carried over from the postseason to the preseason. They’ve started out with a pair of defeats, 5-2 to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday and 3-2 against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.

Vegas will return most of its Cup-winning crew from last season, though one of the original Golden Knights, winger Reilly Smith, saw his $5 million cap hit jettisoned to the Pittsburgh Penguins in order to retain other players. And retain Vegas did, holding onto more than 90% of its production from last season.

Another player who did not return was former Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, who signed with the New York Rangers over the summer.