Kings head to Ottawa for a game rich with storylines

The Kings landed in Canada’s capital, which has also been an epicenter of criss-crossing destinies between the men in black and silver and their opponents Thursday, the Ottawa Senators.

Those teams will clash after the Kings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs convincingly 4-1 on Tuesday. The Sens have been off since they defeated Pittsburgh, 5-2, on Saturday, but much of the attention in this upcoming showdown will likely be attracted by individual matchups.

The Kings have gotten more and more out of Quinton Byfield since his move to left wing last season, as he has excelled in a role that’s been deferential offensively but more engaged than ever otherwise. He put up his first multipoint game of the campaign Wednesday, prompting a fresh round of “was that Q’s best game?” inquiries, which Coach Todd McLellan said were a welcome signal to the Kings that the former No. 2 overall pick was advancing in his development.

The man taken directly behind Byfield in the 2020 draft was Ottawa forward Tim Stützle, who has long since blown past the point of looking for encouraging signs when it comes to his scoring ability. He turned in a 90-point campaign last season, the most ever for a German-trained player not named Leon Draisaitl, and leads Ottawa in scoring again this year. Stützle was drafted as a center/wing hybrid while Byfield was generally considered a true center, but it has been Stützle pushing two-way standout Claude Giroux to the wing on Ottawa’s top line, though Byfield scooted over to the left side of the Kings’ No. 1 trio.

In net, the Kings made a de-facto swap with Ottawa. The Kings had acquired Joonas Korpisalo right before the trade deadline, but his services proved too rich for their blood given other priorities, so Ottawa swooped in to ink him to a five-year, $20 million pact. Already having completed a pair multiple ambitious moves for skaters, the Kings needed to get creative between the pipes, so they approached Cam Talbot, who spent last season with the Senators.

To this point, Korpisalo’s numbers have been pedestrian, similar to the ones he posted last year on a porous Columbus club prior to a trade that plunked him right into the Kings’ cage for their ephemeral postseason.

Talbot, on the other hand, has provided tremendous value. The Kings have earned a point in four of his five appearances since a loss in the home opener, including three wins. In three of his outings, he’s allowed just one goal, and his .914 save percentage is up from .898 last season.

On the blue line, the Kings had long been linked to defenseman Jakob Chychrun, who had played his career in Arizona until the most recent trade deadline approached. The Kings eventually pivoted away from those discussions and toward a successful negotiation that netted them a rental of Korpisalo and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.

Chychrun was acquired by Ottawa via trade soon after. This season, he’s posted eight points in eight games while tying for the NHL lead in goals by a defenseman with four, highlighted by a two-goal, three-point performance against Philadelphia.

Gavrikov has been known more for his defensive ability, but he’s chipped in three points in 2023-24. His possession metrics have dipped across the board from last year, though nine games with a team that’s been somewhat inconsistent have provided a small and likely ambiguous sample of his effectiveness.

The Kings and Sens split their meetings last season, with Ottawa prevailing in overtime at home and falling on the road. The Kings’ major addition over the summer was center Pierre-Luc Dubois, who has notched six points in the first nine games of his eight-year contract. In addition to Korpisalo, Ottawa added winger Vladimir Tarasenko on a one-year, $5 million show-me deal. What he’s shown them so far are nine points in eight games.

While the personnel debates may rage on for years, this match will be settled Thursday with the Kings crossing the border soon, to Philadelphia, where they’ll clash with the Flyers, a team with whom the Kings completed an intricate three-way trade this past summer.

KINGS AT OTTAWA

When: Thursday, 4 p.m.

Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario

How to watch: Bally Sports West