Andrei Kuzmenko, Kings out to extend hot stretch vs. Utah

The Los Angeles Kings weren’t too busy at the trade deadline last month, but one of the few moves they made is turning into a winner.

Andrei Kuzmenko is beginning to settle in nicely for the Kings, who have won six of their last eight games heading into their matchup against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday night in Salt Lake City.

After going without a point in his first seven games after Los Angeles acquired him from the Philadelphia Flyers on March 7, the 29-year-old Russian has nine points (four goals, five assists) in the past seven games.

“He’s just all over the ice,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said.

Kuzmenko exploded on the NHL scene two years ago as a 26-year-old rookie with the Vancouver Canucks, scoring 39 goals along with 35 assists. His sophomore season didn’t start nearly as well, however, and he was traded to the Calgary Flames in the middle of last season.

He got shipped two more times this season, but seems to have found a home in Los Angeles, at least through the rest of this season.

“It’s really hard to believe, to be honest with you,” Hiller said. “I don’t think in our wildest dreams could we have expected him to come in and, we know he had the big year in Vancouver, but he really seems to have got his game back.”

Kuzmenko had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win against the visiting Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, completing a three-game season sweep of the NHL points leader. He has five points (two goals, three assists) in the past two games, helping the Kings (42-29-3, 93 points) hold off the Edmonton Oilers (43-26-5, 91 points) for second place in the Pacific Division entering Wednesday.

“He’s come in and I think he’s seen the effort that guys play with and the commitment to playing both ends of the rink hard and he’s bought in right away,” Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper said. “You watch him off the puck, how hard he’s tracking back and everything, and that kind of energy is leading to him getting rewarded on the other end as well.”

The Kings will be going for a three-game sweep against Utah in its inaugural season.

Utah (34-29-12, 80 points) has won two straight, most recently toppling the visiting Calgary Flames 3-1 on Tuesday night.

Karel Vejmelka made 33 saves in his 18th consecutive start in goal for Utah, the longest streak in the NHL since 2019.

“You know, it’s fun to play every night in front of our home crowd,” Vejmelka said. “They give us some special energy, and it’s kind of cool to play, especially those kinds of games. We are still in the hunt, so we need every point.”

Utah entered Wednesday eight points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with seven games left. The Minnesota Wild, who Utah is chasing for the final wild-card spot, have hit a rut, losing four of their past five (1-3-1) entering Wednesday.

“I think the group likes big games, they like the stage,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “From the season opener to the way we played (in a 6-4 win against the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on March 22), there were a lot of key games where they stepped up and they were ready.”

–Field Level Media