Off Day Watch, 10/25: All Hail King Kempe

If you were to ask Los Angeles Kings fans to list the three players they could absolutely not afford to lose over an extended period of time, Jeff Carter would undoubtedly end up on most of those lists. If we were to draw any silver lining from his freak injury against the Montreal Canadians last week, it would be the ensuing coming out party of another speedy center.

Naturally, we would much rather still have Carter manning the second line for the Kings, but Adrian Kempe has done nothing but drop jaws ever since. From capping off his first career hat trick with an epic third period against the Canadians, to scoring in back-to-back games on this trip through Canada, Kempe has dazzled with his speed and skill, earning his spot in Carter’s place on the second line between those 70’s guys.

HIGHLIGHTS TO WATCH

Who else? Unassisted game-tying goal with under two minutes in regulation? Ridiculous game clincher in the shootout? Is there nothing this guy does that isn’t pretty? I could watch this all day.

[Game Recap]

KINGS WATCH

• Maybe they should have tried rock, paper, scissors? [SB Nation]
• John Stevens lets on that goaltending coach Bill Ranford is also responsible for studying opposing goalies, scouting them for trends during shootouts. [LA Kings Insider]
• Despite their first regulation loss of the season, the Kings find themselves in the top 5 of Sportsnet’s power rankings, wedged between their two most recent opponents. [Sportsnet]/

WORLD WATCH

• The Vegas Golden Knights keep pace with the Kings in the Pacific, pulling off their most impressive victory to date against Sarah’s Chicago Blackhawks. [Knights on Ice]
• Early drama in Big-D? Ben Bishop was not shy in letting reporters know how he felt about Ken Hitchcock pulling him in the middle of a 3-2 game, an eventual loss to the Colorado Avalanche. [Sporting News]
• The showcase game on Tuesday night was the first head-to-head of the season between Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby (oh, and I heard there was a baseball game on, as well). Naturally, NBCSN elected to show us the thrilling marquee match-up of the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres.../

GAME TO WATCH

NBC loves them some Sabres, as for the second night in a row you can watch them on NBCSN, this time against the Columbus Blue Jackets. But if you have access, I would highly recommend tuning into the Calgary Flames vs. St. Louis Blues to see if the Blues can help keep the Flames at arm’s length in the Pacific.

Or, you can just watch baseball. I don’t care.