LA Kings Playing Strong Behind Martin Jones

With three consecutive impressive home victories the Los Angeles Kings continued their torrid pace in the absence of star goaltender Jonathan Quick. Los Angeles has now won 9 of 10 games and 8 of 9 since the arrival of surprise rookie goaltender Martin Jones. In a victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday Jones registered his third shutout in 8 NHL starts. The rookie is now a perfect 8-0 in his NHL career with a remarkable 0.98 goals against average. He’s given up just 8 goals in 8 games started. Jones is just one victory away from matching Ray Emery’s NHL record of nine consecutive wins to start an NHL career. Jones’s start is all the more impressive since its taken place in a three-week span whereas Emery’s start took place over three seasons. The Kings are now an incredible 14-2-3 since Quick went down with his groin injury.

Week Recap: Lost in the performance of Jones are the impressive productions the Kings are getting from their deep roster of forwards. In Tuesday’s win over the Oilers Dwight King notched is ninth goal of the season, with Jordan Nolan and Dustin Brown also scoring for Los Angeles. King would score again on Thursday night versus San Jose, his tenth goal in just 37 games played this season. Prior to this season King had scored just 9 goals in 80 career games. Thursday night the Kings and Jones held the Sharks scoreless for the first 57:30 of the game before Patrick Marleau scored a late goal to ruin Jones’s bid for a fourth shutout. Alec Martinez, Tyler Toffoli, Jeff Carter and King would all score for Los Angeles. Like King, Toffoli has given Los Angeles great production lately, with 17 points in just 23 games played this season. Saturday night Los Angeles jumped out 2-0 over the Colorado Avalanche only to see the Avalanche tie the game to send it to overtime. Los Angeles would prevail in the shootout to earn the 3-2 victory. Jeff Carter and Justin Williams scored the Kings two goals.

The Week Ahead: Los Angeles has a light upcoming week due to the holiday schedule. They host the Dallas Stars on Monday night at STAPLES Center with Jones looking to tie Ray Emery’s record for most consecutive wins to start a career. Los Angeles then has give games off before they face the Nashville Predators in Nashville on Saturday the 28th. The week of rest should give the Kings some time to recover from the nagging injuries that some of their stars have been dealing with recently. After facing Nashville the Kings have three tough road games in a four game stretch away from STAPLES Center. The road trip includes games at Chicago and St. Louis.

Where they stand: The Kings have the third best record in the National Hockey League. With 54 points they are three points behind the Anaheim Ducks, who also have the best record in the Pacific Division. Los Angeles is just two points behind the Chicago Blackhawks for the second best record in the league. The Kings will face off this Jan 25th against the Ducks in the Stadium Series! Kings Vs Ducks Stadium Series Tickets are available now. By:Chris Michaels