Pierre-Luc Dubois did not final lengthy with the Los Angeles Kings. Only one season into his eight-year contract, he was traded to the Washington Capitals final June for goalie Darcy Kuemper.
Dubois will make his first return to Los Angeles when the Japanese Convention-leading Capitals, who’ve received 5 in a row, go to the Kings on Thursday night time.
Kings followers might not have lasting recollections of Dubois’ time in Los Angeles, however he hasn’t seemed again both, as an alternative settling in properly with one of many NHL’s finest groups.
Dubois had a objective and two assists in a 7-4 win towards the Anaheim Geese to open a three-game California swing on Tuesday. He has 17 objectives and 40 assists on the season, effectively inside attain of surpassing his profession excessive level complete of 63 set with the Winnipeg Jets in 2022-23.
“I am liking the blokes I am taking part in with, that is for positive,” Dubois stated. “It has been enjoyable to be on this crew. (My teammates) have helped me rather a lot all through the season. They preserve serving to me, so it simply makes my life simpler. I simply need to do my job and so they’ll do theirs.”
Dubois has additionally landed in the course of a historic statistical pursuit.
Washington’s Alex Ovechkin is 9 objectives from surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s NHL-record complete of 894. Ovechkin didn’t rating towards the Geese, however he did contribute three assists.
“It is enjoyable, it is thrilling,” Dubois stated. “When he scores, 50 % of the group will get up and celebrates, the opposite 50 % has a smile on their face.”
Ovechkin had a small window to shoot at an empty web within the ultimate seconds towards the Geese, however he opted to cross to wide-open teammate Aliaksei Protas, who scored to finish his first NHL hat trick.
“Together with his unreal accomplishment developing, and he makes that play, and the way completely satisfied he’s with me, it says every part about him as a teammate,” Protas stated of Ovechkin.
The Kings have received three straight to take care of third place within the Pacific Division.
Kuemper continues to do his half for Los Angeles. He stopped 33 of 34 photographs in a 4-1 win towards the visiting New York Islanders on Tuesday and has surrendered simply 4 objectives on 84 photographs in his previous three video games.
“Darcy is clearly an enormous piece of our crew,” ahead Phillip Danault stated. “If he performs like this each night time, now we have an opportunity to do one thing good.”
Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller stated goalie is “perhaps not a very powerful participant, it is a very powerful place as a result of one man would not play all of the minutes. You want it on nights, significantly when you do not have your finest as a bunch of forwards and defensemen, and that was (the case towards the Islanders). We relied on him method an excessive amount of, however he was there and he seemed good doing it.”
The Kings additionally can be centered on taking fewer journeys to the penalty field towards Washington.
Los Angeles was known as for eight penalties towards the Islanders, who went 0-for-8 on the ability play.
“We have got to repair that,” Danault stated.
–Subject Degree Media
