It was an emotional homecoming for the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night, as they took on the Pittsburgh Penguins at Crypto.com Arena.
Since the Kings’ last home game on January 4, Los Angeles had been engulfed in flames in a real tragedy.
A few fires in the Los Angeles metropolitan area wiped out neighborhoods and the fires were so massive that the Kings had their Jan. 8 game against the Calgary Flames postponed to a later date.
But now, after five games on the road, the Kings returned to their home and their fans on Monday.
For the occasion, the Kings organization made a significant change to its logo at center ice. The team unveiled a Kings logo that pays homage to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), which battled the flames.
Before the match, players from both teams took part in the warm-up period wearing LAFD-emblazoned caps. The Kings shared images on their social networks of the players’ helmets with stickers bearing the image of the LAFD as well.
Then before the start of the first period, the Kings paid tribute to the first responders. Dozens of them gathered around the central faceoff circle and were loudly cheered by the fans in attendance.
A moment of silence was then observed in memory of the victims.
-“We felt very far from the situation and we want to be present for our city. It’s good to be back and we’re looking forward to tonight,” Trevor Moore said before the game Monday morning, comments that were reported by LAKingsInsider.
For Kings players, the last few weeks will have served as a reminder that there are things even more important than hockey. If they still had to play Monday’s game and do their job, the Kings could at least find a big source of motivation.
“We’re trying to play for something bigger than hockey,” said forward Trevor Lewis. Sometimes it’s stupid, because it’s just a sport and it’s real people’s lives that are impacted. We will do everything we can to support them. »
“Obviously, there will be a lot of emotions,” said head coach Jim Hiller in the morning. This is a real human tragedy and we can’t just say ‘let’s put this aside’… nor should we. I think the players will feel the appreciation. I think the biggest feeling they’re going to have is appreciation for everyone who did the work (to fight the fires). »
The Kings, however, suffered a 5-1 defeat against the Penguins. Kevin Hayes, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Cody Glass and Anthony Beauvillier scored for Pittsburgh, while the Kings’ lone goal came from Adrian Kempe.
“We’ve all seen the photos of our home rink, it will be nice to see. Just seeing the support for the city, the firefighters and everyone coming together and supporting each other. I think it will be a good start for us,” Lewis admitted.
“I don’t think we can thank the first responders enough. Having this rink and being able to skate on it, it will be very special. »
