The Kings finally won a game. After entering Tuesday 0-6-2, Los Angeles beat Washington 5-2 to escape the league's basement. The offense showed up this time, something that had been missing through their brutal start to the season.
The problem. They lost Quinton Byfield in the first period to an upper-body injury. He's their centerpiece down the middle, so losing him even for a few games changes the lineup calculus for a team that can't afford to drop more games.
The record now sits at 1-6-2. That's still a disaster, but it's movement. One win stops the bleeding. Whether they can build on this with Byfield sidelined remains the real question. The Kings needed this result for morale and standings purposes. They didn't need the injury to come with it.