Los Angeles Kings: Recapping their 1967 first season

The Los Angeles Kings first game was played in Long Beach.

While construction was near completion on The Forum, the Los Angeles Kings opened up their inaugural year at the Long Beach Arena with a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. The next night, they followed that up with another victory, a 5-3 win over the Minnesota North Stars.

After two games, the Kings played 14 games at the LA Memorial Sports Arena before officially calling The Forum home on December 30.

October

The Kings got off to a respectable start in 1967, producing a 4-3-2 record, back when games still ended in ties. In the first month, the Kings played mostly fellow expansion teams, with a 5-3 victory against the Minnesota North Stars, in which LA outshot Minnesota 41-20. Against the Original Six, the Kings beat the Blackhawks 5-3 but lost decisively in a 1-6 contest against the Rangers to close out the first month of hockey.

November

As the calendar flipped to the second month of the season, the Kings began to face more Original Six teams, topping the mighty Detroit Wings 6-4 on November 5. LA also beat Toronto 4-1 a few days later despite being outshot 31-38. The Kings remained competitive through the first two months, going 6-5-1 in November.

December

December brought no Christmas cheer for the Kings, who experienced a couple of long losing streaks, including three against Boston and Minnesota (twice), and then four more against Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Philadelphia (twice), with a three-game winning streak between the losing stretchs. The Kings opened the month alternating wins and losses, still unable to notch a victory over the New York Rangers.

January

The four-game losing streak to close out December extended to eight in total, with four straight losses to open January 1968. They finally recorded a 5-2 victory over New York on January 19, outshooting the Rangers 36-31 in the contest. But despite producing two, two-game winning streaks, the Kings closed out January, losing three-of-five.

February

LA started off February on a positive note, coming out victorious in an 8-6 shootout with Detroit, despite being outshot 27-47. However, they dropped three in a row after that with losses to Montreal, Chicago, and Minnesota. The Kings finished the month on a somewhat positive note, winning five-of-eight games.

March

The inaugural year would prove challenging, as the Kings limped towards the finish line, losing their first two games to open March. They traded wins and losses but closed out the month losing two-of-three.

Playoffs

Seventy-two (72) points were good enough for the Kings to grab a playoff spot in their first season, set to face Minnesota in the first round. The Kings had home-ice advantage, taking the first two games at The Forum. However, Minnesota won the next two. LA would take a 3-2 series lead, beating the North Stars 3-2 in Game 5. Yet, after an overtime loss in Minnesota in Game 6, the Kings were shelled in Game 7, losing 4-9.