Kings Forward Scores Goal of Year Candidate

A top youngster on the Los Angeles Kings potted a goal-of-the-year candidate with time winding down on the season.

Apr 7, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings right wing Quinton Byfield (55, right) skates back to the bench after scoring a goal during the first period against the Seattle Kraken at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The 2024-25 NHL season is nearly over, but Los Angeles Kings forward Quinton Byfield put in a late entry for goal of the year. In the opening two minutes against the Seattle Kraken, the young Kings forward showed off his hand-eye coordination for an incredible goal.

Following an early puck drop, Byfield skated straight to the front of the Kraken net as Kings defenseman Kyle Burroughs flipped a soft loft toward the cage. As the puck was fluttering in, Byfield knocked the puck out of mid-air to the other side of Kraken goalie Joey Daccord, then calmly pushed it into the open cage.

Knocking a puck out of mid-air at all is impressive, by Byfield did all of this with just one hand. On his way to the net, he was tangled up by Shane Wright and wasn’t able to get his left hand back on his stick.

Quinton oh my goodness pic.twitter.com/cnsRYkNi52

— x - LA Kings (@LAKings) April 8, 2025

All with just his right hand, Byfield swatted the pass out of the air and swept it past Daccord to give the Kings a 1-0 lead.

To make the play even more impressive, Byfield had to reach around Wright to make the initial deflection.

Byfield was using his left hand to hold Wright’s stick, which could have easily been a penalty for holding, but the officials let it slide.

The masterful goal was Byfield’s 20th of the season, tying him for his career high. In 77 games played, he has 20 goals and 28 assists for 48 total points.

Unfortunately for the Kings, this goal-of-the-year candidate was the only goal scored against the Kraken. Seattle picked up a pair of late-first-period goals and eventually won the contest 2-1.

The Kings have already clinched their spot in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs so there isn’t too much left to play for in Los Angeles, but there is still an outside chance they move into first place in the Pacific Division.

Through 77 games, the Kings have a 44-24-9 record for 97 standings points. The Vegas Golden Knights are five points ahead of the Kings with a 47-22-8 record and 102 points.

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