Kempe, Quinton Byfield and Todd McLellan offered their thoughts on the hit postgame.
The offense exploded in the second period.
That means Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Jordan Spence will likely draw in.
With those two out, they need a way to recreate that scoring depth.
Here are the pluses/minuses from Thursday's game.
The team needs to reset and get ready for the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
With no word on Kevin Fiala, Gabe Vilardi, Mikey Anderson or Alex Edler. We'll assume they aren't available tonight.
Given his toolkit and newfound confidence, it's realistic to think his production will increase.
And games like Tuesday, tightly contested physical affairs, only fuel that conflict.
The Kings couldn't capitalize on their one power-play opportunity and killed two penalties of their own.