Kings recover to win in OT
It was a fidgety victory for the Kings on Thursday night as they oscillated between comfortable and uncomfortable, winning a game that they led by two goals in the third period by a 4-3 margin over the Calgary Flames in overtime.
They’ve now won four straight games, equaling their longest surge of the season.
Adrian Kempe buried the overtime winner. Gabe Vilardi scored before Phillip Danault and Blake Lizotte broke a third-period tie with two goals in rapid succession. Danault and Lizotte added an assist apiece. Pheonix Copley continued rising in goal with his sixth win in seven appearances since being recalled from the minors, making 27 saves.
Dillon Dube, Jonathan Huberdeau and Tyler Toffoli tallied for Calgary. Dan Vladar stopped 28 shots.
The Kings carried play in overtime and capped the game with a picturesque two-on-one rush. Kempe rushed up the left wing, faked a shot,
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dropped a pass to winger Viktor Arvidsson and then received the return pass to deposit the sudden-death game-winner.
Just after Copley made a lunging stop to deny a bid for an equalizer in the third period, the Flames went back to work and knotted the game when defenseman Noah Hanifin slid the puck across the goal crease to Dube, who deposited it just inside the post with 6:28 to play.
Calgary halved its deficit with some fierce forechecking and a shot that Kings fans remembered well. Three Flames pounced on Mikey Anderson
behind the net, digging the puck out and sending it high to Rasmus Andersson. His point-topoint pass found Toffoli, a former King, who fired a laser from the top of the left circle past Copley with 13:14 remaining. The Kings nearly got the goal back with a penalty shot, but Kevin Fiala sent it wide of the net.
The Kings scored two goals 10 seconds apart, beginning 89 ticks into the third period.
First, a stretch pass allowed Alex Iafallo to gain the offensive zone, where he had the puck knocked loose. He pursued it behind the net, won possession and hit Danault in front, where last year’s team MVP transitioned silkily from forehand to backhand for his 32nd goal of the calendar year and ninth of the season.
The Kings then won the faceoff at center ice and Vilardi skated all the way to the slot, where his shot generated a rebound that bounded skyward. Lizotte knocked it out of the air and into the net for his seventh goal of the campaign.
Both teams generated opportunities in the second period, but timely defensive plays and a tough bounce for Fiala kept the frame scoreless.
The Kings were outshooting Calgary 8-1 through nearly 18 minutes of action, thanks mainly to an extended power play that saw them hit the net five times, but Calgary’s only shot on target also represented the game’s only goal to that point.