Kings score early, beat Islanders – Press Telegram
LOS ANGELES –– The Kings continued their career by making a dominant first period until a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders at the Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.
They kicked off their consecutive set, beating the Ducks and Islanders 9-3 overall. The Kings have now won five games in a row and seven of the last eight. They have a seven-game losing streak against Eastern Conference opponents and have won more games against the East, at 18, than any other Western team. Meanwhile, the Islanders have won just twice in their last eight games.
Defender Matt Roy provided a goal and an assist. The Kings scored goals from forwards Phillip Danault, Quinton Byfield, Brendan Lemieux and Trevor Moore. Cal Petersen made 26 stops. He has now won eight of his 11 outings since January 8, when he made his first appearance after leaving the COVID protocols.
Winger Anders Lee and winger Jean-Gabriel Pageau joined the Islanders. Semyon Varlamov stopped 30 of 34 shots.
The Kings were able to go through most of the final frame, tying two penalties and facing limited offensive pressure from the Islanders until their second goal, which came with 1:16 to play. A shot through the traffic generated a rebound, which Pageau turned upside down. Moore denied that goal with an empty net in the final seconds of the game.
With 28 seconds left in the second period, the Kings regained a three-goal lead in a run that ended when Lemieux slid a shot from the right face-off point between Varlamov’s legs. It was his eighth goal of the campaign.
The Islanders were able to prevent the Kings from taking a 4-0 lead for the second night in a row, scoring 13 seconds before half-time. Central Mathew Barzal led the race, slowed down and then started a sequence of passes that culminated in Lee’s goal from close range.
Barzal, the upper center of the Islands, would later become entangled with Danault. Barzal needed help to get out of the ice and could not bear the weight of his left leg. He returned to the game later in the period, only to return to the locker room after a turn.
The Kings had extended their lead to three goals less than a minute from the second period after a series of fortuitous rebounds. Byfield played the match but lost it, then the record hit several sticks from the Islanders and ended up in the net. Byfield was credited with the goal, his third point of the season and his second in two nights.
For much of the first period, the Kings outscored the Islanders as if they were playing a video game with their sliders reaching 100.
For the second night in a row, the Kings opened the scoring, and this time they hit again quickly, scoring 3:43 of play and again just over four minutes later.
First, the stretched pass of the defender Tobias Bjornfot came out of the wall and reached the stick of Trevor Moore. While Moore was avoiding control from behind, he and Viktor Arvidsson crossed close to the net, then Moore threw the Danault trailer, who passed the puck over Varlamov. Danault’s 15th goal extended even further what was already the maximum of a season.
Then, buzzing around the islanders ’area and shifting position as if they were in a power play, the Kings were rewarded for their effort and creativity. Central Anze Kopitar made an ice-crossed pass from the outside edge of the right-back circle to Roy, whose back goal turned into a single goal in his first goal of the season.
Kings score early, beat Islanders – Press Telegram Source link Kings score early, beat Islanders – Press Telegram
