The Kings visited T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday night and delivered a thrilling back-and-forth contest ending in a 6-5 shootout victory over the host Golden Knights.
LA struck first on the power play, with Andrei Kuzmenko ripping a shot short-side, given them an early 1-0 lead. Quinton Byfield, who had just returned from serving a penalty for embellishment, quickly redeemed himself. His relentless forecheck forced a turnover and set up a breakaway, where he finished with a slick move to double the Kings lead.
Vegas came out flying in the second period, showing the same kind of urgency displayed by the Avalanche just 24 hours prior. After the Golden Knights scored early to cut the deficit in half, LA’s fourth line responded. Jeff Malott scored his first NHL goal in rather unusual fashion, as the puck deflected off his backside and into the net, restoring the Kings’ two-goal cushion.
However, the spotlight shifted quickly to Vegas forward Pavel Dorofeyev, who took over the game. He scored twice to tie it and then completed his hat trick. For the second consecutive night, the Kings struggled in the game’s middle frame. After just two games, they now hold a minus-5 goal differential in the second period.
Vegas extended their lead to 5–3 in the third period, seemingly in control, but the Kings refused to back down. Trevor Moore sparked a comeback with a shorthanded goal midway through the period, and defenseman Brandt Clarke tied it up with a clutch goal; driving play to the net and forcing overtime.
Both teams had chances in the extra frame, but neither could convert, sending the game to a shootout. The Kings ultimately prevailed, capping off a resilient road performance by coach Jim Hiller’s squad.
Game highlights can be viewed here:
Additional game notes:
— Malott became the fourth Cornell alumnus to score a goal for the Kings. Can you name the others? Answer below.
— Drew Doughty led all players in total ice time, logging 25:48 minutes. He was also the only Kings skater with over 20 minutes of even strength time, clocking in at 23:56 TOI.
— While most of the other defensemen played around 19 minutes, Clarke finished the night with just 15:30 TOI.
— Andrei Kuzmenko played the fewest minutes of any forward on the top three LA lines — and by several minutes — logging 15:52 vs. Vegas.
— Cody Ceci and Adrian Kempe tied with four shots on goal, tops among all Kings skaters.
— The Kings had a rough night in the faceoff circle, winning only 38% of the draws. Anze Kopitar had an uncharacteristically low 31% winning percentage (4-for-13), while Alex Turcotte won 4-of-5.
— In addition to Malott, the other Cornell alumnus to score a goal for the Kings were: Matt Moulson, Brad Chartrand, and Joakim Ryan.
Pregame notes and lineups can be found in the article linked below.
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