The Los Angeles Kings showed their resilience and offensive prowess as they came back from a two-goal hole to defeat the Arizona Coyotes 6-3 on Tuesday night at the Crypto.com Arena. The Kings scored three goals in the first period and added three more in the third to secure their third win in four games.
Kings rally with power-play goal and two quick strikes
The Coyotes started the game with a strong offensive pressure, scoring the first goal at 2:59 of the first period. Jack McBain, a rookie forward, netted his first NHL goal with a wrist shot from the left circle that beat Pheonix Copley, the Kings’ backup goalie. The Coyotes had a chance to extend their lead with a power play, but the Kings killed it off and then capitalized on their own man advantage. Anze Kopitar, the Kings’ captain and leading scorer, tied the game at 8:13 with a one-timer from the right circle that went past Connor Ingram, the Coyotes’ starter.
The Kings did not stop there, as they scored two more goals in a span of two minutes to chase Ingram out of the net. Trevor Lewis, a former King who returned to Los Angeles as a free agent, scored his first goal of the season at 10:35 with a deflection of Jordan Spence’s shot from the point. Trevor Moore, another former King who was reacquired in a trade with Toronto, made it 3-1 at 12:35 with a breakaway goal after stealing the puck from Nick Schmaltz in the neutral zone. Ingram was replaced by Karel Vejmelka, who stopped all nine shots he faced in the first period.
Coyotes fight back in the second period but fall short
The Coyotes did not give up, as they scored two goals in the second period to make it a one-goal game. Nick Bjugstad, who was acquired from Minnesota in the offseason, scored his first goal as a Coyote at 4:28 with a backhand shot from the slot that went through Copley’s legs. Clayton Keller, the Coyotes’ top scorer, cut the deficit to 3-2 at 14:02 with a power-play goal from the left circle that beat Copley on the glove side.
The Kings responded quickly, as Blake Lizotte restored their two-goal cushion at 15:19 with his first goal of the season. Lizotte finished off a nice passing play with Phillip Danault and Andreas Englund, tapping in Englund’s cross-ice feed from close range. The Coyotes had another power play late in the period, but the Kings killed it off to preserve their lead.
Fiala and Kempe seal the victory for the Kings in the third period
The third period was dominated by the Kings, who outshot the Coyotes 11-4 and scored two more goals to put the game away. Kevin Fiala, who was traded from Nashville to Los Angeles in exchange for Viktor Arvidsson, scored his first goal as a King at 7:34 with a snap shot from the right circle that went over Vejmelka’s shoulder. Fiala also had an assist on Kopitar’s goal, giving him his first multi-point game of the season.
Adrian Kempe, who had an assist on Lizotte’s goal, added an empty-net goal at 19:13 to make it 6-3 for the Kings. Kempe also had his first multi-point game of the season, as did Kopitar and Lizotte. The Kings improved their record to 3-2-1 and moved up to third place in the Pacific Division. The Coyotes dropped to 3-3-0 and remained in fifth place in the Central Division.
The two teams will face each other again on Friday night in Arizona, where they will conclude their two-game series.
