LOS ANGELES –– It was truly a throwback on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena, where the Kings and Chicago Blackhawks turned in a thriller reminiscent of their playoff clashes from both franchises’ golden eras, with Chicago prevailing, 4-3, in a shootout.
Center Phillip Danault scored two goals for the Kings and forward Trevor Moore had the other one, while defenseman Sean Durzi assisted on all three. Winger Viktor Arvidsson returned from the lower-body injury he sustained on March 7 and recorded an assist. A less than zestful Alex Edler was the only healthy opening-night defenseman available. Jonathan Quick made 28 saves.
Wingers Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat notched a goal and an assist apiece for Chicago, with DeBrincat scoring the game-winner in the shootout. Winger Sam Lafferty also had a goal for the Blackhawks, who have won two straight for the first time since getting four consecutive victories in the middle of January. Collin Delia made his second start of the season, stopping 43 shots.
“Overall, for the first time in a long time, even with all the defensemen out, it looked disjointed between forwards and D,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “Whether it was passing, execution, coming out of our end or defending in our zone, there wasn’t a lot of communication. [There was] duplication between forwards and DMen and missed coverages from the back of the net, so we have to clean that up if we want to have success moving forward.”
Debrincat was the lone goal-scorer in the shootout when he lofted the puck over Quick’s outstretched glove for the victory.
Overtime passed with the nearest miss coming from Chicago and a generally conservative approach from both teams.
Just past the 9-minute mark of the third period, the Kings battled back with a third equalizer. For the second time Thursday, Danault picked up some loose change, scoring off a rebound generated by an Arvidsson shot attempt that was created by a pass from Durzi. Danault’s 21 goals are eight more than he scored in any previous season, and two shy of his best year from his junior hockey days in Victoriaville, Quebec.
Durzi tied a franchise single-game rookie record by setting up all three Kings goals.
“He’s a huge, huge part of our team right now and, I think, will always be. He’s got a great attitude,” Danault said. “He stands up for the boys, he shows up every single game and he’s doing some great plays out there. My second goal was a great heads-up play by him; he’s got great poise.”
Quick made some athletic saves throughout the evening, including when he lunged forward to deny Kane at the side of the net early in the third period. It was a flashback to the split of conference finals between these two clubs in 2013 and 2014.
“Our goaltender played pretty damn well,” McLellan said. “He made some real good saves in tough situations that allowed us to get the point.”
Chicago took a lead into the second intermission as it had the first, thanks to a late-period breakdown. A board battle involving four players saw Lafferty knock the puck to winger Taylor Raddysh before Lafferty slipped undetected behind three Kings defenders. Lafferty induced Quick to bite on his forehand and scored easily off his backhand. Raddysh’s assist gave him four points in as many games since Chicago acquired him from Tampa Bay.
“Both (Danault) and Jordan Spence chased the same guy out, all they have to do is just talk and they can have it sorted it out like that,” McLellan said. “Communication kind of went out the door, and our passing was atrocious.”
With 3:10 left in the second period, the Kings knotted the score anew with a goal early in their power play. Durzi fed Anze Kopitar for a one-time blast from the right circle, which spawned a rebound that Danault stuffed in for his 20th goal of the campaign.
“I’ve got good players around me that get it to the net,” Danault said. “I can’t say I made those 20 goals by myself. I got some good bounces and I got my nose dirty.”
Chicago pulled ahead once more 12:41 into the period. DeBrincat worked a high-to-low, give-and-go play with linemate Dylan Strome. Forward Rasmus Kupari lost his mark as Strome’s pass from below the goal line found DeBrincat in front for a swift shot that powered past Quick. It was DeBrincat’s team-leading 36th goal, which tied him for sixth in the NHL.
“The breakdowns that we had were of the severe variety,” McLellan said.
Having already scored a goal, Kane had a partial breakaway that was thwarted only by defenseman Troy Stecher’s hooking penalty. On the resulting Chicago power play, the Kings tied the score with a short-handed goal, after a loose puck off the faceoff was batted ahead by Durzi, springing Moore for a breakaway.
It was a duel of Southern California natives when Thousand Oaks native Moore’s zoomed unimpeded toward the Rancho Cucamonga-born Dellia. Moore settled a rolling puck and his abrupt stick handle allowed him to score his 13th goal of the season uncontested at the 2:13 mark.
The Kings dominated much of the first period, but they still found themselves trailing with 3:16 left in the frame.
The Kings drew the first penalty of the night and established a commanding 10-2 lead in early shots on goal. Yet Chicago’s third attempt on net became the game’s first goal. DeBrincat’s one-timer from high in the zone went wide but caromed off the end boards to Kane for a tap-in goal.
UP NEXT
The Kings host the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night.
from Signage https://ift.tt/M07koa5
via Irvine Sign Company
from Signage https://ift.tt/noGz1cg
via Irvine Sign Company
