|
 Rookie left winger Tanner Pearson scored twice, and the Kings
romped to a 6-1 win Tuesday before a sellout crowd of 18,230 at
Staples Center.
"We can't come tip-toeing in against a team like this," Edmonton
coach Dallas Eakins said. "We need all our guys to play with
confidence, not let their foots off the pedal. We need to play a
fast and hard game. We came off of that early, and it cost us."
The Kings (2-1-1) beat the Oilers for the seventh time in a row and
extended their point streak to a franchise-record 11 straight
against Edmonton. The Oilers (0-2-1) remain winless this season.
Staying focused seemed to be more of a challenge for the Kings than
any the Oilers presented.
"Guys in this room did a good job of keeping everyone in it and
making sure you're making the right plays and not just playing
lazy," said Pearson, who also had an assist in the rout.
Pearson, who has a club-high four goals, attributes the early
success to his dedication to the game.
"I think the biggest thing is you can't come in here and think stuff
is going to happen," he said. "You've got to work for what you're
going to get."
 Kings goalie Jonathan Quick stopped 31 shots and was 21 seconds away
from tying Rogie Vachon for most shutouts in Kings history (32).
Edmonton center Matt Hendricks recorded his first goal of the
season.
Oilers netminder Viktor Fasth allowed three goals on 11 shots, while
Ben Scrivens, who came on late in the first period for Fasth, gave
up three goals on 15 attempts.
"I think our team had really good energy early in the game," Kings
coach Darryl Sutter said.
Los Angeles scored twice in the opening five minutes.
Jeff Carter, who had a goal and an assist, put the Kings on the
board, fielding a pass from fellow forward Tyler Toffoli and ripping
a shot past Fasth for his third goal of the season and a 1-0 lead at
3:06.
Right winger Justin Williams delivered less than two minutes later,
converting an assist from center Anze Kopitar and going top shelf
over Fasth for a 2-0 advantage at 4:21. It was the first goal this
season for Williams.
A short-handed goal by Toffoli, who also had a goal and an assist,
boosted the lead to 3-0 at 9:49 of the first.
[to top of second column]
|
"In the first period, we scored on some really good opportunities,
and that makes it 3-0," Sutter said. "They had a really
inexperienced defense tonight, and it puts them on their heels a
little bit."
Los Angeles outshot Edmonton 11-2 at one point before settling for a
13-7 edge after one period.
Scrivens didn't fare much better than Fasth, giving up two scores
within 25 seconds early in the second period. Left winger Dwight
King flipped a pass to right winger Dustin Brown, who nailed a
backhander for a goal at 5:04. Pearson added another goal, his third
this season, on a wrist shot to make it 5-0 at 5:29.
Pearson scored again on a power play early in the third period, the
16th goal allowed by Edmonton through three games.
"There was some pizza served up," Eakins said of the Kings' ability
to score almost at will.
Said Hendricks, "We just weren't hard enough in the areas that we
needed to be harder. It was too easy for them to retrieve pucks in
our own zone, especially at the start."
NOTES: Darryl Sutter earned his 100th regular season victory as
Kings coach. ... Former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb was on hand
to watch the debut of his nephew, Oilers rookie D Darnell Nurse. ...
The Kings placed C Trevor Lewis on the injured reserve list,
retroactive to Oct. 8, because of a mid- to upper-body injury. ...
Los Angeles also played without RW Marian Gaborik and D Jake Muzzin,
both sidelined due to upper-body injuries. Muzzin has yet to play
this season. ... Edmonton's scratches included D Jeff Petry, C
Jordan Eberle and C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who missed the contest with
undisclosed injuries. ... The Oilers recalled C Bogdan Yakimov on
Monday from Oklahoma City, and they assigned D Oscar Klefbom to the
AHL franchise. ... Edmonton visits the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday
before returning home for a seven-game stretch starting Friday with
a game against the Vancouver Canucks. ... The Kings host the St.
Louis Blues on Thursday in the third contest of their six-game
homestand.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
