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 The Kings, though, ended their drought with shootout goals from
centers Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter and right winger Marian Gaborik,
lifting them to a 4-3 victory over the Canadiens at Staples Center.
Gaborik, who had two goals in regulation, forced overtime by scoring
on a power play with 45 seconds left in the third period.
"We don't have a lot of home games left to take advantage of and get
points, but tonight we did," said Gaborik, who has 19 goals this
season. "We have another game in a couple of days, so we have to
regroup and keep our foot on the pedal the whole 60 minutes."
Left winger Max Pacioretty's 31st goal of the season, on a beautiful
feed from center David Desharnais at 7:12 of the third period, gave
the Canadiens a 3-2 lead, but they couldn't hold it.
"We had the game in the bag, and we were playing the right way,"
said Pacioretty, who scored in the shootout, as did Desharnais.
"Then, we obviously let it slip, and that is a frustrating feeling.
We've got to find ways to close out games, especially against an
opponent like that who has had success as of late. They're making a
push. They're a desperate team."
Center Lars Eller's final shootout attempt for the Canadiens hit the
crossbar, allowing the Kings (31-21-12) to prevail and remain tied
with the Calgary Flames for third place in the Pacific Division.
Goalie Jonathan Quick recorded 15 saves for the Kings, who won their
second straight.
It shouldn't have been a close contest, Kings coach Darryl Sutter
said, bemoaning the missed scoring chances early on by his club.
"We should've been up three or four to nothing," Sutter said. "We
didn't put it away when we had glorious opportunities in the second
period."
Goaltender Dustin Tokarski stopped 26 of 29 shots for Montreal,
which dropped its third in a row.
The Canadiens, who were coming off a 3-1 setback to the Anaheim
Ducks on Wednesday night, rallied from a 2-0 deficit with three
consecutive goals.
"We started playing in the second period," Montreal coach Michel
Therrien said. "We didn't play well in the first. We played like a
team (that) played last night."
Los Angeles scored twice in the first period. Gaborik scored the
initial goal on a power play, redirecting a blast by defenseman
Brayden McNabb at 4:02 of the first.
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Carter made it 2-0 on his 22nd goal this season. He took a pass from
right winger Dustin Brown between two Montreal defenders and slipped
a shot past Tokarski at 8:03 of the first.
The Canadiens (41-18-6) rallied with a quick pair of goals in the
second period. Defenseman Tom Gilbert drove through the Kings'
defense to the net practically untouched and scored on a wrist shot
just outside the crease to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 15:15 of the
second.
Right winger Brendan Gallagher tied the score with his 18th goal,
backhanding a rebound of a shot by center Tomas Plekanec at 16:49 of
the period.
"We had a good start," Gaborik said. "We were all over them in the
first half of the game, and then we let it get away from us a little
bit. It was a battle for 65-plus minutes, and the shootout was the
difference."
NOTES: Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille will have his statue unveiled at
the Staples Center's Star Plaza before Saturday's game between Los
Angeles and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Robitaille, an eight-time
All-Star who now serves as the Kings' president of business
operations, set the NHL record by a left winger with 668 goals and
1,394 points. He holds the franchise record for goals with 577. ...
Los Angeles' Darryl Sutter moved into sole possession of 16th place
in the NHL after coaching in his 1,103rd career game. ... The Kings
scratched D Jamie McBain and C Andy Andreoff. RW Pierre-Alexandre
Parenteau, C Manny Malhotra and D Sergei Gonchar were unavailable
for the Canadiens. ... The game was the 3,700th in Kings' history.
... The Canadiens cap their four-game road trip at the Arizona
Coyotes on Saturday. ... An announced crowd of 18,230 attended the
game.
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