|
 "Everybody knows that going in, obviously," the Kings left winger
said. "It's going to be pretty much playoff hockey."
King's third-period goal was the difference in a 3-2 victory over
the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday at Staples Center. It kept the
Kings (38-21-4) locked atop the Pacific Division standings with the
Ducks, who are riding a 10-game winning streak after 5-1 rout of the
Arizona Coyotes on Thursday in Glendale, Ariz.
The Kings, who have won five of their past six contests, and Ducks
will square off for the second time in the past week. Anaheim
(36-19-8) claimed a 4-2 verdict Sunday at Honda Center.
Against Montreal, King stole the puck from Canadiens defenseman P.K.
Subban at center ice and scored on an unassisted tally at 5:16 of
the third for a 3-1 edge. It was King's seventh goal this season.
"I just kind of blocked it," said King, who scored his seventh goal
of the season. "He tried to dump it back in, it went off me, and
then he lost his feet trying to look for it, so I had a little bit
of time coming in. Once I got across the line, I went for the slap
shot fake. Once (goalie Ben Scrivens) got moving, I slid it
through."
Lars Eller, with an assist from Subban, pulled Montreal within a
goal at 14:06 of the third, but the Kings held the Canadiens
scoreless the rest of the way.
Jonathan Quick stopped 13 shots for Los Angeles.
Scrivens had 28 saves on 31 shots. The Canadiens (30-29-6) dropped
their third in a row. They were coming off a 4-2 setback to the
Ducks on Wednesday.
Montreal's fourth game in the past six nights took its toll.
"I felt like our guys didn't have any energy tonight, and it's
understandable," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. "This is a
good hockey team. This is the best defensive team in the league. The
way that they played, they're tough to play against. You have to
give those guys a lot of credit. But energy-wise, it was really
tough for us."
The win over the Canadiens allowed the Kings to capture the season
series. They recorded a 3-0 decision on Dec. 17 at Montreal. It is
only the third time Los Angeles has sweep Montreal, with the last
time occurring during the 2013-14 season.
"We didn't give up much," said Kings coach Darryl Sutter, whose club
managed two goals in each of its previous five games. "They had just
a handful of chances. Three is enough to win, and they were probably
fortunate to get two on us."
[to top of second column] |
Anze Kopitar scored 56 seconds into the contest, misdirecting a
blast by Alec Martinez for his 19th goal of the season and a 1-0
Kings lead. Martinez earned his fifth point in three games.
Tanner Pearson followed with his 12th goal of the season less than
three minutes later for a 2-0 Kings advantage. Pearson smoked a shot
past Scrivens at 3:33 of the first period.
Subban cut the deficit in half, fielding a pass from Andrei Markov
and ripping a slap shot from just outside the right circle past
Quick with 1:28 remaining in the first. For Subban, it was his sixth
of the season.
"I thought we played some really good hockey," Subban said. "We
probably would've liked to generate a little bit more offense, but
what are you going to do? I mean, we worked hard and we gave
ourselves an opportunity to win the game. That's all you can ask for
in a back-to-back."
Kris Versteeg, whom the Kings acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes
on Sunday, made his Los Angeles debut. Versteeg had two shots on
goal and was a minus-1 in 10 minutes of ice time.
NOTES: The Kings lead the league with seven wins when trailing
through two periods. ... Los Angeles is 32-89-20 all-time against
Montreal. The Kings are 22-40-9 at home. ... Canadiens LW Max
Pacioretty is one of two players in the NHL with at least shot on
goal in every game this season, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Vancouver Canucks LW Daniel Sedin is the other one. ... Montreal
scratched D Victor Bartley, RW Sven Andrighetto and LW Lucas Lessio,
while D Jamie McBain and C Andy Andreoff were unavailable for Los
Angeles.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
