The LA Kings extended their point streak to nine games and their home point streak to ten, but just missed two points in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night at the Crypto.com Arena.
The Canucks took an early lead just after halftime in the opening period. Striker Brock Boeser captured the offensive zone from the rush and defeated Kings goalkeeper Joonas Korpisalo from the top of the right circle with a wrist shot for the game’s opening goal. Forward JT Miller and defender Quinn Hughes counted assists for the game.
The Kings later equalized in the first, however, to take the game into the first break in a tie. After conquering the offensive zone in a 1-on-2, forward Gabriel Vilardi delayed and dropped the puck to defender Alex Edler, who fired a wrist shot past Canuck goalie Thatcher Demko for his second goal of the season. the game-determining mark.
Late in the second period, the hosts took the lead for the first time of the night through striker Carl Grundstrom, who scored for the second straight game. After a pass from striker Rasmus Kupari, the short-armed pass hit Grundstrom a bit, deflecting off his skate and into the net for his ninth goal of the season.
Midway through the third period, the Canucks tied by two points, forcing the contest into overtime. Striker Elias Pettersson, running on his only power play of the night, went to the top of the right circle and blasted a shot through a Boeser screen in front of him, tying the score to two.
After neither team scored in overtime, forwards Miller and Andrei Kuzmenko struck on penalties to give Vancouver a 3-2 win.
Hear from Edler, defenseman Jordan Spence and head coach Todd McLellan after today’s win over Vancouver.
Alexander Edel
Edler shares his thoughts during the postgame@LAKings | #LAKingsLive pic.twitter.com/tJAHhkUBOY
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) March 19, 2023
Jordan Spence
On the team’s defensive performance tonight
Yeah I think we did pretty well, for 60 minutes I thought we were pretty solid honestly. It was unfortunate that they scored on the power play, but otherwise I thought we did well on defense. Of course we had a lot of chances and we have to bury them.
About the game of his pairing with Alex Edler
I thought we had a pretty solid game. It was pretty cool to see Eddie score that goal and for us we just want to be a reliable D pair. Today I thought I thought we did pretty well. Of course there are some things we can do better, but overall I felt we were pretty solid.
On the things he focuses on while not in the lineup to stay ready to play
You never know when you’re going to be in the lineup, so for me I just want to be ready to put my foot down. Practice how you play, that’s a quote that goes way back when I was a little kid. For me I just want to work hard and if I get the chance I want to perform well on the ice.
Jumping into the power game without a ton of familiarity with this group
Chemistry is really important, especially on the power play, but I think the unit that I was in was there with open arms and I felt pretty comfortable with them just because I played with them last year and experienced a bit on the second unit. Today I thought we had some chances, we couldn’t bury them, but hopefully we can in the next game.
Todd McLellan
Whether tonight was just a hot goalie or there were things the Kings didn’t do to win
I think first we have to take our hats off to him, he played a damn good game. That’s the kind of game they needed I think as the night progressed. We had a lot of chances, the goalkeeper made a lot of saves and I don’t want to say that we didn’t push through because we tried really hard to score, it just didn’t go our way . They are a dangerous team on the power play, we gave them a chance and they got in our goal, which is disappointing because I think we can handle this situation a bit better. Anyway, we lost the special teams situation, same thing I said against Nashville the other day – power play, penalty shootout, penalty shootout and overtime.
If he felt the team offered the same level of defensive performance as the rest of the point streak
Absolutely. They have some pretty dynamic players and I don’t know what we taught them, six or seven shots after a couple of thirds and only 10 in the third. Defensively we did the things we wanted to do. I think we would like to have the first goal back like we played in the neutral zone, I think Edler scored and changed direction a bit. In the second, as I said, we lost the special teams battle, again I wasn’t impressed with our power play.
To the team that sticks to the process even though they don’t make the offensive breakthrough
We didn’t whine on the bench because we cheated on offense or anything, we got our offense chances by getting it right. There are some things we can work on a little in the offensive zone, but it wasn’t “pinch and no cover because we’re cheating.” The chances we got were chances well taken and we were pretty solid at the end. Usually when a coach says that he leaves very happy and the team has won, but sometimes things like that happen.
About the challenge of such a game for Korpisalo
I think it can be tough and that’s just the gameplay part of it, there’s the whistles and the TV time-outs and you can sit there for quite a while. You’re also watching the other end and that keeper is always there, minute after minute, so it can be a difficult thing, but it’s part of the keeper’s nature to be able to stay connected in those situations. I liked Korpi and made some good saves when he had to.
Whether Sean Durzi and Kevin Fiala are missing in the power play
Well, there’s no doubt, they’re important pieces and they’re creative, they’re effective, they’re dynamic, both in their own way. Each of them belongs to one entity, so suddenly both entities are affected and others try to step in and make one good job. Right now it’s looking for something if only we should play it and we’ll fix it.
On Jordan Spence’s performance tonight, checking back into the lineup
It’s tough and it’s going to be tough for him because he’s going to be in and out right now but if he gets a chance he’s got to go. He’s made some really good games. I think there was a couple of games a game or two where he would probably like to be a little bit better with the puck. He flipped one in the third third which got very dangerous but I think the puck rolled towards him and made it difficult for him. He was fine.
Remarks –
– The Kings extended their home point streak to 10 games (8-0-2) dating back to Feb. 11 (6-0 W vs. PIT). It is the sixth home series of at least 10 games in franchise history. Overall, the Kings have accumulated points in 19 of their last 22 games (15-3-4), including nine in a row (7-0-2).
– Since the NHL began tracking elapsed period time (2018-19), tonight’s first period marked the league’s fastest period with an elapsed time of 23:51 minutes, beating the previous mark of 24:36 – BOS at NYR on February 15, 2022 (P1). The fastest period the Kings have been involved in during this span was 24:48 on March 29, 2021 (P3, LAK at VGK).
– The Kings conceded just 17 shots on goal, the lowest number of shots they have allowed in a game this season.
– Alexander Edler scored his second goal of the season and 438th career point (104-334-438), one point behind Oliver Ekman-Larsson (135-304-439) for the seventh-most points by a Swedish-born defenseman in NHL history . Edler’s goal was the first of his career against his former team.
– Carl Grundstrom recorded his ninth goal of the season, building on his career high from the 2021-22 season. He now has three points (2-1-3) in his last two games. Grundstrom’s goal also marked his 15th point of the season (9-6-15), equaling his best performance in a season during the 2021-22 season.
– Gabriel Vilardi recorded his 18th assist of the season and reached the 40-point mark for the first time in his career (22-18-40).
– Arthur Kaliyev and Rasmus Kupari both collected helpers. With his support, Kupari tied his career high in a single season in points (5-8-13) previously set in the 2021-22 season. Kaliyev’s helper marked his 13th of the year to match his career best in 2021-22.
– The Kings extended their home point streak to 10 games (8-0-2) dating back to Feb. 11 (6-0 W vs. PIT). It is the sixth home series of at least 10 games in franchise history. Overall, the Kings have accumulated points in 19 of their last 22 games (15-3-4), including nine in a row (7-0-2).
The Kings are scheduled to practice tomorrow at 11 a.m. at the Toyota Sports Performance Center.
Source : lakingsinsider.com