Rinne, Forsberg lead Predators over Kings 5-0

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- After welcoming Filip Forsberg back to the lineup, the Predators looked like the team that made it to the Stanley Cup Final last season.

Pekka Rinne made 19 saves, Forsberg had a goal and an assist, and Nashville beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-0 on Thursday night.

Craig Smith, Calle Jarnkrok, Colton Sissons and Viktor Arvidsson also scored. Ryan Johansen had three assists.

"I think it was maybe one of our best 60-minute efforts in a while," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said.

Making his first start since representing the Predators in last weekend's All-Star Game, Rinne earned his fifth shutout of the season and 48th of his career. With play stayed largely in the other end, Rinne had a chance to enjoy the show put on by his teammates.

"I didn't have a lot of work tonight and that was just fun to watch our guys," Rinne said. "Especially our forwards, they played a really strong game. I thought that we were on-point on the forecheck, we turned a lot of pucks over and created chances off them."

Jonathan Quick returned after missing the Kings' previous two games with an undisclosed injury. He made 31 saves.

"They had the momentum for 60 minutes," Kings coach John Stevens said. "They checked hard tonight. They had a simple game plan and we got checked off the puck all night."

Nashville peppered Quick with 15 shots on goal in the first, beating him three times.

Smith scored first at 10:02 of the opening period on a power play, about a minute after Johansen had a goal disallowed. Los Angeles challenged Johansen's score, and after video review, officials determined that Arvidsson pushed Kings defenseman Drew Doughty into Quick prior to Johansen's shot.

Forsberg made it 2-0 at 16:02 of the first. With Nashville on a prolonged two-man advantage, Forsberg beat Quick with a wrist shot that deflected in off of the diving goaltender.

The Predators activated Forsberg off injured reserve earlier Thursday. He missed Nashville's previous 11 games with an upper-body injury.

Laviolette reunited Johansen, Forsberg and Arvidsson on the team's top line. The trio combined for six points in the game.

"We're a lot more deadly with him on our side," Johansen said of Forsberg. "We had a lot of fun out there tonight supporting each other and outworking our opponents and getting some results too finding the back of the net."

Jarnkrok took advantage of Doughty's turnover and made it 3-0 at 17:21 of the first, finally swatting a backhand past Quick on the short side after two attempts.

"They are really good checkers," Kings forward Tanner Pearson said. "You are transitioning up ice, they are closing it pretty quickly from behind and try to create turnovers that way. They beat us tonight."

Sissons ended a 29-game goalless stretch when he beat Quick at 11:01 of the second, and Arvidsson scored at 9:44 of the third.

NOTES: Quick is 5-10-2 in his career against Nashville. ... Jake Muzzin and Anze Kopitar ended their six-game point streaks for LA. ... The Predators have not allowed a power-play goal in their last four games. ... Nashville is 25-2-3 when scoring first this season.

UP NEXT:

Kings: Host Arizona on Saturday.

Predators: Host New York Rangers on Saturday.

Kuemper makes 28 saves, Kings shut out Stars 3-0

Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) -- Darcy Kuemper picked up his ninth career shutout. He handed off the credit to his teammates with the Los Angeles Kings.

Kuemper made 28 saves to help Los Angeles beat the Dallas Stars 3-0 on Tuesday night.

"The guys made it so easy in front of me that it was just fun to go out there and play," he said.

The 27-year-old Kuemper made his second straight start in place of Jonathan Quick, who is out with an upper-body injury. Kuemper got his second shutout and improved to 7-1-3 in his first season with Los Angeles.

"I'm just excited for the opportunity to play a couple in a row," Kuemper said.

Paul LaDue, Drew Doughty and Alec Martinez scored as Los Angeles (27-18-5) earned its second straight win. The Kings are among a group of playoff contenders with 59 points, one point behind Dallas.

Ben Bishop made 39 saves for the Stars (28-19-4), who dropped their second straight game, but retained a tenuous one-point lead for the Western Conference's first wild card.

"I think the desperation of playing a team ahead of us in the standings really brought the best out of us tonight," Kuemper said. "Against a line as scary as their top line is, we hardly gave them anything."

Dallas star Jamie Benn did not record a shot on goal. Alexander Radulov, who came into the night with 16 points in nine games, and Tyler Seguin failed to connect on any of their eight shots.

"I thought tonight we were the worst group of guys out there," Seguin said.

The Stars have been outscored 7-1 in their last two games, including a 4-1 loss to Toronto right before the All-Star break.

"The game before the break (Toronto) came in and checked us hard with no response, and today the same thing," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "So the concern is how do we respond to getting played hard. Instead of getting excited and digging in, we go the other way."

Dallas came up empty on each of its four power plays against the NHL's best penalty killers.

"(Dustin Brown) does the job on the penalty kill, and he's done that all year," Kings coach John Stevens said. "He's critical to the success on the power play, taking a beating in net front."

LaDue scored his first NHL goal just 3:05 into the game. Anze Kopitar skated from behind the net almost to the left point and passed across to LaDue in the right faceoff circle. He sent a wrist shot inside the left goalpost.

"I kind of saw a spot open and just tried to shoot to that part of the net," LaDue said. "It ended up making it through a few sticks and into the net."

Los Angeles increased its lead to 2-0 after Radulov was sent off for holding a stick in the second. Doughty's shot from above the right circle deflected in off Bishop as Stars defenseman Stephen Johns tried to prevent the puck from crossing the goal line.

The Kings were unable to score during a four-minute power play midway through the second. Los Angeles stopped two Dallas power plays in the closing minutes of the period and the first minute of the third.

Nine seconds after Brown left the penalty box, Martinez scored on a snap shot from the left circle.

NOTES: Brown had 11 shots on goal. . Los Angeles has stopped 86 percent of opponents' power plays. ... Quick is on injured reserve. ... LaDue's goal was his first in 24 career games. His father, Jay, got to see the goal because the Kings' dads made the trip to Dallas. ... Stars D Dan Hamhuis played in his 1,000th career game.

UP NEXT

Kings: Visit Nashville on Thursday.

Stars: Travel to Arizona for a game on Thursday.

Hornqvist gets 2 goals, Penguins beat slumping LA Kings 3-1

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Until Pittsburgh goalie Casey DeSmith got the start at Staples Center on Thursday night, his entire NHL experience consisted of two relief appearances in Penguins losses.

DeSmith seized the chance to grab his first career victory - with plenty of help from the Penguins' scoring stars.

Patric Hornqvist scored two goals and Evgeni Malkin got the tiebreaking goal early in the third period of Pittsburgh's fifth win in six games, 3-1 over the slumping Los Angeles Kings.

Although the Kings didn't test the 26-year-old DeSmith strenuously, the AHL All-Star selection still stopped 28 shots to win in his first appearance for the Penguins since Dec. 9.

DeSmith learned 24 hours earlier that he would get his first start against the Kings. The news didn't stop him from getting a great night's sleep and a refreshing pregame nap.

"I was more relaxed than I thought I would be," he said. "To play in LA, that's quite a team they have there, so to get a win in their home barn ... it's super-thrilling."

DeSmith is filling in as Tristan Jarry's backup while Matt Murray is on indefinite leave after his father's death.

"You see all the hard work the young guys put in, and it's great to see him get his first win," said Sidney Crosby, who extended his point streak to six games with a third-period assist. "We're playing good hockey. The first (period) wasn't great, but we turned it up in the second and third."

Malkin had a goal and an assist as the Penguins bounced back from a loss in Anaheim one night earlier in the second stop of the back-to-back Stanley Cup champs' three-game California trip.

Hornqvist scored in the opening minute and got another during a five-minute power play midway through the third after Dustin Brown got a game misconduct penalty for sending a kneeling Justin Schultz into the boards near the Kings' bench. Schultz stayed down for a long moment before skating off gingerly.

"I'm going to close on him, and he stumbles, toe-picks," Brown said. "I don't drive him through the wall or anything, but I'm also closing on the play. At the most, it's probably a two(-minute penalty), I think. ... I've seen a lot worse."

Adrian Kempe scored and Jonathan Quick made 28 saves for the Kings, who have lost five straight for the first time this season.

Los Angeles wasted a chance to move from fourth place to second in the Pacific Division with its fifth loss in a row at home since Christmas. The Kings even took two minor penalties while trailing in the final minutes, eliciting boos from the sellout crowd.

"We're obviously pretty down on ourselves right now," Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. "We want to turn it around as soon as we possibly can."

Hornqvist put the Penguins ahead just 43 seconds after the opening faceoff when his shot deflected off Kings defenseman Derek Forbort and somehow beat Quick from long range.

The Kings responded with two solid periods, and Kempe finally evened it with his 14th goal late in the second on a breakaway set up by captain Anze Kopitar.

But Malkin put the Penguins ahead 26 seconds into the third period, swatting home his 21st goal from the slot moments after winning a faceoff. The former league MVP's goal was his seventh in six games.

Jean-Sebastien Dea made his season debut for the Penguins, playing in just his second career NHL game. Pittsburgh scratched Daniel Sprong to make room in the lineup for Dea, who had nine points in his last 10 games for the Penguins' AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

NOTES: Kings D Jake Muzzin was activated from injured reserve. The veteran missed three games with an upper-body injury. Muzzin got an assist on Kempe's goal. ... Dea made his NHL debut last April in the Penguins' regular-season finale. He then was a practice player during Pittsburgh's run to its second straight title. ... Los Angeles F Torrey Mitchell was a healthy scratch for the first time since joining the team Nov. 23 in a trade with Montreal. He has five points in 17 games for the Kings.

UP NEXT

Penguins: At the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night.

Kings: At the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night for the fourth Freeway Faceoff of the season.

Sharks beat rival LA Kings for 3rd straight time, 4-1

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- There's nothing like a visit with the Los Angeles Kings to get Martin Jones and the San Jose Sharks on top of their game.

Chris Tierney had a goal and an assist, and Jones made 35 saves in the Sharks' third straight victory over their longtime rivals, 4-1 Monday.

Barclay Goodrow and Mikkel Boedker ended lengthy goal droughts for the Sharks, who built a three-goal lead during another strong game by Jones against his former Los Angeles teammates.

The goalie who won a Stanley Cup ring as Jonathan Quick's backup followed up his 2-0 win over the Kings at the Shark Tank on Dec. 23 with another near-shutout of Los Angeles. Jones improved to 9-3-2 in 14 career appearances against his former organization, but he spread the praise for a comprehensive win throughout the Sharks' lineup.

"It's easy to prepare for games against these guys, or any division game," Jones said. "We know what the standings are like, and what these games mean. We play well as a team (against the Kings). When we play in the offensive zone that much, it makes everybody's job easier."

Dylan DeMelo returned from a three-game injury absence with two assists for his second career multipoint game for the Sharks, who were in control from the opening faceoff of a rare matinee at Staples Center. Joonas Donskoi also had two assists, and Joe Thornton added an empty-net goal.

"You battle a bit more when you're playing a rival and a division team that's ahead of you in the standings," Tierney said. "That's what this team is built for, is playing those tight games where you try to lock it down."

Trevor Lewis ended Jones' shutout bid with 7:18 to play, but the Kings lost their fourth straight to match their longest skid of the season. Los Angeles has been outscored 8-3 in losses to its two California rivals since returning from the bye week last Saturday.

"We had some guys that were really off tonight," Los Angeles coach John Stevens said. "I don't know if the break affected us that way or not, but certainly something did. We've got to regroup here. I feel like we got some good efforts out of our key veteran guys, but they cannot do it on their own."

Darcy Kuemper stopped 29 shots in his first start since Dec. 16 for the Kings, who have slumped into third place after leading the Pacific Division for a good chunk of the season. With a 5-7-3 record in division play, LA is just one point ahead of the Sharks, who have two games in hand.

"It's tough. We were ahead of the pack for a while there, and now we're right in the thick of things," Lewis said. "We've just got to figure it out in a hurry here."

The Sharks went ahead just 4:38 in when the Kings lapsed on defense, allowing Donskoi to make a pass across the crease to an unchecked Tierney for his 11th goal into an open net.

Goodrow got his third goal of the season midway through the second period, converting DeMelo's rebound in the slot. The goal was his first since Dec. 7.

San Jose had an extra step on the Kings throughout the first two periods and nearly added to its lead in the closing seconds, but Los Angeles defenseman Christian Folin stopped a shot with his skate on the goal line.

Boedker added his first goal since Nov. 24 in the third period, ending a 12-game drought.

Lewis got help from Marian Gaborik in scoring his 11th goal. The grinding forward scored a career-high 12 goals last season while playing in all 82 games.

NOTES: Kuemper lost in regulation for the first time in his debut season with the Kings. He is 5-1-3. ... Quick got the day off for the Kings after nine consecutive starts. The former Conn Smythe Trophy winner gave up three goals in LA's loss to Anaheim last Saturday. ... Sharks D Tim Heed was scratched in DeMelo's place.

UP NEXT

Sharks: At the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night.

Kings: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

Kase sends Ducks past LA Kings 4-2 in feisty rivalry game

By GREG BEACHAM
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The latest Freeway Faceoff wasn't even three minutes old when the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings dropped the gloves.

They did it again on the ensuing faceoff - and again on the faceoff after that.

"That's good hockey right there," Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said with a grin.

These rivals know it's never too early to fight for playoff position, and the Ducks landed the biggest blows in the latest edition of their Southern California feud.

Ondrej Kase had two goals and an assist, John Gibson made 23 saves and the Ducks held on in the third period for their first victory of the season over the Kings, 4-2 Saturday night.

Ryan Kesler scored a power-play goal and Corey Perry added an empty-net goal as the Ducks returned from their bye week with a physical, entertaining performance against the equally rested Kings in the 135th edition of the local derby.

Those three fights in four seconds of clock time energized the sold-out Staples Center crowd, and the combatants' teammates responded as well. Los Angeles defenseman Kurtis MacDermid and Anaheim enforcer Jared Boll had the first bout, which led to a fight between Andy Andreoff and Kevin Bieksa - and another between Kyle Clifford and Nick Ritchie.

"I've seen that a few times in this (rivalry)," Getzlaf said. "That's just guys who are sticking up for each other. It was good to see it on both sides."

After winning the last five consecutive Pacific Division titles, the Ducks got off to a slow start due to major injury problems. They're in fifth place in the crowded Pacific and just four points behind the second-place Kings - but Anaheim has a history of late-season surges.

"We're out of excuses now with the lineup," Getzlaf said. "It's about going for our push now. We want to take this segment before the All-Star Game and really push."

Kase had an outstanding return from a three-game absence before the bye due to the flu. The Czech forward scored in the first and third periods of the first three-point game of his NHL career.

Nick Shore and captain Anze Kopitar scored in the third period, but Los Angeles couldn't erase Anaheim's three-goal lead.

"With the three fights in a row, I think everybody got fired up real quick," Kopitar said. "But I think the first 40 minutes on our part were not to the level that we want to play. The third period we're playing catch-up, and we're playing with desperation, which we should do the first two periods."

Jonathan Quick stopped 18 shots for the Kings, who have lost three straight. Los Angeles also missed the chance to gain ground on the Pacific-leading Vegas Golden Knights, who lost to Edmonton.

"We're sitting pretty good in the standings, but the teams behind are going to catch up if we keep losing to them," Kopitar said.

The Ducks took the lead when Kase slipped a long wrist shot past Quick's short side just 6:14 in.

Kesler then capitalized on a power play, firing the puck past Quick's glove hand for his second goal in his seven-game season. The veteran two-way center missed Anaheim's first 37 games while recovering from offseason hip surgery, returning right after Christmas.

Kase made it 3-0 early in the third after a heady play by Ritchie, who followed Quick behind the net and stole the goalie's clearing attempt for a slick pass. Kase's goal was his fifth in his last seven games.

A few minutes after Shore ended Gibson's shutout bid and his own 27-game goal drought since Nov. 7, Kopitar got his 18th goal on a one-timer from the slot with 6:14 to play.

Perry ended it with a remarkable empty-net goal from the far faceoff circle.

NOTES: Before the game, the Kings honored longtime announcer Bob Miller with a statue in Star Plaza outside Staples Center and a banner in the rafters. Miller was the voice of the Kings from 1973 until his retirement last summer. ... With Kase back from injury and Jared Boll in the lineup for a physical game, Anaheim scratched forwards Logan Shaw and Derek Grant. Shaw sat out for only the second time in the Ducks' 45 games, and Grant was scratched for only the third time all season. ... Kings D Jake Muzzin sat out again with an upper-body injury incurred Jan. 8 against Calgary. Kevin Gravel took his place.

UP NEXT

Ducks: At the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.

Kings: Host the San Jose Sharks on Monday.

---

More AP hockey: www.apnews.com/tags/NHLhockey

Quick, Brown lead Kings to 5-0 win over Oilers

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- The Los Angeles Kings took advantage of a five-minute power play and rolled to a big win against a Pacific Division opponent.

Marian Gaborik, Dustin Brown and Adrian Kemp scored during the lengthy man advantage, and Jonathan Quick made 32 saves for his third shutout of the season to lead the Kings to a 5-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.

The Oilers got the power play after Oilers forward Patrick Maroon was given a major penalty for a hit to the head on Kings defenseman Drew Doughty late in the second period.

Brown said getting payback for the hit was a motivator.

"That's part of it, especially when it's probably our best player," Brown said. "But probably more so it's a divisional game and we can finish it in the first five minutes of the third period. And that's what we did.

"The power play hasn't been great for us this year, but you don't need a great power play, just a timely one."

Doughty left the game after the hit but was able to return in the third period.

"When stuff like that happens, your team just comes together, scoring three goals on the power play to really shove it up their butts was awesome," Doughty said.

"I'm feeling all right now. I didn't see it at all. He got me right in the head. I didn't have the puck, that's why I was so shocked by it. But I've known Maroon for a long time, he's just trying to finish a hit. I don't know that he meant to try and hurt me. I forgive him."

For his part, Maroon said there was no intent to injure on the play.

"I'm glad he came back and finished the game," Maroon said. "Honestly, I'm a big forward, just going in to do my job on the forecheck. My elbow didn't come up, it's just unfortunate that my body hit him in the head.

"I play the game hard. I'm just mad they gave me a match (penalty) and it hurt us."

Gaborik began the flurry by using a screen to rifle his eighth goal of the season past Talbot 1:36 into the third. They got another one four minutes into the third when Anze Kopitar's shot hit a defender on the way toward Talbot and was helped on its way into the net by Brown.

Los Angeles made it 4-0 with its third power-play goal shortly afterwards, as a shot that caromed off the glass had Talbot looking the wrong way, allowing Kempe to score a gift goal.

Brown added another goal with 1:32 remaining to cap the scoring. Andy Andreoff scored late in the second period for the Kings, who are 4-1-2 in their last seven games.

Cam Talbot stopped 28 shots as Edmonton lost its fourth straight while getting outscored 18-6 in that stretch.

The Kings had the bulk of the early chances before Edmonton started to pick up the pace later in the scoreless first period, with Quick making 14 saves, while Talbot made 12 stops.

Los Angeles finally broke the scoreless deadlock with 5:39 remaining in the second period on a 2-on-1 break as Torrey Mitchell fed Andreoff and he beat Talbot for just his second goal of the season.

Edmonton came close to tying it with 40 seconds left in the second, but Jesse Puljujarvi's shot rang off the post with a wide open net.

NOTES: Oilers F Connor McDavid has now gone three games without a point for the first time in his NHL career. ... It was the first of four meetings between the two teams this season. ... The Kings were without Jeff Carter (ankle) and Christian Folin (upper body).

UP NEXT

Kings: At Calgary on Thursday night.

Oilers: Host Anaheim on Thursday night.

Doughty scores in 3rd to lift Kings over Canucks 4-3

Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – Left red-faced on a highlight-reel sequence he says has only happened one other time in his career, Drew Doughty didn't need long to make amends.

Doughty scored early in the third period to lift the Los Angeles Kings over the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 on Saturday night.

Doughty was beaten badly by Nikolay Goldobin late in the second period on a slick toe drag that tied the game at 2. Doughty made up for it in the third, finding the puck after his initial shot was blocked by defenseman Alexander Edler, then ripping his seventh of the season at 6:49.

"I don't get dangled very often ... only the second time I can remember in my NHL career where I got dangled for a goal," Doughty said. "I was pretty embarrassed and pretty pissed off at myself.

"I was going to do everything in my power to try to help us win that game."

Doughty swung his arm in celebration along the boards with teammates as the Canucks fumed at the officials, apparently angry that the Kings had too many men on the ice - a grievance that appeared to be backed by replays.

"Definitely didn't get any satisfaction out of it," Vancouver coach Travis Green said. "I didn't ask (the referees), I wasn't going to bother."

Kyle Clifford scored the tying goal 2:22 into the third to set up Doughty's winner, and Tyler Toffoli and Marian Gaborik also scored for Los Angeles. Jonathan Quick made 22 saves.

Troy Stecher, Goldobin and Nic Dowd scored for Vancouver, which got 32 saves from Jacob Markstrom. Ben Hutton had two assists.

The Kings improved to 3-3-2 since an eight-game winning streak, while the Canucks dropped to 2-8-1 over their past 11.

Sam Gagner, who had two goals and an assist in Vancouver's 5-2 victory over Chicago on Thursday, rang a shot off the crossbar midway through the period that bounced down in the crease and stayed out.

Markstrom kept the Canucks alive with a big stop on Toffoli, but Vancouver couldn't find a way past Quick.

The home side grabbed a 3-2 lead 41 seconds into the third when Dowd, who was acquired from Los Angeles on Dec. 7, finished on a 2-on-1 rush by beating Quick with his first.

The Kings replied just 1:41 later when Trevor Lewis circled back off the rush before laying the puck in front to Clifford, who eventually banged home his first.

Stecher put Vancouver ahead 4:31 into the first, but Toffoli and Gaborik scored a minute apart later in the period to make it 2-1 Kings. Gaborik's goal came on the power play.

Goldobin made his move around Doughty to tie it late in the second.

"Great players have a short memory," Kings coach John Stevens said of Doughty. "Not very often that happens. I wouldn't expect to see it again for a while."

NOTES: Canucks rookie Brock Boeser, who leads all NHL rookies as well as his team in goals (21) and points (38), entered having scored in four straight games. He failed to get on the scoresheet against Los Angeles.

UP NEXT

Kings: Visit Edmonton on Tuesday night.

Canucks: Host Anaheim on Tuesday night before starting a seven-game road trip.

Brown caps 1,000th game with OT goal, Kings edge Avs 2-1

By STEVE DILBECK
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The team was dragging and maybe Dustin Brown was, too.

The Los Angeles Kings, fresh off an eight-game winning streak, had suddenly lost three of four. And midway through the third period Thursday night, they were in danger of being shut out for the first time this season.

But then Alec Martinez scored from the blue line and the Kings turned to Brown, playing his 1,000th NHL game. His goal 44 seconds into overtime gave Los Angeles a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.

"It was fitting. Almost poetic justice," Kings coach John Stevens said. "It was really, really nice to see him get the winning goal in that situation.

"The accolades and the compliments you give Brownie, I don't think you can overdo it."

It was the 13th goal of the season for Brown, one shy of his total from last season and two more than he'd managed in the two previous seasons.

Many, if not most, thought Brown's career had ebbed three years ago. Now age 33, few anticipated a revival.

"I think Brownie deserves credit for what's happened," Stevens said. "He came in ready to go. There's nothing given in this game - it's earned.

"I think he got off track there a little bit, but he was honest with what kind of player he wanted to be and was willing to do the work to become that kind of player again. I know a lot of people are surprised, but I'm not surprised."

The Avalanche had won four of their last six and outplayed the Kings for most of the night, but were clinging to just a 1-0 lead. Gabriel Landeskog put Colorado ahead midway through the second period, whistling in a wrist shot from beyond the circle.

"I liked the way we played tonight," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "We were patient. They made a couple of pushes and we did a good job of weathering the storm."

Martinez's long goal against Semyon Varlamov found its way through traffic to the back of the net.

"They throw it to the net from a point that has eyes and finds its way through a crowd," Bednar said.

The goal gave a lethargic-looking Kings team life. Suddenly they began attacking and playing with more confidence, the approach paying off when Brown skated down the far side and rifled his shot past Varlamov.

"The big picture was really nice. Probably for me, a memory," Brown said. "We didn't play very good. But good teams find a way to win when maybe they shouldn't."

Varlamov made 25 saves, including several outstanding stops for Colorado.

"I thought we played very well today defensively," he said. "We just didn't score. If we scored a second goal I think we win this game. But LA is a really good team playing at home. They never give up."

It was the 10th time this season the Kings won after allowing the first goal, a league best.

And this time Brown won it on his milestone night.

"I can't say enough about Brownie," Martinez said. "He's been an unbelievable leader and a huge part of this organization ever since he was drafted when he was 18.

"He's been through a lot in this organization and had a lot of ups and downs, but he's never wavered."

NOTES: Brown has played his entire career with the Kings. Dave Taylor (1,111 games) is the only other player to have played his first 1,000 games for Los Angeles. . Landeskog's goal was his 14th of the season. He trails Nathan MacKinnon by one for the team lead. ... Jonathan Quick stopped 31 shots for the Kings.

UP NEXT

Avalanche: End their two-game road trip Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes.

Kings: Travel to San Jose to play the Sharks on Saturday.

Brown caps 1,000th game with OT goal, Kings edge Avs 2-1

By STEVE DILBECK
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The team was dragging and maybe Dustin Brown was, too.

The Los Angeles Kings, fresh off an eight-game winning streak, had suddenly lost three of four. And midway through the third period Thursday night, they were in danger of being shut out for the first time this season.

But then Alec Martinez scored from the blue line and the Kings turned to Brown, playing his 1,000th NHL game. His goal 44 seconds into overtime gave Los Angeles a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.

"It was fitting. Almost poetic justice," Kings coach John Stevens said. "It was really, really nice to see him get the winning goal in that situation.

"The accolades and the compliments you give Brownie, I don't think you can overdo it."

It was the 13th goal of the season for Brown, one shy of his total from last season and two more than he'd managed in the two previous seasons.

Many, if not most, thought Brown's career had ebbed three years ago. Now age 33, few anticipated a revival.

"I think Brownie deserves credit for what's happened," Stevens said. "He came in ready to go. There's nothing given in this game - it's earned.

"I think he got off track there a little bit, but he was honest with what kind of player he wanted to be and was willing to do the work to become that kind of player again. I know a lot of people are surprised, but I'm not surprised."

The Avalanche had won four of their last six and outplayed the Kings for most of the night, but were clinging to just a 1-0 lead. Gabriel Landeskog put Colorado ahead midway through the second period, whistling in a wrist shot from beyond the circle.

"I liked the way we played tonight," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "We were patient. They made a couple of pushes and we did a good job of weathering the storm."

Martinez's long goal against Semyon Varlamov found its way through traffic to the back of the net.

"They throw it to the net from a point that has eyes and finds its way through a crowd," Bednar said.

The goal gave a lethargic-looking Kings team life. Suddenly they began attacking and playing with more confidence, the approach paying off when Brown skated down the far side and rifled his shot past Varlamov.

"The big picture was really nice. Probably for me, a memory," Brown said. "We didn't play very good. But good teams find a way to win when maybe they shouldn't."

Varlamov made 25 saves, including several outstanding stops for Colorado.

"I thought we played very well today defensively," he said. "We just didn't score. If we scored a second goal I think we win this game. But LA is a really good team playing at home. They never give up."

It was the 10th time this season the Kings won after allowing the first goal, a league best.

And this time Brown won it on his milestone night.

"I can't say enough about Brownie," Martinez said. "He's been an unbelievable leader and a huge part of this organization ever since he was drafted when he was 18.

"He's been through a lot in this organization and had a lot of ups and downs, but he's never wavered."

NOTES: Brown has played his entire career with the Kings. Dave Taylor (1,111 games) is the only other player to have played his first 1,000 games for Los Angeles. . Landeskog's goal was his 14th of the season. He trails Nathan MacKinnon by one for the team lead. ... Jonathan Quick stopped 31 shots for the Kings.

UP NEXT

Avalanche: End their two-game road trip Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes.

Kings: Travel to San Jose to play the Sharks on Saturday.

Kings finish rough trip with win over Flyers

PHILADELPHIA -- Seconds after watching his teammates kill a key penalty in the third period, Adrian Kempe busted out of the penalty box to score a pivotal goal in the Los Angeles Kings' 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night.

"I thought he was terrific tonight," Kings coach John Stevens said. "He's had some timely goals for us, and it was great to see him get rewarded."

Alec Martinez, Trevor Lewis and Tyler Toffoli also scored for the Kings. Jonathan Quick turned aside 36 shots as Los Angeles (21-10-4) ended a four-game road trip with a win, snapping a three-game losing streak.

"We knew we were matched up against a team that had won six in a row and we knew we would need contributions from everyone in the lineup, and we did that tonight," Martinez said.

Jakub Voracek scored the lone goal for the Flyers (14-12-7), who had their six-game win streak snapped.

Brian Elliott (21 saves) took his first defeat since Dec. 2.

"It was a tight game and they didn't make any mistakes," Voracek said. "We had a good run with six wins, and we've played really good hockey over the last two weeks. We've got to make sure we don't get stuck on losing. We've got to find a way to win on Wednesday (against the Detroit Red Wings) and hopefully start another streak."

The Kings killed off five of the Flyers' six power plays. Los Angeles entered the game ranked first in the NHL with an 86.7 percent success rate.

"Special teams can generate momentum in a hockey game, and the PK is a really big part of that," Martinez said. "Even the one we gave up today, (Drew) Doughty blocks a shot and it goes right to (Voracek). I'll take that play every day of the week."

The game turned early in the third period, when the Kings, clinging to a one-goal lead, killed off a cross-checking penalty to Kempe. The 21-year-old left winger scored just six seconds after being released from the penalty box, beating Elliott with a shot past his catching glove.

"I saw the goalie was cheating a little bit to the far side, so there was a little open spot on the glove side, and that's what I tried to aim for," Kempe said of his 11th goal of the season.

Elliot said, "He just shot through a screen and I didn't see it. I just saw a guy driving backdoor, and he shot it through a screen."

The Kings killed off two more Philadelphia power plays in the final period to secure the win.

Just as they did two nights earlier in a 4-3 overtime loss in Brooklyn, the Kings opened up a 2-0 first-period lead.

Martinez's third of the season came 5:27 into the game off a faceoff win by Torrey Mitchell, who cleanly beat Scott Laughton and drove the net for a screen. It was Martinez's first goal in 20 games since Nov. 4.

Lewis made it 2-0 at 16:46 of the first, beating Elliott past his catching glove on a nice feed from center Nick Shore. It was Lewis' eighth goal of the season and first in 12 games.

"I didn't think we were sharp enough at the start," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "We started off by giving them a faceoff goal. Their second goal is on a line change. I didn't think we made them work hard enough for the opportunities they scored the goals on."

The Flyers had a pair of power plays in the opening period and converted with 1:56 remaining to draw within 2-1. Claude Giroux's shot was blocked by Doughty, and the puck went directly to Voracek. The NHL assists leader one-timed a shot past Quick for his eighth goal of the season and second on the power play.

NOTES: Los Angeles D Christian Folin left the game with an upper-body injury after the first period and did not return. He will be re-examined on Tuesday. ... Kings RW Dustin Brown played in his 999th NHL game. The hard-hitting 33-year-old veteran has been incredibly durable in his NHL career, missing just 17 games over the past 14 seasons. ... Los Angeles LW Andy Andreoff returned to the lineup after sitting out the previous 10 games. He played on a fourth line with C Torrey Mitchell and RW Jonny Brodzinski, who sat out the previous two games. ... Before the game, Flyers G Brian Elliott was named NHL's second star of the week. ... The Flyers played their 23rd game against a Western Conference opponent, the most by any Eastern Conference team.

Devils end Kings' eight-game winning streak

NEWARK, N.J. -- All the New Jersey Devils needed to get back on the winning track was to face the hottest team in the league.

However, the good vibe from Tuesday's 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at the Prudential Center was tempered over concern for the team's leading scorer, Taylor Hall, who suffered an unspecified injury in the third period after scoring twice earlier in the game.

Hall came up limping after being checked hard into the boards by Kings defenseman Kurtis MacDermid seven minutes into the third. Though he remained on the ice to play the next shift, Hall soon shut it down and did not finish the game.

Devils coach John Hynes termed the play "a little bit of a dangerous hit" and said Hall will be evaluated Wednesday by the team's medical personnel.

"Hopefully it's nothing major because you see what (Hall) brings to the team," Devils center Travis Zajac said. "Obviously, he's dangerous every shift and creates chances every time he's on the ice. So hopefully, like I said, it's nothing serious."

The win snapped New Jersey's two-game skid and halted the Kings eight-game-winning streak, the longest in the NHL this season and one shy of equaling the longest in franchise history.

"I think it goes to show that when we play our best, we're as good as any team in the league," said Devils goaltender Cory Schneider, who made 16 saves. "They're the hottest team in the league right now and we got to our game right away and stuck with it."

Hall recorded his second multi-goal game of the season, while Zajac, Brian Boyle and Brian Gibbons also scored for the Devils (17-9-4).

Torrey Mitchell scored late in the third period for the Kings (20-9-3), who were nearly shut out in this opener of a four-game road trip.

"It was not one we're particularly proud of," Kings forward Kyle Clifford said.

New Jersey opened the scoring at 13:44 of the first period when Zajac slammed home a rebound for his second goal of the season. Hall then converted Jesper Bratt's cross-ice pass for a power-play goal to make it 2-0 at 16:14.

That power-play goal was New Jersey's first in five games. It also marked the first time this season that the Kings, the league's No. 1 ranked penalty kill entering play, allowed a power-play goal in three consecutive games.

Hall netted his second of the game and 11th of the season in impressive fashion at 15:42 of the second period to give the Devils a three-goal lead. The Devils winger stripped Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin of the puck at the L.A. blue line, broke in alone and beat goaltender Jonathan Quick between the pads for his fifth goal in the past eight games.

Less than two minutes later Boyle wristed a shot from left wing that beat Quick through the five-hole, making it 4-0 at 17:04. It was the first time since Nov. 19 the Kings -- who began the night with the league's stingiest defense, allowing only 2.19 goals per game -- surrendered as many as four goals.

"Everybody wanted to have a contribution, everybody wanted to kind of get some of that taste out of their mouths from the last few games we had," Boyle said. "To a man, each guy had to make a statement."

Schneider lost his shutout bid when Mitchell deflected an Alec Martinez shot into the net at 12:04 of the third period.

Gibbons, who assisted on the Zajac goal earlier, closed out the scoring, beating Quick on a short-handed breakaway with 11 seconds left on the clock.

Kings coach John Stevens said he believes his team got what it deserved Tuesday.

"The bottom line is they were a lot harder on pucks than we were, but it's a good lesson that stings a little bit," Stevens said. "Sometimes you need a lesson like that to get your attention."

NOTES: With his second-period assist, Devils RW Stefan Noesen extended his point-scoring streak to a season-high four consecutive games. ... Devils LW Marcus Johansson did not play because of a bruised ankle, and is listed as day-to-day. ... New Jersey also scratched D Dalton Prout and D Ben Lovejoy. ... Prior to this loss, the Kings won all five of their games this season against Metropolitan Division opponents. ... Kings LW Kyle Clifford returned to the lineup after a 28-game absence caused by an upper-body injury. ... The Kings scratched LW Jussi Jokinen, LW Andy Andreoff and D Oscar Fantenberg.

Doughty's OT goal gives Kings 7th straight win

LOS ANGELES -- Despite putting together one of their better efforts this season, the desperate Ottawa Senators could not stop the surging Los Angeles Kings.

Lead once again by late-game heroics from their marquee players, the Kings remain the hottest team in the NHL.

Drew Doughty scored 32 seconds into overtime as Los Angeles defeated Ottawa 4-3 on Thursday night.

The Kings (19-8-3) won their seventh consecutive game, the longest streak in the NHL this season. Tanner Pearson, Alex Iafallo and Dustin Brown registered Los Angeles' regulation goals, and Darcy Kuemper made 37 saves.

The Senators (9-11-7) fell for a third straight game and the 10th time in their past 11 (1-9-1). Matt Duchene, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Ryan Dzingel registered goals. Mike Condon made 34 saves.

Doughty finished a two-on-one break with Anze Kopitar, firing in a wrist shot to win the game.

The Kings, normally a dominating team in the third period, surrendered the game-tying goal in the final minute. They have outscored the opposition 41-14 in the third person this season and were on the verge of winning in regulation before Ottawa rallied to salvage a much-needed standings point.

Los Angeles coach John Stevens believes there is still room for improvement despite a run that has put the Kings at the top of the Pacific Division.

"I will be honest, that was not our best game tonight," Stevens said. "Ottawa played last night, and they are in a stretch where they haven't had a lot of success. We knew they were going to be a very dangerous team."

Doughty concurred that the game was far from his team's best effort.

"It was probably our worst game out of the last seven wins," Doughty said. "We just don't give up. Whether we're down, whether we're up, we're trying to play the same way, and I think we're doing a good job at that."

The Senators put forth a far stronger effort than they displayed in consecutive shutout losses at Winnipeg on Sunday and at Anaheim on Wednesday. They rallied three times in the contest to send it to overtime. Duchene, who has struggled mightily since arrive in Ottawa via trade, scored for the first time in five games.

As he did after the Anaheim loss, Senators coach Guy Boucher chose to dwell on the positive aspects of his team's performance despite not getting the desired outcome.

"The Kings are the hottest team in the league," Boucher said. "We knew it was going to be difficult, but we came in and got 40 shots on goal. The effort was more than there tonight. The effort was remarkable."

The Senators as a group have remained positive publicly, and Duchene still believes his team can reverse their tailspin with more efforts like this one.

"I think it was two very good teams kind of going at it," Duchene said. "We played looser and were not afraid to lose. There were a lot of really good things tonight and we deserved a better result, that's for sure. This one stings. I think going forward, we have to find a way to build on it."

Brown tipped home a shot at 16:32 of the third period for his 12th goal of the season to give the Kings a 3-2 lead, but Dzingel's ninth goal of the season at 19:50 with Condon pulled sent the game to overtime.

The Kings took a 1-0 lead on Pearson's fifth goal of the season at 14:41 of the first period. Tyler Toffoli eluded Ottawa defenseman Ben Harpur and fed Pearson for the goal.

Ottawa evened the score at 1-1 on Duchene's power-play goal, his sixth of the season at 16:24 of the first period. Duchene converted the rebound of a Bobby Ryan tip.

Iafallo gave the Kings a 2-1 lead with his second goal of the season at 5:18 of the second period. Iafallo's wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle beat Condon.

The Senators tied the game at 2-2 on Pageau's third goal of the season at 8:08 of the second period. Pageau backhanded a rebound of a Harpur shot on a play initiated by Gabriel Dumont.

NOTES: Los Angeles executed a minor trade after the game, sending F Nic Dowd to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for D Jordon Subban. ... Ottawa scratched D Fredrik Claesson. ... The Senators continue their season-high, seven-game road trip on Saturday against the San Jose Sharks. ... Kings C Andy Andreoff was activated from injured reserve, but he did not dress. ... Los Angeles also scratched D Oscar Fantenberg and Dowd. ... The Kings conclude their three-game homestand against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

Gaborik, Kopitar carry Kings to sixth win in row

LOS ANGELES -- The third period was full of milestones for the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.

Marian Gaborik scored twice, the second representing the 400th goal and 800th point of his NHL career, Anze Kopitar recorded his 500th career assist, and the Kings came from behind to win their sixth consecutive game, beating the Minnesota Wild 5-2 at Staples Center.

"That's probably as good a third period as we've had this year," Kings coach John Stevens said.

Gaborik, who scored the first goal in Wild history and remains the franchise leader in several categories, was moved up to Los Angeles' top line with Kopitar and Dustin Brown late in the second period, and the trio quickly produced results.

Gaborik finished a two-on-one with Anze Kopitar to tie the score 2-2 at 4:35 of the third period.

Kopitar held the puck until Minnesota defenseman Ryan Suter and goaltender Devan Dubnyk committed to a shot, but Kopitar quickly slid the puck to Gaborik on his left, and Gaborik scored into the open side.

Gaborik was playing in his seventh game this season after missing the first seven weeks following knee surgery in April.

"I don't know. It's still just one-quarter of the season, the lines always change," Gaborik said when asked about his new line combination. "Whoever plays with anybody, we have a strong team and we trust in each other, and hopefully we can keep it up."

After Adrian Kempe put Los Angeles in front at 12:38, Gaborik made it 4-2 with six minutes left when he shot through traffic and the puck went off the stick of Wild defenseman Matt Dumba and past Dubnyk.

Kopitar received his second assist on the play, the 500th of his career, and he scored an empty-net goal with 56 seconds left.

"Kopi's just been a horse all year, and Gabby's worked so hard to come back and really wants to play and be a productive player," Stevens said. "It's kind of fitting that those two guys would partner up on a milestone like that."

Jake Muzzin had a goal and an assist, Drew Doughty added three assists, and Jonathan Quick made 19 saves for Los Angeles (18-8-3).

Charlie Coyle and Tyler Ennis scored and Dubnyk made 23 saves for Minnesota (13-11-3).

The Wild were on the front end of a three-game trip that also includes games against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday and the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.

"We got to make sure we're doing the right things defensively," Coyle said. "We've got to find a way. It's disappointing."

Kempe put the Kings on top when he tossed the puck toward the Minnesota goal from the sidewall. Dubnyk poked the puck away, but it went off the skate of Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin and back across the goal line.

"When they put their push on, we just didn't do anything about it," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said.

After neither team scored the first 30 minutes, the Wild and Kings combined for three goals in a 4:04 span of the second period.

Coyle gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead when he redirected a pass from Chris Stewart at 10:30.

Daniel Winnik started the play when he dropped a pass to Stewart, who shot from the far edge of the right circle. Coyle had a step on Kempe and used his backhand to redirect the puck for his second goal of the season.

The Kings tied the score at 14:24 when Doughty passed from the top of the right circle to his partner at the top of the left circle, and Muzzin scored on a hard slap shot for his third of the season.

The Wild quickly regained the lead at 2-1 when Ennis took the puck from behind the Wild net and slapped in his own rebound at 15:34.

NOTES: Wild G Devan Dubnyk came in 7-4-1 in his career against the Kings with a .931 save-percentage and 2.29 goals-against average, better than his .916 and 2.55 career marks. ... Minnesota C Charlie Coyle has a five-game point streak (one goal, four assists). ... Kings LW Marian Gaborik has eight points (five goals, three assists) in 12 career games against Minnesota. ... Los Angeles came in with the top penalty-kill unit in the NHL at 89.5 percent, and the Kings thwarted the Wild's lone power play. ... Kings C Andy Andreoff, who has been sidelined since getting knocked down by a punch from Anaheim Ducks D Kevin Bieksa on Nov. 25, has been cleared to resume practicing. ... Kings C Torrey Mitchell went 6-0 on faceoffs.

Quick, Kings stop Blackhawks for fifth straight win

By MATT CARLSON
Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — There’s nothing magical about the surging Los Angeles Kings’ rise to the top of the Pacific Division. The formula of tight defense, sharp goaltending and timely scoring is working just fine.

Jonathan Quick made 24 saves, Christian Folin scored the game’s first goal midway through the third period and the Kings beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on Sunday night for their fifth straight win.

Folin’s shot from the right point sailed over Anton Forsberg’s glove with Anze Kopitar screening at 9:29. Dustin Brown scored an empty-net goal with 2:03 left to make it 2-0, and Kopitar added another empty-netter after Chicago’s Jonathan Toews scored with Forsberg pulled for an extra skater.

“I closed my eyes,” joked Folin, a defenseman who scored his second goal. “I saw two guys right in front, and one of their forecheckers coming hard at me, so I kind of shot it in there hoping for the best.

“It’s fun when it goes in. I don’t score too many goals, so I’ll take it.”

The Kings have allowed six goals during their streak, which has moved them to second in the Western Conference. Their run follows a 1-6-1 slide.

“It’s fun,” Folin said. “I think we’re pushing each other as a group. That’s something we’re going to need going forward.”

Quick turned aside some tough chances, especially when Chicago outshot Los Angeles 15-6 in the second period, before losing a bid for his third shutout this season.

“Way too big of a letdown in the second, but Quickie kept us in it,” Kopitar said. “In the third period, we just kind of find a way.”

Chicago has lost four straight. Forsberg made 21 saves in his second straight start in place of Corey Crawford, who’s out with a lower-body injury.

“It’s a little bit frustrating not getting a win, but I can’t do nothing else,” Forsberg said. “I’ve just got to keep playing the way I’ve been and focus on my game.”

The Blackhawks were in position to pull this one out after picking up the pace in the second period — and entering the third with a scoreless tie and some momentum.

“The game’s right there for us to make the plays and have a big third period, and it turned out be a tough, tough loss,” coach Joel Quenneville said.

The Kings’ Adrian Kempe narrowly missed on a point-blank tip-in attempt midway through the second, then a loose puck tipped off the right post during a goalmouth scrum.

A point shot by Chicago’s Cody Franson glanced of Brandon Saad’s skate at the edge of the crease and clanged off the left post with 5:20 left. Quick then came through with a snappy glove save on Ryan Hartman’s backhander with 1:58 left.

Marian Gaborik broke in alone just under two minutes into the third after stealing the puck from Patrick Sharp at the Chicago blue line. Forsberg stopped Gaborik point-blank with a glove save.

NOTES: Before the game, Quenneville said he expected Crawford back skating this week, but had no timetable for the goalie’s return to action. ... Los Angeles F Torrey Mitchell, acquired from Montreal on Nov. 23 for a conditional 2018 draft pick, made his Kings debut. ... The Blackhawks finished a stretch of five games in seven nights.

UP NEXT:

Kings: Host Minnesota on Tuesday night.

Blackhawks: Play at Washington on Wednesday night.

Kings score 2 goals in 9 seconds to beat Capitals 5-2

By STEPHEN WHYNO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Plenty of thoughts raced through Jussi Jokinen’s mind before taking the ice, from his daughter’s birthday to his success on the road against the Capitals.

Not much went through his mind when he scored the Los Angeles Kings’ second goal in a span of nine seconds, the key stretch in a 5-2 victory at Washington on Thursday night. The quick-strike, second-period goals by Jonny Brodzinski and Jokinen helped the Kings win their third in a row.

“It kind of changed the whole hockey game,” Jokinen said. “It gave a big lift to our hockey team, and we didn’t have to chase the game anymore, and they had to chase the game.”

Jokinen’s goal was his first in 21 games this season after starting with the Edmonton Oilers before a trade to Los Angeles on Nov. 14. In the midst of a challenging year that included being bought out by the Florida Panthers in June, the 34-year-old was beaming at being able to celebrate daughter Sandra’s sixth birthday with his first goal since March 17.

“She hasn’t seen her dad score a goal in a long time,” said Jokinen, who has eight goals and seven assists in 22 games at Washington. “It was fun to get one on her birthday. It feels good.”

The Kings are finally back to feeling good after losing seven of eight from Nov. 9-24. This one wasn’t easy, as they had to rally and withstand two goals from Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov, but the Kings got 27 saves from Jonathan Quick and two goals from Marian Gaborik to get the job done.

“They’re so hard to play against,” said defenseman Drew Doughty, who played a big part in shutting down the Capitals’ top line of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson. “I’ve never been so tired in my whole entire life. I felt like I spent the entire game in my own zone playing against that Ovechkin line. But it was a great battle. All four lines, all six D, Quickie played great — it was just a full team effort, and that’s why we won.”

Washington’s win streak ended at three as a handful of miscues proved costly. Goaltender Braden Holtby made a miscommunication that led to Brodzinski’s goal, and rookie defenseman Madison Bowey was out of position on Jokinen’s.

“We did a lot of good things,” said Holtby, who allowed three goals on 25 shots. “We did some bad things, too. We got a lucky on a few plays, too. ... Just some areas, we’ve got to get on the same page with more attention to detail, myself included, and go from there.”

The Kings were plenty happy about winning a fun, back-and-forth game against the Capitals. But no one wanted to get ahead of themselves about stringing together a few wins.

“It’s a process,” coach John Stevens said. “We’re trying to get our team to a point where we continue to build our team game. It’s frustrating when you lose, your energy kind of drops a little bit. But the group’s been terrific, I think the leadership group’s been terrific and we still put ourselves in a position where we want to be and continue to get better.”

NOTES: Tyler Toffoli had an empty netter with 4 seconds left. ... Quick improved to 8-2-0 in his career against Washington. ... Los Angeles defenseman Kurtis MacDermid picked up his first two assists in his 18th NHL game. ... The Kings’ league-best penalty kill was a perfect 2 for 2. ... Capitals D Dmitry Orlov picked up his 100th career point as he assisted on Kuznetsov’s first goal. ... Capitals D Christian Djoos returned after missing six games with a suspected concussion. He replaced Taylor Chorney. ... Washington put F Nathan Walker on waivers with the intent of the Aussie getting more playing time in the American Hockey League. ... Kings F Torrey Mitchell missed his third consecutive game with immigration/visa issues since being acquired from Montreal on Thanksgiving.

UP NEXT

Kings: Continue their four-game trip Friday night at the St. Louis Blues.

Capitals: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night in the second part of a five-game home stand.

Kopitar scores 2, Quick stops 23 shots, Kings beat Wings 4-1

By LARRY LAGE
Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — Jonathan Quick made some spectacular saves to keep the Los Angeles Kings within a goal and they took advantage of the opportunity to come back and win.

Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar scored 2:10 apart late in the second period to put the Kings ahead and they went on to beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Tuesday night.

Quick made 23 saves, including some sprawling stops in the second period that kept the Kings within a goal.

“He made at least two saves on what looked like sure goals in the second period, and that changed the whole game,” Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. “We were giving up way too many chances, but he kept us in the game.”

After Brown and Kopitar puts the Kings ahead, they pulled away in the third. Adrian Kempe scored early in the period and Kopitar’s second goal of the game gave Los Angeles a three-goal cushion with 7-plus minutes left.

Kopitar leads the Kings with 11 goals, one fewer than he had all of last season.

“I’m feeling good this year, and maybe that’s the whole difference,” he said. “I’m confident about my game in a way that I wasn’t last season. I played a lot of hockey last year before the season even started, with the Olympic qualifiers and the World Cup. I was tired before we even got going, and I had a bad year.”

The Red Wings started strong, but couldn’t recover when they failed to get another shot past Quick.

“He does it against lots of people, lots of nights,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “A lot of credit goes to him, but I still think we can get more net presence.”

Detroit’s Mike Green broke a scoreless tie late in the first period and Jimmy Howard finished with 32 saves.

“I had a few chances that I just have to put in the net,” Gustav Nyquist said. “He’s a good goalie who makes some of those crazy saves. We had enough chances to score more than one goal.”

The Kings have won two straight after losing three in a row and seven of eight.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do before we are the team we want to be, but this was a big performance by everyone on our team,” Los Angeles coach John Stevens said. “It wasn’t just the top lines. It was everyone.”

The Red Wings have lost five straight, one shy of their season-long skid from last month, after winning six of the previous nine games.

NOTES: Green ended an 18-game scoring drought and Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg extended his streak without a goal to 18 games. “Obviously, it’s not fun when you don’t score,” Zetterberg said. “So I take big responsibility in that.” ... Los Angeles began a four-game road trip. ... After most of the fans had left Little Caesars Arena, a few of them chanted, “Fire Hol-land! Fire Hol-land,” referring to the team’s general manager Ken Holland.

UP NEXT

Kings: Play Thursday night at Washington.

Red Wings: Host Montreal on Thursday night.

“We better have urgency on Thursday,” Blashill said.

Karlsson scores twice, leads Golden Knights past Kings 4-2

By W.G. RAMIREZ
Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — In the first meeting of what figures to be a fun Pacific Division rivalry, the new guys in Vegas struck first.

William Karlsson scored twice, Maxime Lagace stopped 27 shots and the Golden Knights beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 on Sunday night.

Cody Eakin and Alex Tuch also scored for Vegas, which improved to 8-1-0 at home and 12-6-1 overall in its inaugural season. Reilly Smith had two assists, helping the Golden Knights win the first Interstate 15 matchup.

“The Kings’ chants were shut down in three seconds. It was awesome, I love that, that’s a good atmosphere,” Tuch said. “Guys in this locker room, they’ve been a part of rivalries for a long time. It brings a different kind of energy for each guy.”

The Kings got goals from Trevor Lewis and Tanner Pearson but dropped to 12-7-2. The Golden Knights (25) moved within a point of Los Angeles (26) in the division.

Vegas coach Gerard Gallant downplayed the Vegas-LA rivalry and said he was more concerned with his team matching the Kings’ physicality.

“I’m pretty happy we won tonight because we’re one point out of first place, and we’re battling hard and we’re trying to win as many games as we can,” Gallant said. “It didn’t matter if it was LA or Phoenix or whoever we played tonight. It’s just about playing another team and trying to get another two points.

“I was really happy how we played. We know LA is a tough, physical team to play against, and our team stood up well. I was happy with how we responded.”

Karlsson opened the scoring 55 seconds into the game with a wrist shot that beat Jonathan Quick through the five-hole.

Eakin scored his third goal of the season later in the period when he ripped a shot past Quick on the glove side.

Less than a minute later, Quick got caught behind the net trying to clear the puck. Smith passed to Karlsson, and he punched in his ninth goal of the season, matching his career high.

“They came after us right away and obviously got the three-goal lead,” Lewis said. “We battled back, but I think we kind of killed ourselves in the first period. The building is loud, there was a lot of energy. They’re a good team, they’re a fast team, they came out hard right away and we weren’t ready for it.”

Quick was replaced by Darcy Kuemper after stopping just six of nine shots. Kuemper stopped 30 of 30 shots the rest of the way, with Tuch scoring into an empty net.

“That’s certainly not the start we wanted,” Kings coach John Stevens said. “You dig a hole on the road against any team, especially in here, it’s tough to come back. But I thought the guys, they dug in, I thought they got going.”

The Kings didn’t get on the board until midway through the second, when Lewis capitalized on a turnover, made a nifty move to his left and slipped one past Lagace to cut Vegas’ lead to 3-1.

Los Angeles got within one when Pearson was left alone in the slot and his wrist shot beat Lagace with 8:15 left in the game.

“If you look at all our rivalries — Anaheim and San Jose — now put these guys in the mix,” Pearson said. “It was a pretty hard-fought first game, and there will be a lot more to come. It’s just this way division plays each other, it gets intense.”

NOTES: Golden Knights G Malcolm Subban was activated from the injured list Friday and was in uniform for the first time since Oct. 21, when he left the game with a lower body injury.

UP NEXT

Vegas: At Anaheim on Wednesday night.

Los Angeles: Hosts Winnipeg on Wednesday night.

Bruins make Chara’s goal hold up for 2-1 win over Kings

By STEVE DILBECK
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings were two teams going in the wrong direction, the losses suddenly piling up for both of them.

Something had to change when they met Thursday night and it did for the Bruins, who made Zdeno Chara’s tiebreaking goal in the second period stand up for a 2-1 victory over the Kings.

“Our guys were sick of losing,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said after his team snapped a four-game skid.

The Kings, however, continued their unexpected spiral. After starting the season 11-2-2 for the best record in the Western Conference, they have dropped four in a row.

“We’re going to have to dig down,” coach John Stevens said. “You can’t have part of your lineup going. You need your whole lineup going if you’re going to win. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing.”

The Kings won in Boston on Oct. 28 in the last second of overtime off a faceoff. This time, the Bruins returned the favor.

Patrice Bergeron won a faceoff for Boston in the first period and the puck went to Charlie McAvoy, who skated across the crease and lifted a backhand over the shoulder of goalie Jonathan Quick.

“I thought we played a much more complete game,” McAvoy said. “We really wanted to get a win. It’s been a while. We put together a complete 60 minutes.”

Los Angeles tied it 1-all at 4:33 of the second on a power play. Jussi Jokinen found Drew Doughty open in the middle and the defenseman flicked in his fourth of the season.

Boston regained the lead at 13:16 when Chara fired a slap shot from outside the lower part of the circle that deflected off the stick of Los Angeles’ Trevor Lewis a few feet in front of the net. The puck nicked the back of Quick’s jersey and went in for Chara’s second goal this season.

“I’m real happy with the way we played,” Chara said. “We battled and deserved to win.”

But the Bruins still had to hang on to preserve the victory, with almost 27 minutes yet to play.

“It’s been an issue for us, closing out games,” Cassidy said. “We did it well, comfortable. We didn’t look scrambly. We didn’t look like we lost our composure or poise.”

The Kings never got another puck past backup goalie Anton Khudobin, who stopped 27 shots and improved to 4-0-2.

Quick made 28 saves for Los Angeles.

“You had that sense we did not want to let it go,” Chara said. “You had that feel on the bench.”

The Kings aren’t sure what to feel after getting off to such an impressive start and now suddenly reeling.

“I don’t think we’re playing a 60-minute game,” Anze Kopitar said. “Parts of the games, we play like we need to be, where we’re in their zone making plays, creating chances.

“And in parts of the games, we’re just pretty much non-existent out there. That’s got to change. We have to have a better effort from everybody for a full game.”

NOTES: Boston center David Krejci returned after missing 11 games with an upper-body injury. He played 18 minutes. “I felt pretty good for my first game back,” Krejci said. . Kopitar assisted on Doughty’s goal, extending his point streak to a career-best nine games. . The Kings had one four-game losing streak all last season. . The Bruins earned their second road win of the season.

UP NEXT

Bruins: Head to San Jose to play the Sharks on Saturday.

Kings: Stay home Saturday to host the Florida Panthers.

Baertschi, Canucks send LA Kings to 3rd straight loss, 3-2

By GREG BEACHAM
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Vancouver Canucks gave up a goal on their opponents’ opening shot for the second straight game, and they trailed 2-0 just 3:14 in at Staples Center.

That sour start just made the rally even sweeter as they surged past the slumping Los Angeles Kings.

Sven Baertschi scored the tiebreaking goal on a power play early in the third period and the Canucks wrapped up a four-game trip by sending the Kings to their third consecutive loss, 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Henrik Sedin and Bo Horvat scored second-period goals for the Canucks, who had lost two straight and five of seven. After Tanner Pearson and Anze Kopitar staked Los Angeles to a quick lead, the Canucks appeared to be primed for another disappointment.

Instead, they methodically came back to knock off the Pacific Division leaders.

“Coming out of the gate, they came at us hot and got pucks in right away,” Baertschi said. “Everything was going towards the net, so there was a lot of chaos. We were kind of caught off guard there, but we bounced back and played a great 50 minutes.”

Anders Nilsson allowed a regrettable goal on Pearson’s shot just 23 seconds in, but he regrouped and made 30 saves in his first appearance since Oct. 26.

“We showed good team character and effort to bounce back from that,” Nilsson said. “It’s not easy.”

Vancouver was 2 for 21 on the power play over its past six games before improbably scoring twice against the Kings, who had the NHL’s best penalty-killing percentage entering the game. Horvat scored the tying goal on a power play late in the second period.

With Kings forward Andrew Crescenzi in the penalty box during his NHL debut, Baertschi took a cross-ice pass from Thomas Vanek and caught Jonathan Quick moving the wrong way for his sixth goal of the season.

“I knew Quick is an aggressive goalie,” Baertschi said. “I knew he was going to push over pretty hard, so I went far side.”

Kopitar extended his point streak to nine games with a power-play goal for the Kings, who hadn’t lost three straight since Feb. 16-19.

Quick stopped 24 shots, but Los Angeles remained winless three games into a five-game homestand.

“We let our foot off the gas pedal there,” Pearson said. “I think (after) we get up those two goals, (and) maybe we took a step back. They got some momentum, and they carried it.”

Nilsson had sat out the previous seven games behind Jacob Markstrom, and he got off to a shaky start when Pearson slipped an innocent shot past his short side. Kopitar doubled the Kings’ lead 3:14 in with his ninth goal of a resurgent season.

Sedin got the Canucks on the board early in the second with a shot that banked in off the posterior of Kings forward Nick Shore. Horvat evened it with a rebound goal after Brock Boeser’s shot, and Sedin also got an assist for the 250th multipoint game of his career.

“They’re a resilient group,” Vancouver coach Travis Green said of his team. “They want to win. They’re down 2-0 in (the Kings’) building, and find a way to win.”

Quick stopped a penalty shot by Brandon Sutter later in the second.

NOTES: Hours before the game, Los Angeles traded Mike Cammalleri to the Edmonton Oilers for fellow forward Jussi Jokinen. Cammalleri’s second stint with the Kings lasted just 15 games after the 35-year-old veteran became frustrated with his role. Jokinen has just one point in 14 games for Edmonton, but Kings GM Rob Blake expects him to provide stability on their depth lines. ... Before Sutter’s second-period penalty shot, Vancouver had just one penalty shot against Los Angeles in franchise history: Kelly Hrudey stopped Pavel Bure on Oct. 6, 1993. ... Vancouver C Brendan Gaunce returned to the lineup and Alexander Burmistrov was scratched. ... D Christian Folin returned to the Kings’ lineup after three games as a scratch. Rookie D Kurtis MacDermid was scratched for the first time since Oct. 23.

UP NEXT

Canucks: Host Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.

Kings: Host Boston Bruins on Thursday.

Oilers get Mike Cammalleri from Kings for Jussi Jokinen

By GREG BEACHAM
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Kings traded Mike Cammalleri to the Edmonton Oilers for Jussi Jokinen in a swap of veteran forwards on Tuesday night.

Cammalleri’s second career stint with the Kings lasted just 15 games. After signing a $1 million, one-year deal last summer to return to the club that drafted him in 2001, the 35-year-old veteran found himself stuck in a depth role early in the season, even sitting as a scratch for two games.

Cammalleri has three goals and four assists this season, his 15th NHL campaign. He has scored at least 19 goals in nine of those seasons.

“I don’t think he enjoyed the role that he was in, by any means,” said Kings general manager Rob Blake, who declined to say whether Cammalleri requested a trade. “I won’t tell you a lot about our conversation, but what I will tell you is we came to the conclusion that it wasn’t going the direction he wanted it to.”

The 34-year-old Jokinen has one assist in 14 games with Edmonton this season after signing a one-year deal as a free agent in July. The steady veteran is joining his seventh NHL franchise with the Kings, who expect to use him as a depth forward with faceoff skills and a solid two-way game.

“He’s been a very reliable player over his career, and I think that will bring a little stability to our lineup,” Blake said. “He can do a lot of different things for us.”

The Pacific Division-leading Kings are off to a strong start despite the injury absences of goal-scoring veteran Marian Gaborik and top scorer Jeff Carter, who will be out for several months while recovering from a cut on his leg.

Captain Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown are enjoying remarkable bounce-back offensive seasons while skating on Los Angeles’ top line along with speedy rookie Alex Iafallo, who surprised the team by winning an NHL roster spot in training camp and keeping it with steady play. Iafallo’s emergence contributed directly to Cammalleri’s reduced role, Blake said.

Iafallo and fellow youngster Adrian Kempe have secured regular roles while the Kings are off to one of the Western Conference’s best starts even without Carter and Gaborik, who is back in practice during his recovery from a knee injury. Blake said he is hopeful Gaborik will return to the Los Angeles lineup by early December.

Cammalleri is returning to Alberta after two earlier stints with the Calgary Flames. He spent the past three seasons with New Jersey.

Jokinen spent the last three seasons with the Florida Panthers. He has won two Olympic medals with Finland.