Kings use 3-goal second period to power past Islanders 3-2
Feb 24, 2023, 5:03 AM | Updated: 7:45 pm
Los Angeles Kings right wing Gabriel Vilardi (13) is congratulated after scoring against the New York Islanders during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
NEW YORK (AP) — Phillip Danault, Arthur Kaliyev and Gabriel Vilardi scored in the second period and the Los Angeles Kings ended a two-game skid by defeating the New York Islanders 3-2 on Friday night.
Jonathan Quick made 16 saves for his 370th career victory, moving into 19th place on the NHL’s all-time list. Quick also surpassed Tom Barrasso for the third-most wins by a U.S.-born goaltender, trailing only John Vanbiesbrouck (374) and Ryan Miller (391).
“I immediately think of all the great teams I’ve been a part of,” Quick said. “Teammates, coaches — everyone had some influence on those wins. … The guys that are at the top of the list were unbelievable goaltenders for a long time, just to kind of be in a category with them is an honor and humbling.”
Noah Dobson and Adam Pelech scored, and Ilya Sorokin finished with 25 saves but the Islanders’ two-game winning streak ended as they fight for a playoff spot in a tightly contested Eastern Conference wild-card race.
The Kings scored their three goals in a span of 5:34 to take a 3-0 lead.
“We started to shoot the puck,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said, citing that as a key reason the game tilted in Los Angeles’ direction.
“The shot pulls people out of position,” he added. “I didn’t think we did enough of that in the third period. We held onto pucks, killed time, played on the outside, but there’s still opportunities to go to the goaltenders’ pads and we didn’t do it. But that was the momentum swing early in the game.”
Danault opened the scoring when he put home a rebound at 6:40 of the second frame after Viktor Arvidsson hammered a slap shot that Sorokin failed to swallow up. Mikey Anderson also assisted on the play.
Los Angeles took advantage of Sebastian Aho’s neutral zone miscue to double its lead 1:25 after Danault’s goal. Rasmus Kupari gained control of the puck misplayed by Aho and beautifully fed Kaliyev for the easy one-time finish.
“There are games when if you make a mistake, it ends up in the back of your net,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said. “It’s that simple, and that’s what happened tonight on a couple of occasions.”
Vilardi notched his 18th of the season at 12:14 to cap the Kings’ assertive stretch. The 23-year-old forward launched a one-timer that sailed past the blocker of Sorokin.
Dobson helped the Islanders trim their deficit to two when he tallied a power-play goal at 16:34 of the second. On the previous shift, Kyle Palmieri’s individual effort allowed the Islanders to maintain possession in the offensive zone and eventually led to Sean Walker’s penalty.
The Kings outshot the Islanders 24-13 through the first 40 minutes.
Pelech pulled the Islanders to within one goal when he tossed a backhand shot to the top of the crease that deflected off Kings defenseman Matt Roy and past Quick at 15:23 of the third period. Matt Martin extended his point streak to four games with an assist on the play.
“I thought we played better tonight with a lead,” Danault said. “We were playing on our toes more than our heels.”
The teams will meet again in Southern California on March 14 to close out their season series.
IRON MAN
Zach Parise extended his consecutive games played streak to 145 games, making it the 19th-longest active streak in the NHL. Since joining the Islanders in October 2021, he has played in all 144 games with them.
UP NEXT
Islanders: Visit the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
Kings: Visit the New York Rangers on Sunday.
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