FINAL – Kings 4, Canadiens 2 – Danault, Edler, McLellan

The LA Kings skated to a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens to improve to 2-1-0 on their current roadtrip.

The Kings got goals from Viktor Arvidsson, Alex Edler, Adrian Kempe and Anze Kopitar, in addition to 20 saves from goaltender Pheonix Copley, in the victory.

The Kings put on a dominant display in the opening 20 minutes and took a 2-0 lead, courtesy of two goals from a span of just 19 seconds midway through the period.

First, forward Kevin Fiala made a nifty pass from behind the net into a dangerous area, where forward Anze Kopitar found the puck and slotted it home for his eighth goal of the season. Just 19 seconds later, the Kings struck again, as forward Viktor Arvidsson buried off the rush, for his eighth of the year. The two goals in 19 seconds are the fastest goals the Kings have scored in succession so far this season.

After neither team scored in the second period, the Kings picked up an important insurance marker midway through the third period, through defenseman Alex Edler. Off a Blake Lizotte faceoff win in the offensive zone, Edler collected the puck at the left point and fired a shot that deflected off of a Montreal player and in for his first goal of the season.

Montreal pulled a goal back with just over eight minutes remaining in the third period, through forward Mike Hoffman. With space, Hoffman walked into the right-hand circle and snapped his shot off the post and in, ending Copley’s shutout bid on the play. The goal was Hoffman’s sixth of the season, in his return to action from injured reserve.

With the goaltender pulled, the Canadiens got to back within a goal through forward Cole Caufield, his team-leading 16th goal of the season. From a sharp angle, Caufield fired towards the net, sneaking a shot around Copley’s mask and in to make the score 3-2.

Forward Adrian Kempe iced the game inside a minute to play with the empty-net goal, his seventh goal from eight games against Montreal.

Hear from Danault, Edler and Head Coach Todd McLellan following tonight’s win.

Philip Danault

Alex Edler
On the response tonight after the Toronto game
We weren’t happy with that game, I think that’s very obvious. Talked about it, that we need to play the right way, play and be able to trust each other out there that everyone’s doing their job. I think we did a better job of that tonight.

On the team’s performance in the first period tonight
Yeah, I mean, I knew we were going to come back with an effort and we did. I think we had our forecheck going, we were on them, not giving them a lot of time and the forwards did a great job back checking, back pressure, it makes it easier for the defenseman. I think we were better all over the ice and we played as five.

On defending late, with the goaltender pulled
They pulled [their goaltender] pretty early and when the other team pulls their goalie, it’s just a battle. We tried to be in position and whenever you have a chance to get into a battle, you try o win it, win the puck battle and get the puck out.

On Pheonix Copley’s play over the last two wins
Yeah, he’s been really solid, he’s really compact back there. He makes big saves at key times, so I think his calmness strengthened and it rubs off on everyone. I think he’s been great.

Todd McLellan
On the response tonight after the Toronto game
I liked everything about it, compared to the Torontp effort, but a good response by the group as a whole. Whether you were an eight, nine minute man tonight or a 20 minute man, you were responsible for your game. I think we came to the rink and we trusted each other tonight, we didn’t do that in Toronto and it showed up on the ice. Put it behind us and move on, we’ll see what we have tomorrow.

On the importance of Alex Edler’s goal
It ended up being the winner and anytime that happens, one, we get a little bit of a lift and it sets them back for a couple of minutes at least and buys you time. Obviously really important. I thought they had their fourth line out and that gave us a chance to play our fourth line and Lizzo did a really good job of winning the draw. That’s the value of a shot, you never know where it’s going to end up. Eddy gets a goal so good for him.

On a renewed effort in the neutral zone tonight and being hard to play against
That’s getting back to our identity. I think anybody that has spent time around us when we’re playing well, that’s what we do. We a horrendous job in Toronto, and I keep going back to that game, but that’s where the reference point is right now. We did a much better job of it tonight.

On Pheonix Copley’s play tonight and since he was recalled from Ontario
Well, he’s got us two wins, the team has played really well in front of him and that’s a good sign. It seems to me like we’re willing to take care of him, sometimes we don’t do that with the other goaltenders. I think he’s very calm and steady. The one that Caufield snuck by him, that can be a tough save sometimes, but I’m sure he’d like to have it back. Other than that, he was real solid.

On tonight’s effort starting before the puck dropped in the game
This game started 24 hours ago, at our non-practice yesterday. Sometimes not going on the ice is a good thing for the team. We addressed some things, we pointed a couple of things out and we used that word trust a lot. As a result, we saw a lot of that tonight.

Notes –
– Anze Kopitar scored his eighth goal of the season, his sixth point (3-3-6) in his last five games. With his goal, Kopitar (175-321-496) tied Dave Taylor (198-298-496) for the second-most all-time road points in franchise history.
– Alex Edler scored his first goal of the season tonight, also marking his 11th career game-winning goal.
– Forward Viktor Arvidsson scored his eighth goal of the season, while forward Adrian Kempe picked up his ninth, the 99th of his professional career.
– Kevin Fiala (0-1=1) increased his team-leading point total to 31 (9-22-31) with his assist on Kopitar’s first period goal. Fiala now has five points in his last three consecutive outings against Montreal (2-3-5).
– Phillip Danault tallied an assist on Arvidsson’s first-period goal to become the fourth Kings skater to eclipse 20 points on the season.
– Pheonix Copley stopped 20 of 22 shots for his second win in his second start for the LA Kings. Per NHL PR, Copley is the first goaltender to earn wins in each of his first two appearances with the Kings since Jhonas Enroth from Oct. 22 to Nov. 12, 2015 (3-0-0).
– The LA Kings improve to 11-1 when leading after two periods of play and 7-1-1 against Atlantic Division opponents this season.

The Kings are not scheduled to hold a morning skate tomorrow in Columbus, considering the back-to-back. The Kings and Blue Jackets will square off tomorrow evening at 3 PM Pacific.