FINAL – Kings 3, Islanders 2 – Quick, Danault, Kupari, McLellan

The LA Kings improved to 1-1-1 on their current road trip with a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Friday evening at UBS Arena.

Forwards Phillip Danault, Arthur Kaliyev and Gabe Vilardi scored second-period for the Kings, while goaltender Jonathan Quick made 16 saves between the pipes to earn his third win in as many appearances.

After a first period that saw neither team get on the board, the Kings struck three times in the second period to open up a 3-0 advantage.

First, Danault got on the board from in tight to open the scoring. After a Viktor Arvidsson one-timer from the left-hand boards, the puck was deflected into the air by Danault, with an Islanders defenseman whacking the puck out of mid-air for his 15th goal of the season. Less than two minutes later, Kaliyev extended the lead as he finished off a 2-on-1 rush, with Rasmus Kupari the facilitator, scoring in his home state of New York.

The Kings made it 3-0 later in the middle stanza as Vilardi scored his first goal since returning from injury. After an extended shift from his line in the offensive zone, Vilardi found a pocket of space in the high slot, where he wound up and wired a one-timer past Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin for his 18th goal of the season.

New York got on the board late in the period with a power-play goal, through defenseman Noah Dobson, to pull back within two. On their second man advantage of the evening, Dobson fired a one-timer from the center point, through traffic in front and past Quick for his 12th goal of the season.

The Islanders pulled another goal back inside five minutes to play in the third period, as a tough-luck bounce sent the puck in for the hosts. Defenseman Adam Pelech skated into the zone down the right wing and threw a backhanded pass into the low slot, where it deflected off of a Kings skate and in to cut the LA lead to 3-2.

Hear from Quick, Danault, Kupari and Head Coach Todd McLellan following tonight’s game.

Jonathan Quick

A historic night for Quick @LAKings | #LAKingsLive | @CarrlynBathe pic.twitter.com/CmlFlRodgQ

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) February 25, 2023

Phil Danault
On what he liked most about the way the team played tonight
We kept playing in third, that’s a big part of it and we weren’t too afraid. Some little details can be better for sure but I thought it was better, we learned a little bit from last game and we’ve got to keep building on those types of leads we get in first and second and we’ll win more games.

On what the team focused on doing better with a lead down the stretch
Yeah, enough is enough, it’s at that point. We’re all good players here, we all can play defense and we’ve got to learn how to keep playing with the lead and we played a little better tonight. We were more on our toes, not sitting back too much and we did the job, plus Quickie was awesome.

On adding Kevin Fiala to his line over the last two games
Yeah, I think it’s great. Kevin brings a lot of offense, obviously, and a lot of space, he’s a real good player. So, other teams respect him and that opens up for us. Definitely a really good player.

Rasmus Kupari
On what he liked most from his line tonight
I think we had a lot of pace today in our game, we forechecked hard and got pucks back that way. A couple of chances and obviously we scored one goal which was huge.

On if there was any message from the coaching staff between yesterday and today
Not really, but we all knew that we gave up two goals, that can’t happen and we’ve got to be better. I think it was a really good game by us, a huge step up after last game.

On his expanded penalty-killing role as of late
That’s huge for me, obviously I get a little more ice time and it tells me that the coaches trust me in those kinds of situations. I’ve just tried to do my best out there. We want to win that game and the PK is a huge part of it.

Todd McLellan
On when he felt the team took over the game tonight
We started to shoot the puck. We entered into the zone in the first 10 minutes and played on the outside, trying to move pucks on the perimeter. They checked very well, they’re very well coached, well positioned and outstanding goaltenders. You can see why they’re winning games. We didn’t shoot the puck until about the 10-minute mark, then we started to do that and the shot pulls people out of position. I didn’t think we did enough of that in the third period, we held on the pucks and killed time, played on the outside, but there’s still opportunities for us to go the goaltender’s pads and we didn’t do it, but that was the momentum swinger early in the game.

On how the team closed out the game tonight by playing the right way
Well, as you know, it’s been a bit of an issue for us over the last little bit and it still got tense, but sometimes you can’t do much about a bad-luck play. They scored their second off the foot, nothing we can do in that situation, but I was most impressed with what happened after that. We stayed calm, we checked very well, we blocked shots, won faceoffs, got the clears when we needed to, got off the ice when we needed to and got fresh guys out. We played like a team that can win in those situations.

On the improvements shown by the fourth line tonight
I was hard on the fourth line after the game yesterday, today they get kudos to them. They played a really strong game, both sides of the puck. I thought they were fast, they won faceoffs. Kup penalty killed, Arthur and Kup connecting on the goal, JAD being involved, they were a big, big part of the win tonight. The only way we survive is playing four lines, so I give them a lot of credit

On Jonathan Quick’s play tonight and as of late
Well, he’s done it and he’s got three wins in a row now, so that’s a big boost for his confidence. Our confidence in him, we never disbelieved in him, it’s just that Copper was winning a lot of games, but Quickie worked hard, he worked on his game and he’s pinch hit really well over the last little bit and in tough situations. Tonight was one of them, so we’re happy for him.

On Gabe Vilardi returning to action and getting a goal tonight
Out of the forwards that were injured, there’s four of them, I think he’s been the quickest one to return, yet he was the shortest amount of time on the shelf, if you will. With his injury, he could still stay in the game a little bit, if you will, but he’s done a really good job of getting himself going again. I think he’s comfortable with his linemates right now. He’s back to shooting the puck, he rang one off the post later on. When he does those things, it’s a good night for him and a good sign for us.

Notes –
– Jonathan Quick stopped 16-of-18 shots for his 11th victory of the season. The win marked the 370th of his career, surpassing Tom Barrasso (369) for sole possession of the third-most wins among U.S.-born goaltenders in NHL history. John Vanbiesbrouck occupies second place with 374 wins.
– Quick also surpassed Pekka Rinne and Tom Barrasso for sole possession of 19th place on the NHL’s all-time wins list.
– Phillip Danault scored his 15th goal of the season in the win. In doing so, he became the second Kings skater this season to score on his birthday (Carl Grundstrom, Dec. 1, 2021 vs. ARI) and the fifth in the last 10 years. Overall, he is the 24th different Kings skater to tally a birthday goal.
– Arthur Kaliyev registered his 11th goal of the season, while Gabriel Vilardi notched his 18th tally of the campaign.
– Jaret Anderson-Dolan recorded an assist for his 12th point of the season (7-5-12), establishing a new single-season career-high.

The Kings have a scheduled team day off tomorrow in New York and will return to the ice on Sunday evening against the New York Rangers at 2 PM Pacific.