Game Thread – Kings vs. Sabres, 10/10

Los Angeles Kings 3, Buffalo Sabres 1
Final Score
Game Preview
WATCH: Bally Sports West
LISTEN: ESPN LA App
SOG: LAK – 22 BUF – 34
PP: LAK – 1/5 BUF – 0/5

First Period
(no scoring)

Second Period
1. BUF – Alex Tuch (1) – (unassisted) – 16:55 (SHG)

Third Period
2. LAK – Anze Kopitar (1) – (Alex Laferriere, Joel Edmundson) – 0:13
3. LAK – Anze Kopitar (2) – (Jordan Spence, Kevin Fiala) – 18:22
4. LAK – Anze Kopitar (3) – (Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe) – 19:18 (ENG)

 

Third Period
19:47 – Kings Goal – The captain has this game tied at 1-1! A pass from Laferriere made it to the stick of Kopitar who elevated it for his and the team’s first goal of the year.
17:38 – Kyle Burroughs and Peyton Krebs drop the gloves for the first fight of the Kings season.
15:58 – Another top-notch save from Kuemper keeps the game tied. Darcy came across and stayed with the play on a 2-on-1 for Buffalo, making his 27th save of the night.
15:38 – Brandt Clarke was assessed a penalty for closing his hand on the puck, giving Buffalo its fifth power play of the game.
13:40 – Can’t argue with success! LA is now 5/5 on the PK in this game, finding execution while down a man.
6:36 – The teams are still even at 1-1 and things have tightened up defensively here in the third. Buffalo had a lengthy shift in LA’s end that spanned over a minute, but the Kings didn’t allow any quality chances despite being backed up.
5:55 – A shot from Buffalo defender Bowen Byram beat Kuemper clean, but rang off the crossbar and stayed out of the net. Kings catch a break late and remain even in the contest.
3:40 – Jason Zucker hit Brandt Clarke in the face deep in the Kings end, leading to an LA power play late in the third period. Huge opportunity for the Kings, who have been out-shot and out-chanced in the game, to attempt to take the lead with under four minutes remaining. Zucker threw a temper tantrum in the box, eventually breaking his stick and adding on a misconduct penalty. He was escorted back to Buffalo’s locker room and Peyton Krebs was brought over to serve the penalty.
2:07 – Mattias Samuelsson is hit with a slashing penalty, giving the Kings a 2-man advantage.
1:38 – Kings Goal – Kopitar gets his second of the period through a screen in front by Byfield to put LA on top, 2-1! The Kings strike on the late power play and go in front for the first time with just 1:38 remaining.
1:10 – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is at the bench after a timeout by Buffalo and 70 seconds to play.
0:41 – Kings Goal – It’s a hat trick for Anze! Kopitar strikes for an empty-net goal to give the Kings a 3-1 lead in the final minute.
0:00 – Kings Win! What a performance by Kopitar and Kuemper to get the Kings two points in the season opener and steal a win from Buffalo.

Second Period
20:00 – Back to the action in Buffalo, with the Kings looking to generate some more offense in period 2!
16:09 – After a sequence with the Kings stuck in their own zone, Jordan Spence was whistled for interference.
11:54 – Darcy Kuemper continues to reign supreme for LA in the first half of this game. He is up to 21 saves and is making dangerous plays look routine in the Kings end. Kuemper’s excellent goaltending has his team even as we approach the halfway point of the game.
7:05 – A more open, free-flowing segment of the second period has produced more chances at both sides of the ice. After Tage Thompson missed the net on a partial breakaway, Quinton Byfield had a 2-on-1 look and used a wrist shot from the right circle in an attempt on goal at Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen that was stopped with the catching glove.
3:51 – LA is headed back to the power play as the teams remain in pursuit of tonight’s first goal. The Sabres have out-shot and out-hit the Kings today, but Kuemper has been the great equalizer, giving his team a chance.
3:05 – BUF Goal – While shorthanded, Alex Tuch created a turnover in the neutral zone and skated in alone at the Kings net. His first attempt on goal was stopped by Kuemper, but he knocked the rebound up high into the top shelf of the net to give the home team a 1-0 lead.
0:00 – Tuch’s late goal has Buffalo headed into the locker room with a 1-0 lead after 40.

First Period
20:00 – Kings and Sabres are underway!
16:22 – Early penalty to Mikey Anderson, who goes off for interference. Buffalo earns the first man-advantage of the game.
15:31 – A second penalty has been assessed to Joel Edmundson during the power play for slashing. Sabres to the 5-on-3 for 1:09.
14:29 – Darcy Kuemper is being tested early but has come up with a few big saves. Always need your goaltender to carry the PK and Kuemper has been up to the task early.
10:41 – Chances have been few for the Kings through the first half of the opening period, but Andre Lee, who is making his NHL debut tonight, has one of them on a rush into the offensive zone.
7:36 – Mikey Anderson took a stick to his face from Sam Lafferty and LA has its first power play of the season!
7:07 – A helter-skelter start to the power play with multiple turnovers from the Kings gave Ryan McLeod an opportunity going the other way. He was hooked by Quinton Byfield, and awarded a penalty shot. Kuemper stood tall and made the save to keep the game scoreless. Kings back to the power play.
4:07 – After coming up short on their first man-advantage, the Kings are going back to the power play for a second time late in the first. An interference call to Beck Malenstyn and we’ll see if LA can jump in front first.
1:34 – Although LA came up empty on their second chance, Danault came inches away from converting on a backhand shot from the mid-slot that rang off the left post.
0:00 – The Sabres kept coming late in the period and had multiple high-end looks in the final minute. After winning a faceoff with 1.8 seconds left, a shot stopped by Kuemper generated a rebound in front that was knocked in less than a second after the buzzer sounded to end the frame. We’re scoreless after 20 minutes… barely.

Tonight’s LA Kings Line Rushes –

Laferriere – Kopitar – Kempe
Jeannot – Danault – Moore
Fiala – Byfield – Foegele
Lee – Turcotte – Lewis

Anderson – Spence
Gavrikov – Burroughs
Edmundson – Clarke

Kuemper
Rittich

Thursday, October 10, 2024 – 4:00 p.m. PT
KeyBank Arena – Buffalo, NY
Referees: Garrett Rank (7), Jake Brenk (26)
Linespeople: Matt MacPherson (83), David Brisebois (96)
Bally Sports West, ESPN LA, LA Kings Audio Network

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