FINAL – Kings 2, Flames 3 (SO) – Laferriere, Edmundson, Smith

The LA Kings found themselves in a familiar position on Tuesday evening in Calgary, on the wrong side of a one-goal defeat, this a 3-2 shootout loss against the Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Forward Quinton Byfield picked up where he left off in Utah, as he opened the scoring just 2:35 into the game. Forward Joel Armia made a nice pass to Byfield in transition, with Byfield using his speed to gain a step behind the defense. He then made a nice move to the backhand, slotting home the game-opening goal along the ice, his second in as many games, to give the Kings an early 1-0 lead.

Calgary tied the game inside five minutes remaining in the second period, as former Kings defenseman Olli Maatta scored his first goal of the season. The goal came on a broken play, as forward Victor Olofsson’s shot was blocked, but deflected right to Maatta at the back post, where he found the back of the net to equalize the game at a goal apiece heading into the second intermission.

The Kings pulled back ahead just 17 seconds into the third period, as Byfield buried his second goal of the game to put his team back in front. Forward Trevor Moore chipped the puck to Byfield in transition, using his speed to create another breakaway. This time, Byfield opted to shoot and snapped his shot inside the fast post, past Calgary goaltender Dustin Wolf and in for the 2-1 lead.

Skating on a 5-on-3 power play, the Flames tied the game at two with just inside seven minutes to play in the third period. After the Kings were unable to get a clear, Calgary kept the puck alive in the offensive zone, with defenseman Zayne Parekh finding himself with space in the slot. He fired through traffic and in, past Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper, for the game-tying goal at 2-2.

After overtime came and went without a goal, Calgary was victorious in the shootout. Kings forward Artemi Panarin traded goals with Flames forward Morgan Frost, setting the stage for Round 4. Kings blueliner Brandt Clarke missed the net, before Calgary got the game-winning goal from forward Yegor Sherangovich, securing the second point for the Flames.

Hear from forward Alex Laferriere, defenseman Joel Edmundson and Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith after tonight’s shootout defeat.

Alex Laferriere

Joel Edmundson
On why the Kings can’t find a way to win these tight games in the third period
I think sometimes we sit back and we kind of get away from what gets us successful, like getting pucks deep, taking the goalie’s eyes away, little things like that. We kind of let them just walk into the zone a little bit too much. We didn’t play a bad game, it’s just we’ve got to find a way to close it out. We can’t give them a 5-on-3.

On pushing harder for an insurance goal at 1-0 and 2-1 up
Even in Utah, they score, we answered right away, so we have the team to bounce back. We have very mature group in here, good leaders, so it’s just next man up mentality, next shift and obviously just trying to get the momentum back. Coaches send the right guys out there, just trying to work them down low, try to get create, create some chances.

On the 5-on-3 goal against that tied the game and forced overtime
Yeah, I think we let them kind of seam it a little too much. I think we’ve got to stick a little closer and once they seem it once that’s what kind of gets us running around and they’re able to find a guy in the slot and he got a good shot off. Puck was bouncing on that faceoff, it would have been good to get a clear, but we’ve just got to bear down. 5-on-3, it’s tough, they’re going to get chances, but we’ve got to find a way.

On other results around the league and a must-win mentality in Vancouver on Thursday
This was a must win, next game’s a must win, the next 10 games ar. That’s the way we look at it. This is our playoffs. Huge game for us [in Vancouver] and expect us to show up there.

D.J. Smith
On his takeaways from tonight’s defeat
I thought some guys really played well, I thought some other guys weren’t good enough for the magnitude of that game. Then, you can’t take two penalties with the lead late in the game, they capitalize and then we lose in the shootout. That’s a point that we had to have. At that point in the game, you have to be a lot more disciplined.

On if he felt the team needed to push harder for an insurance goal at 1-0 or 2-1
You know, when it was 2-1, I thought we were carrying the play, until we took the penalties. I thought we had the game under control and when you get down to crunch time, it’s time. Guys got to make plays and we didn’t make enough of them.

On poor game management leading to the 5-on-3 goal
100 percent. We threw one away, in my opinion. We’ve got one more game on this trip, we need two points. The morality victories doesn’t help tonight. We wanted two points.

On how he selects players for overtime and the shootout
In overtime, I was for sure going to start Q and he would have been the next shooter. The guys that shoot, percentage wise, those are the guys.

On the game in overtime and Darcy Kuemper’s performance tonight
We got a breakaway, Kuemps makes a couple unreal saves and then we get a breakaway with 15 seconds left, the breadman, and their goalie made the save too. I mean, Kuemps was real good, he gave us every chance to win. In my opinion, just the discipline cost us tonight.

Notes –
– Forward Quinton Byfield (2-0=2) opened the scoring tonight with his 16th goal of the season before firing home his 17th goal of the year 17 seconds into the third period. The latter of the pair marked the quickest goal from the start of a period in Byfield’s career.
– Tonight’s effort marked Byfield’s ninth career two-goal game and second consecutive multi-point effort, joining his two- point night (1-1=2) on Sunday in Utah. This also marks his 12th multi-point effort of the season, tying Adrian Kempe (12 GP) for the most among Kings skaters on the campaign.
– Forward Joel Armia (0-1=1) recorded his 11th assist of the season with a primary set-up on Byfield’s first goal of the evening.
– Forward Trevor Moore (0-1=1) notched his 13th assist of the season on Byfield’s second goal tonight. Tonight’s assist marked Moore’s second consecutive game finding the scoresheet against the Flames, following his helper on Feb. 28 at Crypto.com Arena.
– Forward Alex Laferriere (0-1=1) collected his 17th assist of the campaign with a secondary helper on Byfield’s second tally, marking his 100th career NHL point (49-51=100). The native of Chatham, N.J., is the 19th American skater to record 100 points for the Kings in franchise history.
– Laferriere reached the century mark with his sixth point (2-4=6) in his last five games played, dating back to his three- point (1-2=3) outing on March 16 at Madison Square Garden.
– Defenseman Drew Doughty (0-1=1) notched his 15th helper of the season on tonight’s game-opener. The native of London, Ontario, has now recorded an assist in each of his last three visits to Calgary (0-3=3), dating back to Feb. 27, 2024. Doughty’s 28th career assist against the Flames ties Dave Ellett (28 A) for the 19th most assists against the Flames by a defenseman in NHL history.
– Forward Adrian Kempe skated in his 700th career regular season NHL contest this evening at the Scotiabank Saddledome, becoming the 11th skater in Kings history to appear in as many games for the franchise.

The Kings are scheduled to practice tomorrow in Vancouver, in advance of Thursday’s trip finale against the Canucks.