FINAL – Kings 4, Ducks 1 – Copley, Fiala, Iafallo, McLellan

The LA Kings made it three straight victories with a 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday evening at Crypto.com Arena.

The Kings got goals from four different players – Drew Doughty, Alex Iafallo, Viktor Arvidsson and Kevin Fiala – while forward Adrian Kempe had a multi-point night. Goaltender Pheonix Copley impvoved to 5-1-0 on the season with 24 saves on 25 shots.

After neither team was able to score in the first period, the Kings got on the board midway through the second with a power-play goal. On a man advantage that took nearly the full two minutes, Doughty wired home a one-timer from the point, through a Gabe Vilardi screen, that put the hosts on the board. Doughty’s goal was his second of the season, with Kempe and forward Anze Kopitar tallying the assists.

Anaheim surged back, however, to tie the score at one with a power-play goal of its own. With just over five and a half minutes to play in the middle stanza, forward Frank Vatrano got on the end of a Kevin Shattenkirk rebound and slotted home from just outside the crease for his sixth goal of the season.

With less than a minute to play in the second, the Kings re-took the lead through Iafallo. Off a cycle down low, forward Phillip Danault rounded the net and sent a pass through the crease to Iafallo, who tapped in at the back post for his first goal since returning from injury and third overall this season, giving the hosts a 2-1 advantage.

The Kings doubled their advantage 3:25 into the third period as the new-look third line capitalized off a nice passing play in transition. Forward Blake Lizotte made a good play along the wall to spring his linemates on a 2-on-1 rush, which Arvidsson finished off a pass through the slot from forward Arthur Kaliyev for his ninth goal of the season.

Midway through the third period, the Kings extended their lead to three with a highlight-reel goal from Fiala. The Swiss winger split the Anaheim defensemen, retained his balance through the checks and made a quick move to the backhand for the goal, his tenth of the season. Kempe picked up the lone assist on the play, his second point of the night.

Hear from Copley, Fiala, Iafallo and Head Coach Todd McLellan following tonight’s win.

Pheonix Copley

"Gotta give a lot of credit to the guys in front of me, they're blocking shots like crazy"

Pheonix Copley credits his defense for his success in his 5 wins and talks the #FreewayFaceoff rivalry!@LAKings | #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/n7ApXhXk5f

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) December 21, 2022

Kevin Fiala
On his goal in the third period
It was a great play by Adrian, first of all, and then I went basically on a breakaway but two guys came onto me. I just tried to make a play and thankfully it worked out.

On getting the win tonight and executing
I think it was just about sticking together. It was a little bit of a slow start tonight and we just kept going and going. Then, we found the back of the net and we never stopped, it was a good win.

On Pheonix Copley’s performance tonight and as of late.
I think he’s huge, I don’t even have to explain it, he just saves it and he’s bringing it all. He makes big saves, he keeps us in the game and he’s done a great job. Just positive things to say.

Alex Iafallo
On the team’s overall performance tonight
Yeah, that’s a big step forward, I feel like in every zone. We’re just trying to communicate and do our job and I feel like everybody did a great job tonight, up and down the whole lineup. Copper made some huge saves and just finding the system is good.

On getting a goal in the final minute of the second and its impact on momentum
Oh it definitely helps to get momentum and talking in the room, getting in good spirits and stuff like that, staying positive. It’d be nice to score at the end of the period all the time.

On reuniting with Danault and Moore and the play of their line
Yeah, it’s a lot of fun. We recover a lot of pucks by forechecking, all that stuff it helps push each shift forward. When you get a lot of chances like that and have control the puck, it’s good and it’s fun to play. It’s been good playing with them.

Todd McLellan
On the team’s commitment to playing a certain style of hockey again tonight
We’re seeing more of it, we’re seeing more consistency, w’ve talked about that word. More commitment to checking and to preventing and it’s funny how it works sometimes. You get maybe more opportunities at the other end by doing that.

On the importance of the team’s prowess in the faceoff circle tonight
Really important. We looked at the numbers between periods and we liked what we saw. They obviously have those two lines that are pretty talented and if we can have the puck, they have to do a lot of work to get it back. I’m a big believer that if you don’t have possession in the first 10 or 15 seconds of your shift, you’re almost done. By the time you get it back, your energy level is low and it’s time to change, so that’s how important faceoffs are.

On Kevin Fiala’s highlight-reel goal
Strong. Vatrano had lost a stick and we were actually just talking about it, I wonder if the fact that he was sandwiched between a couple players allowed him to stay on his feet, but he is very strong and determined. It’s a skill that if you want to be a top scorer, you’ve got to have that and he’s got it right now, so good for him.

On the performance of the third line tonight
I thought they had a really good night tonight. Arthur probably could have had three goals himself if he beared down, but they checked well, they played with some pace. I thought that Viktor and Lizzo were on pucks a lot and that opened up ice for Arvy. Some good defensive plays, faceoff circle was good, they all play certain spots on special teams and they contributed there. I thought it was good, a better night tonight with them than it was on night one.

On where he feels the team is in the overall process
We want to get better every year. The team, the organization was at a different stage really year after year, significantly different over the past four or five seasons and this year is about taking a step forward and advancing. Are we there? We show some nights we certainly are, then we give it back a little bit. I think there are five or six teams that are consistently winning games right now and then there are some others that aren’t winning as many and then there’s a whole group of teams in the middle of the pack that are all trying to figure it out. We’d probably be in the middle, if you compare us to the rest of the league. We’re hoping for growth and getting better.

Notes –
– Drew Doughty scored his second goal of the season, his 20th point on the year, with the game-opening tally. Per NHL PR, Doughty is the fourth player and first defenseman in Kings history to record 15 consecutive campaigns of at least 20 points (Anze Kopitar – 17, Dustin Brown – 17, Dave Taylor – 15).
– Doughty has now recorded 39 points (8-31-39) in 68 career games against Anaheim. The only team he has more points against is the Arizona Coyotes (67 GP, 14-32-46)
– Alex Iafallo registered his third goal of the season. Iafallo’s second period goal stood as the game-winning goal, the 11th of his career, and his first goal since returning from injury earlier this month.
– Kevin Fiala scored his 10th goal of the season to eclipse the 10-goal plateau for the seventh consecutive season. Fiala extended his team leading point total to 35 (10-25-35).
– Viktor Arvidsson netted his ninth goal of the season, coming in his second game since he returned to the lineup on Saturday against San Jose.
– Adrian Kempe (0-2-2) earned his fifth multi-point game of the campaign. Kempe has a six-game point streak versus Anaheim (4-5-9), and has collected 17 points (10-7-17) over his last 12 games against Anaheim.
– Pheonix Copley stopped 24-of-25 shots against, as he improved to 5-1-0 on the season.
– The Kings extended their home power-play goal streak to eight games (12 PPGs), a feat last accomplished by the club from Feb. 17, 2007 to March 17, 2007 (11 PPGs).

The Kings are scheduled to skate again tomorrow at 11 AM at Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo.