The LA Kings fell to 1-2-1 on their current road trip, as they dropped a 5-2 decision against the New York Rangers on Sunday evening at Madison Square Garden.
Forward Viktor Arvidsson and defenseman Matt Roy each scored for the Kings in the defeat, while forward Phillip Danault tallied an assist on both goals for a multi-point night (0-2-2).
The Rangers scored the lone goal from the first period, as they opened up a 1-0 lead. A turnover on a mistimed breakout gave the Rangers the puck deep in the offensive zone. Alexis Lafreniere collected the puck just above the goal line and floated a shot home off of a scramble in front, his 11th goal of the season.
Late in the opening period, New York defenseman K’Andre Miller was assessed a match penalty for spitting and was ejected from the game, which brought the Rangers down to four playing defensemen. After the major penalty expired, New York added two more goals in quick succession to open up a 3-0 lead.
First, forward Vincent Trocheck’s centering pass deflected off the stick of Kings defenseman Matt Roy and in on Quick, a tough-luck goal for the 2-0 lead. Trocheck scored his second of the game less than two minutes later as he shot blocker side off the rush to push the LA deficit to three. The Kings made a goaltending change after the third goal, with Pheonix Copley entering the game in relief of Jonathan Quick.
The Kings pulled one back late in the middle stanza, as Arvidsson buried a power-play goal to get the visitors on the board. Inside two minutes to play in the second, Arvidsson knocked a puck out of mid-air and past Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin for his 18th goal of the season. Forwards Arthur Kaliyev and Danault tallied the assists on the play.
Less than two minutes into the third period, the Kings pulled back to within a goal through Roy, cutting their deficit to 3-2. Arvidsson took a hit to spring a 2-on-1 rush, which led to Danault feeding Roy coming through the slot and the blueliner snapped a shot home on the blocker side for his ninth goal of the season, leading all Kings defensemen.
New York struck back with two in quick succession, however, to restore their three-goal advantage. First, forward Artemi Panarin capitalized off a rebound opportunity, finishing underneath the crossbar for the 4-2 advantage. Zibanejad made it 5-2 less than two minutes after Panarin’s goal, as he fired a one-timer past Copley for a power-play goal, his 31st marker of the season.
Hear from forward Anze Kopitar, defenseman Drew Doughty and Head Coach Todd McLellan following tonight’s game.
Drew Doughty
Postgame thoughts from Doughty 🔊#GoKingsGo | @LAKings pic.twitter.com/o3GI9IA40U
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) February 27, 2023
Anze Koptiar
On the team’s play early and the goals against that followed
It was just a couple tough bounces really. There wasn’t a whole lot of stuff that we didn’t like in the first period and then in the second period, just sometimes bounces don’t go your way. We realize that you’ve got to play for your bounces too and tonight it just didn’t go for us.
On the five-minute power play and his takeaways from that sequence
We had chances. Yeah, you can always pick out some stuff when you need score, when you’re not getting on the board, especially early in the game like that. We had some chances, we had some looks, we didn’t score.
On if a rarely-seen penalty can rattle a team at all
I don’t think so. I mean, we were getting on a five-minute power play, so there’s not a whole lot of time to be rattled, if there is at all.
Todd McLellan
On his overall takeaways from tonight’s game
Obviously disliked the result, I thought we were five or six players shy of having an opportunity to win. I’m not talking about the goaltender, I’m talking about positional players that just weren’t sharp enough, they didn’t make the plays they needed to make. They had opportunities to make them, it wasn’t like they were under siege. Then, on the other side, what I liked, I thought we had some players that were ready to play, but it just goes to show when you’re playing the cream of the crop in the league, you can’t have anywhere from six to seven guys have really off nights and we had them.
On the start tonight and where he felt things changed from there
When we got off the ice after the first period, we were in our end really three times. We turned the puck over once at the blue line, took a penalty off of it and now they’re coming after us. We turned the puck over on a clean breakout, an opportunity to get going the other way and maybe have an out-numbered rush, then it’s in our net. We had one other turnover where we survived and killed it, that was it. That’s not a bad start against the New York Rangers in this building. Then, after that, it was more of the turnovers and sloppy play that led to the goals.
On facing a team that is skating 3-4 players shorter than usual
It actually makes it harder for us. They had to piecemeal lines together, so it was hard for us to figure out who was coming and going and when we want to play four, they were playing three. You can see our fourth line again took it on the chin tonight, unfortunately. I think some nights, you can’t go 82 games like that, but some nights a three-line team can benefit you. The players on their three lines are pretty damn good players, so they were on the ice a lot.
On if he felt the five-minute power play was a turning point in the game
I think it was a turning point. The five-minute power play, even with clean ice coming out in the second half of it, you don’t get much off of it. Then, the building gets energized and they get hungry and scored right after it. It was certainly a turning point.
Notes
– Phillip Danault (0-2-2) registered his eighth multi-point game of the season as he assisted on both Kings goals.
– Viktor Arvidsson scored his 18th goal of the season with a power-play goal late in the second period.
– Matt Roy extended his lead in goals amongst Kings defensemen with his ninth of the year, a career-high.
– Arthur Kaliyev collected his second point in as many games, marking the 50th of his career (26-24-50).
The Kings are scheduled to practice tomorrow afternoon in Winnipeg at 11 AM Pacific time, 1 PM local time in Manitoba.
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