Phillip Danault scored 1:12 into overtime to give the LA Kings a 5-4 win in the Motor City on Monday night. More importantly, it erased a mental blunder from his linemate Viktor Arvidsson in the closing seconds of regulation.
Detroit emptied their net, with the Kings clinging to a 4-3 lead. Arvidsson corralled a loose puck at mid-ice and calmly skated toward the empty cage. He seemed a little too lackluster with it, as Dylan Larkin backchecked him just before Arvidsson could get a shot off, preventing the dagger from going in.
Instead, the Red Wings went the other way with it, tying the game off Oskar Sundqvist’s first goal of the year in the closing seconds.
Jonathan Quick made his third start of the year, allowing four goals on 33 shots, earning his first win.
“I thought we had a real good effort. We’re getting better, it’s starting to feel more like the way we should play. Still moments during the game, obviously the empty-netter, where we’re not quite there yet,” head coach Todd McLellan said after the game.
Gabe Vilardi stayed red hot, tallying his third goal of the season just 19 seconds after Detroit opened the scoring in the first period.
Vilardi received the puck in the Kings’ offensive zone in transition and lined up a shot just above the left circle. Red Wings’ netminder Ville Husso was screened by Moritz Seider and didn’t get the initial read on Vilardi’s shot.
Adrian Kempe would add his fourth goal of the season approximately ten minutes later, and the Kings took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
“It’s just part of the game, really,” Anze Kopitar said on his team’s ability to answer quickly. “Obviously, when they tie it up, you want to go out there and score again, so we were able to do that, which is a great thing to have.”
David Perron, who had 16 goals and 36 points in 48 career games against Los Angeles coming into Monday’s game, continued to haunt the Kings. The 34-year-old had two goals in the contest, evening the score at two goals apiece in the second period and at three in the third period.
Phillip Danault matched Perron’s effort, burying Trevor Moore‘s cross-ice pass just as the Kings’ powerplay had expired to give the visitors a 3-2 lead in the middle frame. He would add his second goal in the overtime period.
Anze Kopitar also tallied his first goal of the year, banging home a loose puck that Husso failed to cover with less than seven minutes to play in regulation.
POWERPLAY
The Kings went 0-for-4 on the man advantage on Monday night, which came on the heels of going 3-for-11 in their previous two games. Detroit went 1-for-4, marking their first powerplay goal of the season. The Red Wings penalty kill remains perfect, killing off all ten penalties through the first three games.
UP NEXT
Los Angeles (2-2-0) will turn around and travel to Nashville to face the Predators on Tuesday night. Cal Petersen is likely to start in net, given the back-to-back.
