The LA Kings improved their current road trip to a 1-1-1 with a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders on Friday night at the UBS Arena.
Forwards Phillip Danault, Arthur Kaliyev and Gabe Vilardi scored for the Kings in the second period, while goaltender Jonathan Quick made 16 saves from the whistle for his third win in as many games.
After a first half that saw neither team get on the board, the Kings scored three times in the second half to open a 3-0 lead.
First, Danault stepped onto the board from tight position to open the scorer. After a one-timer by Viktor Arvidsson off the left boards, Danault deflected the puck into the air, with an Islanders defenseman slapping the puck out of the air for his 15th goal of the season. Less than two minutes later, Kaliyev extended the lead as he finished a 2-on-1 onslaught, with Rasmus Kupari the facilitator and scoring in his home state of New York.
The Kings later made it 3-0 in the middle stanza as Vilardi scored his first goal since returning from injury. After a lengthy switch from his line in the offensive zone, Vilardi found a gap in high position, where he ended up landing and running a one-timer past Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin to score his 18th goal of the season.
New York came on the board late in the half with a power play goal through defender Noah Dobson only to pull back within two. On her second man lead of the night, Dobson fired a one-timer from center point, through traffic in front of and past Quick to score his 12th goal of the season.
The Islanders scored another goal within five minutes to play in the third half when an unlucky rebound brought the puck in for the hosts. Defender Adam Pelech ran into the zone on the right wing and threw a backhand pass into the low slot, where he was deflected by a Kings skate and cut the LA lead to 3-2.
Hear from Quick, Danault, Kupari and head coach Todd McLellan after today’s game.
Jonathan Schnell
A historic night for Quick @LAKings | #LAKingsLive | @CarrlynBathe pic.twitter.com/CmlFlRodgQ
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) February 25, 2023
Phil Danault
About what he liked most about the way the team played tonight
We’ve always played third, that’s a big part of it, and we weren’t scared. Certain little details can certainly be better but I felt better, we learned a little bit from the last game and we need to keep building on those types of leads that we’re getting by being first and second and we’re going to win more games.
What the team focused on to do better with a lead on track
Yes, enough is enough, it is at this point. We’re all good players here, we can all defend and we have to learn to play with the lead and we played a little bit better tonight. We were more on the go, didn’t sit back too much and did the job, plus Quickie was great.
When he added Kevin Fiala to his line in the last two games
Yes, I think it’s great. Of course Kevin brings a lot of offense and a lot of space, he’s a really good player. So other teams respect him and that opens up for us. Definitely a really good player.
Rasmus Kupari
About what he liked best about his line tonight
I think we had a lot of pace in our game today, we checked hard and got pucks back. A couple of chances and of course we scored a goal, it was huge.
Whether there was a message from the coaching staff between yesterday and today
Not really, but we all knew we conceded two goals, that can’t happen and we have to improve. I think it was a really good game from us, a huge step up from the last game.
On his extended penalty role lately
It’s huge for me, of course I get a little more ice time and it tells me that the coaches trust me in situations like this. I just tried to do my best. We want to win this game and PK is a big part of that.
Todd McLellan
When he felt the team took over the game tonight
We started shooting the puck. We got into the zone in the first 10 minutes and played on the outside, trying to move pucks on the border. They checked very well, they are very well trained, well formed and excellent goalkeepers. You can see why they win games. We didn’t shoot the puck until the 10 minute mark, then we started it and the shot throws people out of position. I felt we didn’t do that enough in the third period, we were holding the pucks and killing time, playing on the outside but there are still opportunities for us to go to the keeper’s pads and we have it not done, but that was the momentum swinger early in the game.
About how the team ended the game tonight with the right play
Well as you know it’s been a bit of a problem for us lately and it was still getting tense but sometimes there’s not much you can do about bad luck. They scored their second goal with a foot, there’s nothing we can do in that situation, but what happened next impressed me the most. We stayed calm, we checked very well, we blocked shots, won faceoffs, cleared when needed, left the ice when needed and brought in fresh players. We played like a team that can win in situations like this.
As for the improvements the fourth line shows tonight
I was hard on the fourth row after the game yesterday, today they get credit for that. They made a really strong play, both sides of the puck. I thought they were fast, they won faceoffs. Kup penalty killed, Arthur and Kup on target, JAD involved, they were a big, big part of the win tonight. The only way we survive is by playing four lines, so I give them a lot of credit
About Jonathan Quick’s play tonight and lately
Well he did it and he has three wins in a row now so that’s a big boost for his confidence. Our faith in him, we never believed in him, it’s just that Copper won a lot of games, but Quickie worked hard, he worked on his game and he scored really well in the last meters and in difficult situations . Tonight was one of them, so we’re happy for him.
To Gabe Vilardi, who comes back into action tonight and scores
Of the injured strikers there are four, I think he was the quickest to come back but he was the shortest on the shelf if you will. With his injury he could stay in the game for a little longer if you will but he’s done a really good job of getting back into the swing of things. I think he’s comfortable with his linemates at the moment. He’s about to shoot the puck again, he later rang one off the pole. If he does these things, it’s a good night for him and a good sign for us.
Remarks –
– Jonathan Quick stopped 16 of 18 shots for his 11th win of the season. The win marked the 370th of his career, surpassing Tom Barrasso (369) as the sole holder of the third-most wins among US-born goaltenders in NHL history. John Vanbiesbrouck is second with 374 wins.
– Quick also overtook Pekka Rinne and Tom Barrasso to finish alone in 19th place on the NHL’s all-time winning list.
– Phillip Danault scored his 15th goal of the season in the win. In doing so, he became the second Kings skater this season to score on his birthday (Carl Grundstrom, Dec. 1, 2021 vs. ARI) and fifth in the past 10 years. Overall, he is the 24th different Kings skater to score a birthday goal.
– Arthur Kaliyev scored his 11th goal of the season while Gabriel Vilardi scored his 18th goal of the season.
– Jaret Anderson-Dolan recorded an assist for his 12th point of the season (7-5-12), setting a new career high in a season.
The Kings have a scheduled day off in New York tomorrow and return to the ice Sunday night at 2 p.m. Pacific Time against the New York Rangers.