The Los Angeles Kings closed a two-goal gap for the third time in eight games when they came from behind to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in the Finals in overtime on Friday night at the National Arena.
Forward Viktor Arvidsson led the Kings with his fourth career hat-trick, with forward Dustin Brown also taking the win. Goaltender Jonathan Quick made 26 saves to earn the win between pipes.
After controlling most of the first half of the game, the Kings finally got on the board at exactly 34 minutes thanks to Arvidsson. After winning a face-off in the offensive zone, Arvidsson took possession of the puck at the top of the circle and shot past Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikin in gloves to score his 16th goal of the season.
The Blue Jackets responded with three goals in 46 seconds in the second period as the Kings’ 1–0 lead turned into a 3–1 deficit before halftime.
First, forward Patrick Laine scored from the danger zone in the slot, and Columbus forced a pass to the net, batting the puck to Laine, who scored from the best glove, his 21st total of the season. Striker Oliver Bjorkstrand gave the hosts the lead after 25 seconds, making a pass into the slot to make the score 2-1. That short lead doubled just 21 seconds later when forward Justin Danforth jumped in with a goal from just outside the penalty area.
The Kings pulled back one goal early in the third period to close the gap to one goal. Brown picked up the puck along the left flank, cut through the top of the left circle and landed a shot that bounced off Merzlikin’s glove and went inside. Brown scored his seventh goal of the season, earning him consecutive points. games.
The visitors forced overtime, earning a guaranteed point at the end of the third period, when Arvidsson scored his second goal of the evening. After an in-slot trade with Kopitar, Arvidsson pulled the puck to his right hand in the slot and scored with a brush to score his second goal of the evening.
After an overtime roller coaster, Columbus thought they had the win but saw a potential game-winning goal dismissed for offside, the NHL Operations Room reported. After getting a second life, the Kings took their opportunity to win on Arvidsson’s third night. Arvidsson took a breakaway serve from Philippe Dano, switched to a backhand, laying down and lifting his shot over Merzlikin’s pad to seal the deal.
Listen to Arvidsson and Trent Jouni after the victory.
* Forward Brendan Lemieux suffered a lower body injury in the first period and did not return.
Victor Arvidsson
Viktor Arvidsson talking to reporters after winning a hat-trick#LAKingsLive | @LAKings pic.twitter.com/LWYS4oExfb
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) March 5, 2022
Trent Youni
On Todd McLellan’s constant praise for the team’s comeback mentality
Yes, [Todd] just texted me and said they don’t want to do it the easy way. There are many characters in the room. These two goals in the second period kind of flew out of my head. I thought the first one was really strong, he was very similar to us. Secondly, they are a good team, they are 7-3 in the last 10 games, I think I read that they are the third highest scoring team since the end of January. If you give them a chance, they won’t miss, and they didn’t. I thought the guys stuck with it to make sure we weren’t trying to chase him too fast and do our thing. Brownie’s goal brought some relief on the bench, I think they felt there might be an opportunity.
About Viktor Arvidsson and his ability to penetrate dangerous areas
Well, it’s nice to have him on my team, because when I was in Anaheim, he wore a yellow sweater, and he often did that. He is an opportunist, he has a great shot. He scored three goals, hit the crossbar and the post, the ball followed him a little, and it was a good move in overtime.
About players affected by lane adjustments made for this game
I thought JAD was really good, it’s his first game and I think he skated well. Moving Al down gave that line a little more stability and I thought Byfield was skating well trying to get something that was good and Brownie’s goal was a big goal in the third period.
On the emotions of working overtime and knowing they’ll get a second chance
From my vantage point, I couldn’t really see if it was an offside position, and as soon as they scored [Derik Johnson] said “woo-woo” and as soon as I looked down, it became clear that it was offside. We’ve been trying to keep the confidence on the bench that we’ll have another opportunity here, so let’s reboot and get ready to go. It was nice that the guys ended up like that.
On Jonathan Quick’s performance in the third period and his breakaway save
The breakaway save was huge. I think if they score there, obviously it will be a different game. It was a very, very big save, and I think the guys got off on it too.
Notes –
– Forward Viktor Arvidsson scored three goals in today’s win, the fourth hat-trick of his NHL career.
– Forward Dustin Brown scored his seventh goal of the season, earning him points in consecutive games.
– Anze Kopitar, Phillip Dano, Trevor Moore and Drew Doughty all provided assists in the comeback winner.
– Defenseman Matt Roy led all the Kings skaters with six shots on goal.
– Four of the last eight Kings games have had comebacks after two goals to win (3 for, 1 against). The Kings are tied for third in the league with four comeback wins this season with 2+ goals.
– The Kings are now 4-5 in games that end in overtime and 6-7 in games that go longer than 60 minutes.
The Kings will travel to Buffalo tonight and practice there tomorrow before the Sunday afternoon matinee against the Sabres.