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The Los Angeles Kings picked up a win in the first game of their road trip last night, defeating the Ottawa Senators 5-2.
Alex Iafallo made his return to the lineup after missing about a month and a half, playing with Gabriel Vilardi, along with Adrian Kempe up the middle. Meanwhile, Arthur Kaliyev got a chance on the top line, while Alex Edler came back into the lineup and Samuel Fagemo and Tobias Bjornfot were scratches. Pheonix Copley also got his first start of the season.
Los Angeles opened the scoring under two minutes into the game, as Matt Roy came towards the net to bury a rebound off Sean Durzi’s point shot. Then only 40 seconds later, the Kings’ defense struck again, as Alex Iafallo held off some opponents on an entry and got the puck to Blake Lizotte, who slid the puck over to Mikey Anderson to score.
The Senators responded shortly after though, with Drake Batherson burying a rebound on a power play, cutting the lead to one. The Kings reinstated the lead soon after on a power play of their own though, with some good puck movement eventually resulting in Viktor Arvidsson burying a cross-crease pass. Los Angeles wasn’t done there either, with Arvidsson capitalizing once again, taking a pass from Kevin Fiala to make it a 4-1 game.
The game really slowed down in the second period, with little offense exchanged in the first half of the frame. However, Kevin Fiala struck for the Kings on another power play later in the period, putting a shot through traffic to score, chasing Cam Talbot from the game. Los Angeles sustained some pressure after that but it remained 5-1 Kings through 40 minutes.
Ottawa did get one back in the third period on another man advantage, with Thomas Chabot putting a shot through traffic to score. The Senators were all over the Kings on a late power play with an empty net in the closing minutes as well but Los Angeles hung on, taking a 5-2 win.
Considering the Kings really weren’t coming into the game with much momentum at all, this was a big win to kick off the road trip.
Using some new lines seemed to work and giving Arthur Kaliyev a larger role was a good move, in my opinion. Playing Kaliyev with Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala gives the Kings another scoring option at the top of the lineup. Especially given Fiala’s puck control and playmaking abilities, the two of them could certainly build some chemistry, if they’re able to continue playing together.
Alex Iafallo also provides a major boost to the forward group. He adds another much-needed defensive presence to the top-nine, but also played a huge role in creating the second goal. While he’s not necessarily a guy whose talent is going to stand out, he’s one of the most well-rounded wingers on the team.
The Kings’ power play also continued to roll, going 2-for-3 last night (though they gave up two power play goals to Ottawa as well).
Pheonix Copley also played really well in his Kings’ debut, stopping 31 of 33 shots. He notably made a huge save on Claude Giorux with about eight minutes left in the third period, where, if that puck went in, it would’ve become a two-goal game with Ottawa taking all the momentum.
In another, somewhat unrelated piece of news, the Kings have also loaned Brandt Clarke to play at the World Juniors. He hasn’t played an NHL game in over a month and given he’s already suited up for nine games (the maximum numbers of games before burning a year of his entry-level contract), it buys the Kings a bit more time to make a decision on whether to keep him in the NHL.
Regardless, it’s a big win for Los Angeles to kick off their road trip. They played a pretty well-rounded game and also didn’t give up a ton of chances off the rush.
The Kings will be back in action tomorrow, when they face the Toronto Maple Leafs.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM DECEMBER
Kings earn important home win over Coyotes
Kings end homestand with 4-2 loss to Hurricanes 
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
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