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The Los Angeles Kings have continued to build momentum following the holiday break, picking up two more wins this week. Following a 4-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, then a 5-4 shootout win over the Colorado Avalanche last night, the Kings’ point streak is now at seven games.
On Tuesday, it was a hard-fought win over the Golden Knights. The Kings had started quite well and ended up capitalizing midway through the first period off a one-timer from Gabriel Vilardi, before Vegas responded almost right away on a power play. Vegas then ended up briefly pulling ahead in the second period but the Kings tied it right back up only minutes later, with Phillip Danault burying a pass at the side of the net. Alex Iafallo then managed to put the Kings ahead for good midway through the third period, and despite allowing a few good chances, Los Angeles hung on, with Viktor Arvidssson burying a late empty net goal for a 4-2 win.
Then last night, Gabriel Vilardi opened the scoring once again, beating Alexandar Georgiev with a well-placed shot. Los Angeles went on to put together a pretty strong first period, outshooting Colorado 12-7, and it remained 1-0 through 20 minutes.
We then saw a much more eventful second frame. Colorado scored on a power play under five minutes into the period, with three Kings' penalty killers getting caught at the top of the zone, before Mikko Rantanen fed J.T. Compher, who scored on the open net. However, the Kings responded later in the frame, with Viktor Arvidsson taking a hit but getting back to his feet and putting a pass over to Phillip Danault, who put the Kings back ahead.
Colorado did respond once again though, with Andrew Cogliano coming down the wing and squeaking a shot through Copley to tie it again, on one Copley would probably want back. Then only 45 seconds later, Cale Makar intercepted a stretch pass and came into the Kings’ end to cut to the middle, beating Copley with a good shot. Colorado wasn’t done there, and just a couple minutes later, Makar burned Los Angeles once again, making a difficult entry and holding the puck before getting it to Rantanen, who then dished it right to Evan Rodrigues to strike again. With three goals in just three minutes, the Kings quickly found themselves down by two with a period to go.
Los Angeles got one back quickly in the third period though, with Alex Iafallo burying a pass in-close on a power play. While the Kings then didn’t really have the momentum for the majority of the period, with about five minutes to go, Blake Lizotte entered the zone with speed and Sean Walker ended up taking a pass, then dragging the puck around a defender’s stick before firing it past Georgiev to tie the game.
In the ensuing overtime, Colorado notably ended up with a 2-on-1 and Makar had the puck on his stick in a good spot once again, but Copley came up with the save to extend it. The game continued to a shootout, where neither Gabriel Vilardi or Evan Rodrigues could score in the first round. Viktor Arvidsson then put Los Angeles ahead with a nice move, before Mikko Rantanen was stopped. As a result, Adrian Kempe had a chance to win it in the third round and he made no mistake, beating Georgiev five-hole to get the extra point.
The win over Colorado marked yet another victory against a very good Western Conference opponent, this win coming on the road as well. While they fell behind after the second period collapse, they managed to stay in the game and battled back.
The Kings have now gone 6-0-1 over their last seven games. As a result, they’ve moved up to second place in the Pacific Division in both points and points percentage. With such a wide open Western Conference right now, the Kings could put themselves in a really good position if they can sustain this momentum.
Trevor Moore was out for the Kings, so we saw Viktor Arvidsson on the second line with Phillip Danault and Alex Iafallo. The trio look good together, playing a role in the win over Vegas in particular.
Gabriel Vilardi picking up the pace offensively is also great to see. After such a dominant start to the season, he went through about a one-month stretch from November 10 until December 15, where he managed just three goals and an assist in 17 games. Now over just his last four games alone, he’s replicated those exact same numbers.
Given the Kings’ one recent loss against the Arizona Coyotes came with Jonathan Quick in net, Pheonix Copley has now won his last six games in a row. While he hasn’t posted any sort of spectacular numbers, he’s been very sturdy, which is exactly what the Kings needed.
Quinton Byfield did return for his first games back in two months as well, following a long stretch in the AHL. Byfield got quite a small role, playing less than nine minutes in each game, but did still get time on the power play.
The Kings are now looking towards a ton of home games coming up. Starting tomorrow against the Philadelphia Flyers, the team will play seven of their next eight games at Crypto.com Arena.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM DECEMBER
Kings earn important home win over Coyotes
Kings end homestand with 4-2 loss to Hurricanes
Big first period propels Kings to win over Sens in first game of road trip
Kings suffer blowout loss against Maple Leafs
Kings split back-to-back with win over Canadiens, OT loss to Blue Jackets
Kings rebound to end road trip with win over Bruins, re-sign Trevor Moore
Trevor Moore scores second straight shootout winner as Kings beat Sharks
Kings now on three-game winning streak with victory over Ducks
Kings split back-to-back, win streak ends with shootout loss to Coyotes
Three Kings prospects participating in World Juniors 
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