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The Los Angeles Kings picked up their third straight win last night, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 5-0.
The game marked Cal Petersen’s first NHL game since being traded by the Kings this summer, with the netminder getting the start for the Flyers. The Kings also faced Sean Walker for the first time with his new team.
Despite not being able to convert on a few good early chances off the rush, the Kings opened the scoring in the back half of the first period, with Adrian Kempe deflecting a pass in-close. Then only 18 seconds later, Drew Doughty’s point shot was tipped in by Anze Kopitar, putting Los Angeles up 2-0.
In the second period, the Kings spent a good amount of time shorthanded, but with a power play opportunity of their own late in the frame, Arthur Kaliyev beat Petersen with a nice shot to make it a three-goal lead. Then with only 15 seconds remaining in the frame, Trevor Moore beat Petersen with a good shot, to make it 4-0 before the second intermission.
The Kings kept driving up the score in the third period after that, with Blake Lizotte wiring a shot through Petersen early in the period. Los Angeles cruised to the win from there, picking up a 5-0 victory.
With the win, the Kings improve to 7-2-2 on the season, 7-1-1 over the last nine games, and 6-0-0 on the road this year. It’s yet another strong effort, and I think it was also good to see the Kings put together a really locked-down third period.
In their Ontario wins against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators, the Kings got ahead by multiple goals, but did verge on letting their opponent back into the game in the third period. Last night though, even when they were ahead by five goals, the Kings limited the Flyers to just three shots in the final frame.
Cam Talbot also once again put together a strong start, picking up his first shutout with the Kings. Talbot has now started four straight games, and has posted a .923 save percentage overall this season.
At the other end though, you have to imagine this was a tough one for Cal Petersen. The netminder finally gets back into NHL action, then gets an opportunity to face the team that he was originally supposed to backstop for the forseeable future, only to give up five goals on 30 shots in his return. It’s surely tough for Petersen, and he wasn’t getting a ton of help from his team, but it should remain clear that Petersen wasn’t the solution for the Kings.
Looking at the Kings’ offense, the team just continues to get scoring from all over their lineup. Quinton Byfield had three more assists last night, now with nine points in his last six games. Trevor Moore also deserves a ton of credit for his hot start, with six goals and 11 points, while Adrian Kempe already has 12 points to lead the team. The Fiala/Dubois/Laferriere line has been a little quiet, but when every other line is scoring at the pace they have been, it’s a non-issue.
The win was yet another really convincing game for the Kings, as the team continues to roll. Looking ahead to the final contest in their series of four road games, Los Angeles will face the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday. The Kings are playing at the top of their game, while the Golden Knights have yet to lose in regulation and handed the Kings their most recent loss. It should be another great matchup between two of the Pacific Division’s top teams.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM NOVEMBER
- Kings dominate in 4-1 win over Leafs
- Kings get past Senators to stay undefeated on the road 
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
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