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The Los Angeles Kings picked up their second shootout win in a row last night, defeating the San Jose Sharks 3-2.
Viktor Arvidsson returned to the Kings’ lineup and Jordan Spence played his first game of the season, in place of Carl Grundstrom and Sean Walker.
The Kings were all over the Sharks early with quite a few chances and then just six minutes into the game, Phillip Danault came down the wing on an entry and managed to backhand a shot through James Reimer, giving Los Angeles an early lead. Despite the Kings outplaying San Jose through a lot of the frame though, San Jose ended up with a power play later in the period and after a puck came through the crease and Mikey Anderson couldn’t clear it, Timo Meier scored on the open net to tie the game.
Los Angeles came out strong in the second period again, and ended up throwing 17 shots on net in the frame. However, with about five minutes remaining in the period, Kevin Labanc took a pass from Timo Meier and beat Pheonix Copley with a nice shot, putting San Jose ahead. Los Angeles managed to respond quickly after that though, with Jaret Anderson-Dolan burying a loose puck in the slot, tying things up once again.
The third period slowed down after that, with the teams combining for just 10 shots (compared to 30 in the second period). Then after the game continued to overtime, the Kings managed to kill off a penalty in the extra frame, before getting some great chances of their own in the final minute, but neither could capitalize and the teams continued to a shootout.
None of the first four shooters could score, but Kevin Fiala managed to convert as the fifth shooter, putting all the pressure on Kevin Labanc. While Labanc did make a nice move to extend it, Trevor Moore ended up beating James Reimer with a nice shot right after that, and Copley came up win a save, securing the Kings’ second consecutive shootout win.
The Kings put together a strong game, outshooting San Jose by quite a margin and not allowing a ton of chances off defensive breakdowns.
It was also cool to see Moore get the shooter winner for the second game in a row (after netting the winner against Boston on Thursday), coming off signing his big contract extension.
Pheonix Copley also made his third straight start, putting together another really solid performance. He’s only posted a .904 save percentage so far with the Kings but that’s mostly due to a disastrous third period against the Buffalo Sabres, and the fact is Copley has solidified the Kings’ goaltending recently.
That said, Cal Petersen has been playing really well in the AHL, posting a .947 save percentage through five games with the Ontario Reign. If Petersen keeps up his performance, it’s going to be really interesting to see what the Kings decide to do.
For as inconsistent as the Kings have been, they’ve still gone 5-3-1 over their nine games in December, with six of those nine games having come on the road. As of now, the Kings still sit second in the Pacific Division in points and third in points percentage.
The Kings will be back in action on Tuesday with another good chance to pick up points at home, as they host the Anaheim Ducks.
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 
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
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