Kings Snap Skid

February 21st, 2017

It took playing the worst team in the league, but the Kings final got back in the win column.  Trevor Lewis scored the game-winning goal midway through the 2nd period, and Peter Budaj made 24 saves as the Kings beat the Avalanche 2-1 in Denver.  The win also moved Kings coach Darryl Sutter into a tie for the most wins as coach of the Kings.

The win was the 215th win for Sutter, which tied former Kings coach Andy Murray for the most in franchise history.  More importantly, the win snapped a three-game losing skid, and kept the Kings in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.  LA remains two points behind the Calgary Flames for the final playoff spot in the West.  The Flames defeated Nashville in overtime on Tuesday night.

After a scoreless first period, the Kings fell behind on a goal by Mikko Rantanen, who stole the puck from Drew Doughty at the LA blue line.  That goal came just 32 seconds in the period.  However, Tyler Toffoli scored his 10th goal of the season a few minutes later while crashing the net.  Kings rookie Adrian Kempe picked up his first career NHL point on the play with an assist.

About six minutes later, Lewis tucked the puck past Avalanche goaltender Calvin Pickard and the near post.  Budaj did an excellent job after that.  He stopped 11 shots in the third period, which might have been in his best performance in a couple of weeks.

Budaj is well aware of where the Kings are in the standings.  “You seen the standings?” he said. “The standings are tight. And we need every point we can get.  It’s just a big game for us.”

“We need to win some games and kind of get a streak going so we can get in the playoffs here,” Tyler Toffoli acknowledged.

The Kings return home on Wednesday to take on the Boston Bruins.  They’ll get another crack at the Ducks on Saturday as well before another short road trip.

 

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