Phillip Danault, Arthur Kaliyev and Gabriel Vilardi scored in a span of under six minutes in the second period Friday night for the visiting Los Angeles Kings, who held on to edge the New York Islanders 3-2 in Elmont, N.Y.
Jonathan Quick made 16 saves for the Kings, who snapped a two-game losing streak and broke a tie with the idle Edmonton Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division. Los Angeles has 74 points, one behind the Vegas Golden Knights.
Noah Dobson and Adam Pelech scored for the Islanders, whose two-game winning streak ended. New York leads the Eastern Conference wild card race with 67 points.
Ilya Sorokin recorded 25 saves for the Islanders.
Following a scoreless first, the Kings took control by collecting three goals in a span of seven shots.
The flurry began with Danault being credited for what amounted to an own goal by the Islanders. A shot by Viktor Arvidsson glanced off Sorokin and hit Danault before New York defenseman Alexander Romanov accidentally batted the puck over Sorokin’s shoulder at the 6:40 mark.
The Kings doubled the lead just 85 seconds later following a two-on-one charge. Rasmus Kupari raced into the Islanders zone with Kaliyev accompanying him down the left side. With Dobson in between, Kupari motioned as if he’d shoot before passing beneath Dobson’s stick to Kaliyev, who beat a sprawling Sorokin.
Alex Iafallo won a lengthy battle for the puck with Dobson and Anders Lee behind the Kings’ net before emerging and passing to Vilardi, whose slap shot went beyond Sorokin’s glove with 7:46 left.
A holding call on Sean Walker generated the power play that led to Dobson’s goal with 3:26 left in the period. Quick stopped a shot by Kyle Palmieri but could not cover up the puck before Lee backhanded a pass to Brock Nelson, who dished to Dobson in the slot. Dobson’s shot beat Quick.
The Islanders took advantage of a Kings own goal to pull within 3-2 with 4:37 left. Pelech’s backhander into the crease was intended for Matt Martin but glanced off the skate of Matt Ray and fluttered past Quick.
–Field Level Media
