LOS ANGELES — A chance to build on a strong road trip and earn a valuable spot in a crowded Western Conference, Los Angeles Kings It failed, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in a penalty shootout at Crypto.com Arena.
That night, Los Angeles honored captain Anze Kopitar in his first home game since becoming the franchise’s all-time points leader, and the Kings had a prime opportunity to score two points and climb up the standings after losses to Vegas, Seattle, San Jose and Edmonton.
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Trevor Moore opened the scoring with a perfect pass to Quinton Byfield, who scored his 14th goal of the season. The 30-year-old left winger scored his 21st point of the season in another painful loss for a Kings team desperately seeking stability.
“We just have to find a way to string together some wins and get some confidence,” Moore said.
After Byfield took a 1-0 lead, Philadelphia found itself trailing for the 46th time this season. The Flyers didn’t trail for long as they started strong in the midfield with three shots in the back of the net on goals from Travis Konecny, Noah Cates and Travis Sanheim.
Kopitar scored his 11th goal of the season, giving him nine points in his last nine games.
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Los Angeles failed to beat its opponent for the first time since interim head coach DJ Smith took over the bench — losing the game 20-18. Philadelphia’s aggression was on full display and they played like a team desperate for two points at the end of the regular season.
Adrian Kempe returns to the lineup after missing Monday’s win over the New York Rangers. The team’s points leader elaborated on the reasons for Los Angeles’ 23rd home loss of the season.
“We gave up too many odd-man rushes tonight and it created too much momentum for them,” Kempe said.
While it was a night of celebration for Kopitar, the 20-year-old veteran, another veteran on the Los Angeles ice also made his presence felt. Artemi Panarin, 34, who had just beaten the team that traded him to Los Angeles, scored a special teams goal on his fourth power play opportunity of the night to tie the game at 3 with 9:32 left in the third period.
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The goal turned Los Angeles’ momentum around, ending a run that followed multiple missed chances earlier in the game. As the game became stalemate, both sides alternated opportunities at the last moment, and neither team was able to make a breakthrough in the regular season.
For the 26th time this season, 60 minutes were not enough to decide the game in Los Angeles.
Although both teams scored on goal, neither team was able to tie the game in overtime – the Kings’ 11th penalty shootout of the season. Trevor Zegras and Matvei Michkov made quick work of Los Angeles in the shootout, with two shots past Kuemper to give the Flyers a landmark win on the road, six points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card berth.
The Kings look to bounce back as they wrap up a quick two-game homestand Saturday afternoon against the red-hot Buffalo Sabres. Puck drop is at 1 p.m.
