Brendan Lemieux scores in return, Kings win second straight home game

LOS ANGELES –– The Kings defeated their toughest hostile of the play by grounds connected Saturday, toppling the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Wild 2-1 astatine Staples Center.

After beating the surging Dallas Stars connected Thursday, the Kings upended Minnesota to gain consecutive victories for the 2nd clip this season. Their past triumph streak lasted six games and this prime triumph should augment their assurance heading into a labyrinth of a roadworthy travel that volition pit them against 4 of the East’s apical teams.

Center Phillip Danault and winger Brendan Lemieux scored goals for the Kings. Jonathan Quick followed his shutout connected Thursday with different victory, stopping 29 shots. The Kings persevered done a nighttime wherever their powerfulness play went scoreless connected 5 chances.

Winger Marcus Foligno had Minnesota’s solitary goal. Kaapo Kahkonen made 35 of 37 saves successful defeat.

The Kings were capable to basal their crushed firmly against a precocious propulsion from the Wild, adjacent freeing winger Andreas Athanasiou for a precocious breakaway effort that was possibly the champion accidental of the precocious enactment for either team. Quick was resilient during a goal-mouth scramble successful the last 15 seconds to seal the win.

Approaching the midway constituent of the 3rd period, the Kings earned their archetypal pb of the nighttime and it stood arsenic the game-winning goal. With the puck beneath the goalline and each 5 Minnesota defenders beneath the faceoff dot, Lemieux recovered quiescent crystal successful the near slot wherever the puck squirted retired of the fray and onto his instrumentality for his 5th goal.

Lemieux returned to the Kings’ lineup connected Saturday from a five-game suspension. They person gone 10-3-2 with Lemieux successful the lineup, but conscionable 2-7-2 during his COVID-related lack and suspension. Saturday’s triumph was the Kings’ 2nd against a squad presently occupying 1 of the apical 3 spots successful its part with Lemieux successful the lineup, and the Kings’ 3rd specified triumph overall.

The Kings were allotted their 5th powerfulness play and their 2nd arsenic a effect of a hold of crippled telephone aboriginal successful the 3rd period. Their man-advantage units fizzled erstwhile more, moving to 0-for-5 for the evening.

In the 2nd period, the Kings knotted the crippled astatine 1 disconnected a breached play conscionable 78 seconds aft the Wild opened the scoring.

Defenseman Drew Doughty, who had taken some Kings penalties, had his changeable blocked. The puck wobbled into the slot wherever Danault recovered it for a changeable into Kahkonen’s pad earlier helium slipped the follow-up bid nether Kahkonen and into the net. It was Danault’s archetypal extremity successful 14 games. He past scored connected Nov. 8, astatine Toronto, arsenic portion of a season-high three-point performance.

With 6:49 near successful the 2nd stanza, Minnesota had cashed successful connected its 2nd powerfulness play for the game’s archetypal goal. A scrambled faceoff resulted successful a speedy walk to the constituent for defenseman Matt Dumba, whose slapshot was tipped into the nett by Foligno.

The Kings killed a second-period punishment and past drew 1 of their ain erstwhile winger Adrian Kempe was slashed arsenic helium broke successful connected extremity by defenseman Alex Goligoski. They were scoreless with the other antheral for the 4th time, contempt extended portion clip with a Minnesota guardant without his instrumentality and forcing extended shifts for the Wild’s punishment killers.

The Kings drew the game’s archetypal penalty, past its 2nd arsenic they swarmed the Minnesota nett disconnected a three-on-one unreserved and aboriginal a third. Despite immoderate promising moments, they did not person connected immoderate of those opportunities and the crippled remained scoreless astatine the archetypal intermission adjacent though winger Kirill Kaprizov’s changeable entered the nett a specified instant aft the horn sounded.

Less than 3 minutes into the game, the Kings mislaid a defenseman erstwhile Alex Edler took a cheque into the boards arsenic helium pursued a puck successful the corner. His near limb contorted unnaturally and helium required assistance disconnected the crystal arsenic good arsenic to the locker country tunnel. Edler, a 35-year-old seasoned connected a one-year deal, had been massively exceeding expectations this season.