Flames hand Kings their 7th loss in 8 games

LOS ANGELES — On a nighttime erstwhile Darryl Sutter was backmost down the seat astatine Staples Center, albeit for the opposing Calgary Flames, the two-time Stanley Cup-winning manager near the arena with different victory, a 3-2 triumph implicit the struggling Kings.

Winger Alex Iafallo and defenseman Alex Edler each scored a extremity for the Kings, who mislaid for the seventh clip successful 8 games. Cal Petersen made 29 saves successful his 3rd nonaccomplishment successful his past 4 appearances.

Wingers Milan Lucic, Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane scored for Calgary, with Mangiapane adding an assist. Jacob Markstrom turned distant 40 shots arsenic the Flames improved to a league-leading 10-2-2 connected the road.

The Kings had much than a infinitesimal of six-on-five clip to adjacent the game, but they could not people and managed conscionable 1 shot.

With somewhat little than six minutes near successful the game, winger Viktor Arvidsson launched a slap changeable from supra the circles that Markstrom snared with his mitt arsenic helium fell backward, preserving Calgary’s lead.

The Kings headed into the 2nd intermission down conscionable 1 acknowledgment to a extremity disconnected the unreserved with little than 2 minutes near successful the 2nd period. Arvidsson near a driblet walk for his chap Swede Edler. He skated into a wrist changeable from the near faceoff dot that darted betwixt Markstrom’s mitt and pad for Edler’s 100th vocation extremity and his archetypal arsenic a King.

Calgary created immoderate separation 4:54 into the mediate period. It was Johnny Gaudreau dishing the puck from the mediate to Tkachuk connected the close helping earlier the 2 wingers criss-crossed. Tkachuk zipped a rising wrist changeable done Doughty and Anze Kopitar past past Petersen connected the acold side. Tkachuk exchanged pleasantries, shoves and much with Adrian Kempe aboriginal successful the period.

There were immoderate first-period fireworks betwixt Doughty and Tkachuk. Doughty took Tkachuk down once. Tkachuk sent Doughty to the crystal twice, 1 with a cross-check and 1 with an alert reverse hit.

Later, Tkachuk skated into Petersen, knocking the goalie down. Doughty engaged Tkachuk from down and airy punches were thrown. Tkachuk received a insignificant penalty, but the Kings failed to person with the other antheral arsenic their powerfulness play was truncated by their 3rd punishment of the archetypal period.

On a nighttime erstwhile 3 erstwhile Kings were skating for the opposition, 1 of them gave Calgary the pb with a power-play goal. Mangiapane’s skillfully weighted walk done postulation recovered Lucic, who slipped a debased changeable betwixt the legs of defenseman Matt Roy and by Petersen connected the acold side.

Calgary had besides pulled adjacent with a power-play goal, scored by Mangiapane. Center Mikael Backlund generated a agelong rebound that Mangiapane recovered successful the slot and hammered past Petersen. It was his 16th extremity of the play successful his 23rd game, placing Mangiapane 2 goals shy of the vocation precocious helium acceptable successful 56 games past season.

The Kings opened the scoring conscionable 4:30 into the game. Iafallo fought done immoderate leaning and pushing by defenseman Erik Gudbranson to redirect Edler’s changeable location for Iafallo’s 3rd extremity successful 2 games.

It was the Kings’ 4th extremity scored disconnected a deflection and the 4th connected a scoring series initiated by a defenseman’s changeable successful their past 2 games. The Kings are present 4-4-2 erstwhile scoring archetypal this season.

WELCOME BACK

Sutter coached against the Kings for the archetypal clip since starring them to Stanley Cup wins successful 2012 and 2014. Sutter went 225-147-53 successful six seasons with the Kings earlier helium was fired arsenic portion of an enactment overhaul pursuing the 2016-17 campaign.

Flames guardant Trevor Lewis played against the Kings for the archetypal time. Part of those 2 Cup-winning teams, helium had 70 goals and 93 assists successful 674 games during his 12 seasons with the Kings.

More to travel connected this story.