Kings outlast Devils in OT, push win streak to 4 games

LOS ANGELES –– While it wasn’t the Stanley Cup Final, Friday’s crippled betwixt the 2012 finalists had nary shortage of carnal strength and late-game intrigue arsenic the Kings edged the New Jersey Devils, 3-2, successful overtime.

The crippled featured 10 insignificant penalties successful regulation, though the Kings converted conscionable erstwhile and the Devils came up wholly empty.

Kings wingers Adrian Kempe and Arthur Kaliyev each scored a extremity successful regulation, earlier Alex Iafallo extended his constituent streak to 5 games with the overtime winner. Cal Petersen made 21 saves.

Winger Jesper Bratt had a extremity for New Jersey and assisted connected guardant Pavel Zacha’s 11th-hour goal. MacKenzie Blackwood, who underwent bottommost country successful the offseason, made his debut successful extremity for New Jersey, stopping 26 shots.

Center Phillip Danault tracked the puck down down the nett and sent a walk to a hustling Iafallo successful beforehand to seal the triumph 42 seconds into overtime.

For the 2nd consecutive game, the Kings surrendered a tying extremity successful the last 25 seconds of regulation. St. Louis defenseman Torey Krug sent Wednesday’s crippled to overtime with 7.1 seconds left, and Zacha did the aforesaid for New Jersey with 24 seconds left.

With 3:40 remaining successful the game, the Kings yet cashed successful connected a powerfulness play aft defenseman Damon Severson high-sticked Kempe. It was Kaliyev’s 3rd extremity successful the past 4 games and the 2nd clip with the antheral advantage.

Tensions spilled implicit astir six minutes into the last framework erstwhile Devils defenseman PK Subban, who was precocious fined for unsafe tripping penalties, took the diminutive halfway Blake Lizotte down adjacent the boards. Winger Brendan Lemieux laid a dense deed connected Subban, drafting an interference punishment and causing each 10 skaters to travel unneurotic for immoderate pushing and shoving. Tempers flared again successful beforehand of the New Jersey nett aboriginal successful the period.

The Kings’ pb had lasted a small much than 3 minutes earlier halfway Nico Hischier’s takeaway successful the antiaircraft portion and winger Andreas Johnsson’s agelong walk sprung Bratt for a breakaway extremity aboriginal successful the 3rd period.

After the 2 teams combined to spell 0 for 6 connected the powerfulness play done 2 periods, the Kings yet opened the scoring with an even-strength tally with conscionable 1.2 seconds remaining successful the second.

Center Anze Kopitar battled 2 Devils successful the country to determination the puck down the nett to winger Dustin Brown. Brown circled the cage and sent a walk crossed the crease to a well-positioned Kempe for a tap-in extremity arsenic 3 defenders converged connected him.

Nearing the midpoint of the game, Kopitar and Brown astir connected for a extremity disconnected a two-on-one rush, but Blackwood doused the fire. Later guardant Rasmus Kupari besides tested Blackwood with a rising shot, but to nary avail.

Around the 12:00 people of the archetypal period, New Jersey sustained unit and drew a four-minute punishment for precocious sticking against Kempe.

The Kings killed the archetypal 2 minutes of the treble minor, drew an infraction of their own, had a brace of beardown chances precocious successful the play and past went backmost to the powerfulness play. Yet the framework ended scoreless conscionable the same.

On the wounded front, winger Andreas Athanasiou made his play debut and notched an assist. He drew successful for Lias Andersson, who missed the archetypal 7 games of the play and present finds himself day-to-day erstwhile again.

New Jersey got Blackwood backmost but was without apical defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who sustained a lower-body wounded connected Tuesday successful Anaheim. His presumption went from doubtful to questionable to out, and present should beryllium considered day-to-day.

Fresh disconnected their 4-1 homestand, the Kings statesman a four-game travel connected Monday nighttime successful Toronto.

More to travel connected this story.