Kevin Fiala shines again as Kings prevail over Oilers in scrappy contest
Kevin Fiala had two power-play goals and two assists, Adrian Kempe also scored two power-play goals and the Kings beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-3 on Monday night.
Alex Iafallo and Viktor Arvidsson also scored as the Kings improved to 9-2-1 since Dec. 15. Pheonix Copley had 28 saves as he improved to 11-2-0 in 13 starts — all since Dec. 6.
The Kings converted on four of their first six power-play chances and improved to 2-0-0 against the Oilers this season. It was the first time Los Angeles scored four power-play goals in a game since April 5, 2012.
Fiala had his sixth game with at least three points this season and second consecutive. It was the first time in Kings history two players scored multiple power-play goals in a game.
Newly named All-Star Kevin Fiala scored three goals as the second-place Kings beat the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights 5-1.
“His engine is really good, he can play lots of minutes, he’s dangerous and he can play up and down the lineup,” Kings head coach Todd McLellan said of Fiala. “His game transfers with him wherever he goes. He can play with big players, small players, quick, crafty players, straight-line players. It’s rare to find a player like that.”
Kailer Yamamoto, Ryan McLeod and Connor McDavid scored for the Oilers in the opener of a four-game road trip after Edmonton dropped three of four at home. The Oilers were 0 for 6 on their power-play chances.
“It’s not a recipe for success against that team,” McLellan said of giving Edmonton six power-play chances. “Rarely are they going to be shut out in that type of situation. So we were fortunate to come through in that situation. I thought our penalty killers did a really good job.”
Stuart Skinner gave up three goals on 24 shots before he was replaced early in the second period by former Kings goalie Jack Campbell.
The matchup was the first between the teams at Los Angeles since Game 6 of a first-round playoff series last season. Edmonton advanced in seven games.
One game after recording a hat trick Saturday at Vegas, Fiala made it five goals in four periods when he scored twice in a span of 1:51 on separate first-period power plays. The goals gave him 15 on the season.
Yamamoto got one for Edmonton when he scored with 2:58 remaining in the first period when he deflected a shot by Darnell Nurse off the shaft of his stick for his fourth.
Kempe scored his second goal of the second period for a 4-1 lead at 11:38 on a blistering shot from the right circle that Campbell actually snagged with his glove. On replay review, the puck was ruled to have crossed the goal line while in the webbing of the glove.
The man-advantage success gave the Kings 24 power-play goals at home this season. The teams combined for 13 penalties.
“They were calling the game tight and I think our (penalty kill) needs to definitely be better,” Yamamoto said. “I thought 5-on-5 we generated some offense but that’s the way she goes.”
McLeod scored for Edmonton at 16:36 of the second period, his fourth.
Iafallo scored his seventh of the season for the Kings at 7:44 of the third, while McDavid scored less than two minutes later for his NHL-leading 34th. Arvidsson scored into an empty net with 1:42 left.
Milestone for Anze Kopitar
Kopitar’s first-period assist for the Kings on Fiala’s first goal of the night helped him to reach a pair of milestones. Not only did Kopitar record his 1,100th career point (376 goals, 724 assists), he also reached 600 career points at home (199 goals, 401 assists).
Kopitar has the sixth most home points among active players, behind Patrick Kane (637), Evgeni Malkin (659), Alex Ovechkin (656) and Sidney Crosby (570).
Kopitar has played 1,254 games over 17 seasons, all with the Kings and is third in Los Angeles history in home points behind Luc Robitaille (669) and Marcel Dionne (700).
Up next for the Kings: vs. San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night.
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