Kings beat Calgary in overtime, win fourth straight game

LOS ANGELES — It was a fidgety victory for the Kings on Thursday night as they oscillated between comfortable and uncomfortable, winning a game that they led 3-1 in the third period by a 4-3 margin over the Calgary Flames in overtime.

They’ve now won four straight games, equaling their longest surge of the season.  Coach Todd McLellan said afterward that the match “felt like a playoff game” and only lamented not playing a bit sharper with the lead.

Forward Adrian Kempe potted the overtime winner. Winger Gabe Vilardi lit the lamp before centers Phillip Danault and Blake Lizotte broke a third-period tie with the Kings’ two fastest goals of the season. Danault and Lizotte added an assist apiece. Pheonix Copley continued rising with his sixth win in seven appearances since being recalled from the minors, making 27 saves.

Wingers Dillon Dube, Jonathan Huberdeau and Tyler Toffoli tallied for Calgary. Dan Vladar stopped 28 shots.

“We wanted to win the game after 60 minutes and I felt like that was something that we should have done, but they’re a good team, they have some good lines up front and it showed good character to come out with two points in OT,” Kempe said.

In overtime, the Kings capped the game with a picturesque odd-man rush. Kempe dashed up the left wing, faked a shot, sent the puck to winger Viktor Arvidsson and then received the return pass to bury the sudden-death game-winner.

“I knew I had Arvy with me for a two-on-one. I tried to make a pass over the D-man early, and then I was expecting him to shoot but I was staying at the back post in case the puck ended up there. Arvy made a great play to me for an easy tap-in,” Kempe said.

Soon after Copley made a lunging stop to deny a bid for an equalizer, the Flames went back to work and knotted the game when defenseman Noah Hanifin slid the puck across the goal crease to Dube, who snuck it just inside the post with 6:28 to play.

Calgary had halved its deficit with a power-play goal off some fierce forechecking and a shot that may have inspired some nostalgia in Kings fans. Three Flames pounced on Mikey Anderson behind the net, digging the puck out and sending it high to Rasmus Andersson. His point-to-point pass found Toffoli, a former King, who fired a laser from the top of the left circle past Copley with 13:14 remaining. The Kings nearly got the goal back with a penalty shot, but winger Kevin Fiala was stoned by Vladar.

“There was no doubt in our minds that we could come back, it was just a matter of putting in the work and staying with it,” Toffoli said.

The Kings kicked off the period with two goals 10 seconds apart, beginning 89 ticks into the closing stanza.

First, a stretch pass allowed winger Alex Iafallo to gain the offensive zone, where he had the puck knocked loose. He pursued it behind the net, won possession and hit Danault in front, where last year’s team MVP transitioned silkily from forehand to backhand for his 32nd goal of the calendar year and ninth of the season.

The Kings then won the faceoff at center ice and Vilardi skated all the way to the slot, where his shot generated a rebound that bounded skyward. Lizotte knocked it out of the air and into the net for his seventh goal of the campaign.

“With Arvy’s and Gabe’s skill level, it makes it easier for me to play. I can create havoc out there, play with speed and create time for them. They make good plays, so my goal is just to give them the most time possible with the puck,” Lizotte said.

“It’s demanded that I play better … it makes me a better player both with the puck and without the puck,”  added Lizotte, who received plaudits for his all-around play from McLellan.

Both teams generated opportunities in the second period but timely defensive plays and a tough bounce for Fiala kept the frame scoreless.

The Kings were out-shooting Calgary 8-1 through nearly 18 minutes of action, thanks mainly to an extended power play that saw them hit the net five times. But Calgary’s only shot on target also represented the game’s only goal to that point.

That was until, with 2:19 to play in the first period, the Kings made two passes from low to high in the zone before Walker let fly with a shot that was deflected home by Vilardi. It was Vilardi’s first goal since a two-tally performance on Nov. 29. Even with a nearly month-long goal drought, Vilardi’s 14 markers lead the Kings.

Just 3:23 into the game three sloppy exchanges between Sean Durzi and Anze Kopitar finally led to a turnover. The Kings were left out of position to defend a streaking Huberdeau, who finished his breakaway with a simple shot that he slipped along the ice and through the five hole of Copley. Huberdeau didn’t show that same aggression in OT, when he passed up a solid shot just before the Kings went the other way in transition for the winner.

“It sucks, I’ve got to shoot,” Huberdeau said.

Notes

The Kings activated winger Brendan Lemieux (lower-body) from injured reserve but he did not dress Thursday … Winger Arthur Kaliyev was scratched after being stung while blocking a shot against the Ducks Tuesday. He was sporting a walking boot on his left foot and will not play in Arizona Friday … Carl Grundstrom drew in for Kaliyev and, on defense, Walker replaced Jordan Spence.