Los Angeles Kings Hold Off Carolina Hurricanes in 3-2 Victory

Thursday night the Los Angeles Kings hosted the Carolina Hurricanes at Staples Center. The Kings got up a 3-2 lead and were able to weather the storm of shots the Hurricanes threw at the net in the third period.

It was the second and last time the two teams will meet during the regular season. In the first meeting on November 2nd, the Kings lost to Carolina 3-2. With L.A.’s 3-2 victory last night the series was split.

The Kings dominated most of the game, outshooting Carolina 39-27.

The game started off a little dirty, and sloppy with numerous penalties, including a fight between Kings defensemen Brayden McNabb and Hurricanes forward Brad Malone. Malone was assessed a 10-minute misconduct, and a 2-minute instigator penalty for the fight.

Eight minutes into the game, with Carolina’s Jay McClement in the box for tripping McNabb, the Kings got on the board. Kings captain, Dustin Brown, carried the puck into the Hurricane’s zone, down into the corner. Brown wrapped a pass around the boards behind the net to Justin Williams in the opposite corner. Williams returned the puck back to Brown. Brown turned and zipped a pass to Jarret Stoll, who was cutting through the slot and one-timed the puck up over Carolina goaltender Cam Ward’s glove.

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Jeff Skinner tied the game for Carolina before the period was over. With three-minutes left in the first the Hurricanes came in on a 2-on-1 break. Skinner carried the puck into the zone. Kings defensemen Drew Doughty did his best to cut off the pass across the middle, but Skinner just took a few steps and fired a low wrist-shot to the far post, over Kings goalie Jonathan Quick’s right pad and just below his blocker.

22-seconds into the second period the Kings took the lead back. Flying out of the zone on the breakout defensemen Drew Doughty took the puck and carried it up into the Carolina zone, creating a 3-on-2 odd-man rush. Doughty threw a pass across to Trevor Lewis who was crashing toward the net. Lewis slapped a shot, and Ward made the save. As he was skating by Marian Gaborik took a whack at the puck, which hit Ward and bounced in the crease. Lewis and Carolina defensemen Justin Faulk were both slapping at the puck with their sticks. Faulk fell and Lewis kicked the puck free as he was turning his foot, and just touched the puck with his stick before it went into the net. 2-1 Kings.

Two minutes later Tyler Toffoli was in the penalty box for high-sticking Brett Bellemore. The Hurricanes worked the puck back to Andrej Sekera at the point. Sekera moved the puck over to Skinner at the top of the circle. Skinner took a shot and Quick made a pad save, while down in the butterfly position. The rebound was kicked out to the side of the net right in between Eric Staal’s skates. Staal quickly turned and backhanded the puck past a sprawling Quick, tying the game on the power-play.

40-seconds later, the Kings responded again. Kyle Clifford chased down a dump-in, in the Carolina zone. Clifford came around from behind the net and dropped the puck to Jake Muzzin coming the other way along the boards. Muzzin passed the puck down to Mike Richards at the side of the goal. Richards turned with the puck, trying to stuff it in the near side. The puck bounced up in the air. Richards swatted at it, and redirected it across the goal. Tanner Pearson was skating by the net and managed to smack the puck out of the air and into the back of the net. 3-2 Kings.

There were no goals in the third period. A big part of that was the performance of Jonathan Quick. Carolina outshot the Kings in the third, 11-8.

Carolina pulled Cam Ward from the net with a minute and a half left in the game, but were unable to capitalize. Jonathan Quick made a huge glove save on Carolina’s Elias Lindholm with 1:32 left in the game, and the Carolina net empty.

Kings head coach Darryl Sutter has been shifting the lines around lately. Trevor Lewis and Tanner Pearson were two of the big changes, with Lewis being moved up to the Kings first line and Pearson moving to the fourth. Pearson was nearly a healthy scratch after an 11 game goal drought.

Both players scored in tonight’s contest, including Pearson’s game-winning goal.

Pearson was quoted saying, “I think whenever you kind of go in a drought, and obviously I haven’t been playing my best hockey as of lately, but definitely this game helps a lot,” Pearson said. “I think playing with [Mike Richards] and [Kyle Clifford], they’re both going to be in their face and forechecking kind of guys. [Richards] can make some really good plays, and [Clifford] and I can go to the net, and hopefully something happens, which, today, it did.”

Lewis was moved up to the first line for his work ethic at both ends of the ice, as well as his grinding ability along the boards in the corners.

“I thought we played a better game overall than just a couple of periods,” Lewis said. “It’s a step in the right direction, for sure.”