Los Angeles Kings Come Up Short Against New York Islanders 4-2

The Los Angeles Kings have now lost 3 straight games, as the New York Islanders got the better of them 4-2 in the first game of this long road trip for Los Angeles.

It was just Doug Weight’s second game since taking over as interim head coach for the Islanders. Doug Capuano was relieved of his duties just days ago.

Juxtapose that situation with Darryl Sutter behind the Los Angeles bench. Weight is just starting off his coaching journey, while Sutter is cementing his legacy as one of the greatest coaches in league history.

The two-time Stanley Cup winning coach entered the game tied with Jacques Lemaire for 12th all time on the regular season wins list. Unfortunately for him, the tie-breaking win is proving to be elusive.

The Islanders came into this contest having won 3 of their last 4 games, including back-to-back shutouts from Thomas Greiss.

After playing in 8 straight games, Greiss got the day off for this game. Jean-Francois Berube got the start in net, and was looking for his first win of the season. Peter Budaj started in goal for the Kings.

Scratches for the Kings were Brayden McNabb, Matt Greene, and Devin Setoguchi. Scratches for the Islanders were Johnny Boychuk, Andrew Ladd, and Cal Clutterbuck. Boychuck and Ladd had upper body injuries, while Clutterback was ailing with a lower body injury.

Tom Gilbert got into the Los Angeles lineup for the first time since December 22. He had been scratched the previous 12 games.

The Islanders jumped out to the lead on their first shot of the game. Budaj let in a soft goal from a Jason Chimera shot at 2:30 into the 1st period. Stephen Gionta got the assist.

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The Kings outshot the Islanders 13-8 in the 1st period, but were outhit by the Islanders by a 13-7 margin.

Dustin Brown had a chance in the slot to tie the game up on a one-timer early in the 2nd period, but Berube made a terrific save on what to that point was probably the best scoring chance Los Angeles had.

At 6:19 into the 2nd period, the Islanders went on the power play when Jake Muzzin got called for hooking Josh Bailey. The Islanders extended their lead 2-0 at 7:09 when Anders Lee cleaned up a rebound in front of the net from a John Tavares shot. Nick Leddy got the other assist.

The Islanders went right back on the power play at 8:13 when the Kings got whistled for too many men on the ice.

Trevor Lewis had a shorthanded breakaway during the penalty, but couldn’t put the puck past Berube. The Kings eventually killed of the power play, though.

Nic Dowd had an injury scare about midway through the 2nd period. He limped off the ice, and was eventually taken to the locker room for examination.

Lewis again generated a nice opportunity trying to catch the Islanders on a change, but Berube made a great blocker save.

Brock Nelson was called for slashing Brown at 16:00. The Kings squandered that man advantage, though, as Muzzin was sent to the box for tripping Nikolay Kulemin at 16:40.

No scoring happened on either penalty, but Muzzin had a fantastic opportunity on a counter attack out of the box. Once again, the Kings couldn’t capitalize.

Tavares was whistled at 19:02 for tripping Derek Forbort. Casey Cizikas generated a shorthanded breakaway of his own, but was turned away by Budaj.

The Kings were outshooting the Islanders 28-18 through two periods, but found themselves in a hole heading into the 3rd period.

They began the final period still on the power play stemming from the Tavares tripping call, and they cut the lead in half on a Jeff Carter power play goal 37 seconds into the 3rd. Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar got the assists.

Soon after, Doughty sent a shot on goal off of Leddy’s skate that Lewis deflected in to tie the game 2-2 at 4:06. Andy Andreoff got the other assist.

The 3rd period continued with a flurry of chances, as each team traded shots off the post within minutes of each other.

Budaj made an incredible sprawling save with his blocker on Anthony Beauvillier to keep the game tied up about halfway through the 3rd.

Forbort was lucky not to award Chimera a penalty shot at 9:20 for holding, but the Islanders got a goal on the power play anyway. It was the first time all season the Islanders scored multiple power play goals in a game. Lee got the goal at 9:31 with assists from Bailey and Leddy.

Budaj was pulled for an extra attacker with about a minute and a half remaining in the game. With the empty net, Doughty was called for a delay of game at 18:51 which might have saved a goal for the moment.

The Kings pulled Budaj again, which made the game 5-on-5 due to the penalty. Taveras sealed the victory with an empty net goal on assists from Kulemin and Thomas Hickey.

Berube got his first victory of the season, and the Islanders continued their winning streak with their 3rd straight victory. The Kings have now conversely lost 3 straight and 4 of their last 6.

Tavares has scored an incredible 8 goals during his last 5 games, and Lee got his first multi-goal game since December 20 against the Boston Bruins.

Both teams had 36 shots on goal during the game. The Islanders went 3 of 5 on the power play, while the Kings went 1 of 2 on the power play.

Next: Los Angeles Kings Keep Traditional Gameday Morning Skates

The Kings will stay in New York and play the Rangers on January 23. The Islanders will next play at home against the Philadelphia Flyers on January 22.

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