LOS ANGELES — The Kings’ present and past collided at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night as the current Kings slipped against former Coach Darryl Sutter, three former Kings forwards and the Calgary Flames, 3-2.
Winger Adrian Kempe had two goals and center Anze Kopitar had two assists for the Kings, who had earned at least a point in five of their last six coming into the game. Cal Petersen made 30 saves in defeat.
Winger Johnny Gaudreau lit up the scoreboard for Calgary with a goal and two assists, factoring into every score, and his linemate Elias Lindholm added a goal. Former Kings Trevor Lewis, Milan Lucic and Tyler Toffoli had six shots on net, collectively. Jacob Markstrom stopped 27 shots, including eight of nine on the power play, as the Flames snapped a three-game losing streak.
The Kings now trail first-place Calgary by five points in the Pacific Division, and the Flames still have three games in hand on them. They are a single point ahead of the Edmonton Oilers, who steamrolled the Ducks, 6-1, on Sunday and will visit the Kings on Thursday.
In the final 12 minutes of the game, the Kings had three power plays, generating just two shots on goal during the first two but three in quick succession late.
Early in the final frame, Kempe stole the puck in the Calgary zone and weaved in for a shot that could have given him a hat trick if not for the steady glove of Markstrom. Late in the contest, Kempe would endure another near miss when a loose puck eluded him at point-blank range.
With just under seven minutes left in the second period, Calgary tied the score and then reclaimed the lead in a 65-second span. Gaudreau set up the first goal and finished the second scoring play.
Calgary’s forecheck dogged the Kings, eventually recovering the puck and dumping it into the Kings’ zone. Center Ryan Carpenter wound up with the puck and dished it to Gaudreau in tight, who transitioned from his forehand to launch a rising backhand. It was the smallish winger’s 34th goal and 95th point of the year, placing him fourth in the Art Ross Trophy race.
Before that, the Flames found an equalizer. Gaudreau set up behind the net and delivered the puck to an uncovered Lindholm, who ripped a shot from between the circles for his 35th goal, which topped Calgary’s leaderboard.
Midway through the second stanza, Calgary winger Matthew Tkachuk tried the “Michigan” move or a lacrosse-style scoop shot, though he was rebuffed by Petersen. At the other end, forward Rasmus Kupari had a sterling chance trailing the rush but was denied by Markstrom, who absorbed the shot and left no rebound.
Following a late first-period scrum and an additional Calgary penalty, the Kings ended up with an extended two-man advantage. Initially, it appeared they had squandered an opportunity when defenseman Sean Durzi’s shot banked off the end boards and bounced to Kopitar awkwardly, precluding a shot attempt. He settled the puck and dished off to Kempe, who loaded up a shot from the right slot for his team-leading 31st goal of the season.
For nearly 14 minutes, the game remained tight, with just six combined shots for both teams following the Gaudreau goal. But the Kings pulled even 13:56 into the contest. Off a counterattack, Kopitar set up Kempe for a one-timer from the right faceoff circle that knotted the score. Kopitar’s assist moved him to 60 points on the season, the 13th time he has reached that mark, surpassing Marcel Dionne for the most 60-or-more-point campaigns in club history.
An innocuous dump-in off the opening faceoff followed by an ostensibly harmless shot from below the goal line by Gaudreau gave Calgary a lead just 10 seconds into the game. Petersen had not yet regained his position after playing the puck and making a pass that ended up on Gaudreau’s stick.
More to come on this story.