The LA Kings’ home struggles continued Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena, where the New York Islanders left with a 5-2 win after building leads at key moments and never really letting go of the game.
New York struck first just under six minutes in when former Kings forward Brayden Schenn cashed in around the crease. Ryan Pulock sent a shot from the point that was tipped by Mitchell Chaffee on its way through, forcing Darcy Kuemper to make the save, but Schenn was right there to hammer in the rebound for his sixth goal of the season.
Los Angeles answered quickly. Trevor Moore tied it at 1-1 a little more than three minutes later by doing the dirty work below the goal line, winning the puck back on the forecheck and then getting to the net. Brandt Clarke’s shot from the right point found Moore for the deflection, and the puck slipped past Ilya Sorokin for Moore’s third goal of the season.
The Islanders regained control late in the first period on the power play. Matias Maccelli moved the puck to Matthew Schaefer at the center point, and Schaefer’s shot appeared to hit the post after beating Kuemper. Victor Eklund was in the right spot for the rebound, though Schaefer was credited with the goal, his sixth of the season, and New York carried a 2-1 lead into intermission.
Early in the second, the Islanders stretched that margin on a 3-on-1 rush. Brandt Clarke got caught up ice, the Kings had no one back to stop the odd-man chance, and Schenn set up Eklund for the finish from close range. It was Schenn’s third point of the night and a 3-1 New York lead.
Los Angeles had a chance to swing momentum back on a 5-on-3, and it did trim the deficit. In his first game back in the lineup, Kevin Fiala found Artemi Panaarin for a one-timer from the far circle. Sorokin turned aside the initial shot, but Quinton Byfield buried the rebound from close range for his fifth goal of the season, making it 3-2.
That was as close as the Kings would get. Just 39 seconds into the third period, Simon Holmstrom restored the Islanders’ two-goal cushion after New York won an offensive-zone faceoff and the Kings failed to clear the loose puck in the slot. Holmstrom collected it, spun to his forehand and beat Kuemper on the blocker side to make it 4-2.
The Islanders added an empty-net goal late to close out the 5-2 result.
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