The LA Kings came out of the holiday break with a statement victory, as they skated to a 6-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday evening at Crypto.com Arena.
Skating in Los Angeles, the hosts started off the game on an absolute tear, as they scored three goals in the first 10:21 to open up an early lead.
First, just over three minutes into the game, the Kings executed in transition to open the scoring. Forward Corey Perry used a deceptive pass to find Quinton Byfield with speed entering the offensive zone with possession. On his backhand, Byfield slid the puck towards the net to defenseman Drew Doughty, who activated off the rush, with the veteran blueliner burying his third goal of the season for the early 1-0 lead.
Less than 60 seconds later, the Kings doubled their advantage through forward Trevor Moore. Executing inside the offensive zone, the hosts controlled the puck along the perimeter with possession. Defenseman Brian Dumoulin activated down the left wing and sent a hard pass towards the crease, deflecting off Moore’s back skate and in for his sixth goal of the season and a multi-goal advantage.
Just past the halfway mark of the opening period, the Kings made it 3-0 as forward Alex Laferriere got in on the scoring. Executing off the cycle, forward Anze Kopitar worked the puck down the wall to forward Adrian Kempe behind the net, as the Kings moved the puck around in the offensive zone. Kempe stopped and fed Laferriere in front, where he one-timed his shot past Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal and in for his eighth goal of the season.
Inside the final minute of the opening period, the Kings added a power-play goal to their tally as they finished the first with a season-high four goals. Defenseman Brandt Clarke got a shot through from the point, with Byfield getting a deflection on the way through to push the hosts ahead 4-0. The goal made it a multi-point game for Byfield, his first tally since November 13, in the highest-scoring period of the season for the Kings.
Midway through the second period, Anaheim got on the board with a power-play goal of its own, pulling back to within three goals. Ducks forward Mason McTavish worked his way to the net where he got on the end of a Beckett Sennecke rebound to get one past Kings netminder Anton Forsberg, his ninth of the season, as the visitors made it a 4-1 game.
Early in the third period, the Kings pulled that goal back as Laferriere buried for the second time in the game to make it 5-1. Dumoulin collected his second primary assist of the night to spring Laferriere on a breakaway, in alone on Dostal. Laferriere deked to his backhand and put home the goal with a smooth finish to restore the four-goal advantage. Kopitar collected the secondary assist, making it a multi-assist game for the captain as well.
Laferriere completed the hat trick later in the third period, the first of his NHL career, to put the cherry on top of a convincing victory. Laferriere worked his way up high in the offensive zone and after Kopitar fed the puck up from behind the net to Clarke, the blueliner fed Laferriere in the slot for a one-timer, which he hammered through traffic and in for his tenth goal of the season and the 6-1 lead.
Hear from Laferriere, Kopitar and Head Coach Jim Hiller after tonight’s game.