Nolan ends a long drought in Kings’ 4-3 win

Before his two-goal performance in the Kings’ wild 4-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday, rugged winger Jordan Nolan hadn’t scored since April 9, 2015. That was long enough for him to forget exactly when he had last put one in the net, but not so long that he gave up on ever scoring again.

“I couldn’t tell you,” he said when asked if he recalled his last goal. “I don’t even want to look back on it, just kind of forget about it and move on.

“I feel like I was getting some chances. Even last year, I felt like I had a lot of Grade A chances and just couldn’t put them in. It was nice to get rewarded tonight.”

Before Jeff Zatkoff stopped 25 shots in relief of starter Peter Budaj, he hadn’t won a game since last February, when he played for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Between Oct. 18 and Thursday, Zatkoff had made one appearance, on Nov. 11 at Ottawa, and in that game aggravated a groin problem that prevented him from finishing. He had been sound lately but couldn’t regain Coach Darryl Sutter’s trust, a spectator as Budaj appeared in 22 consecutive games.

That changed Thursday at Gila River Arena, where Zatkoff entered at the start of the second period, immediately made some good saves and gave the Kings sure footing after a shaky beginning. This is how strange it was: Tyler Toffoli, who had no penalty minutes in his previous 23 games, took two minor penalties in the first 39 seconds, one leading to a power-play goal for the Coyotes. “I think he was the difference in the game,” Sutter said after Zatkoff earned his first victory as a King.

Statistically, the difference was Trevor Lewis’ goal with 4:05 left in the third period. Anze Kopitar passed to Marian Gaborik for a shot that appeared to surprise goalie Mike Smith. The rebound caromed to Lewis, who swooped into the slot.

“I saw Kopi throw it to Gabby there and I didn’t see it for a minute and I think it was maybe because he had black equipment on,” Lewis said of Smith. “Then I saw it bounce out and I was just at the right spot at the right time.”

So were Nolan and Zatkoff.

Martin Hanzal redirected a shot by Radim Vrbata past Budaj 15 seconds into the game, during Toffoli’s first penalty, but the Kings matched that at 12:25 on an outnumbered rush that Dwight King finished off by tapping home a pass from Dustin Brown. The Coyotes regained the lead at 18:32, with Nick Shore in the penalty box. Brown’s failed clearing attempt stayed in the zone and Hanzal flung a fluttering shot at the net. Nolan’s first goal, a rising backhander, brought them even at 10:14 of the second period. “I do that once in a while in practice, thought I’d try it out today,” Nolan said of the slick move.

He gave the Kings a 3-2 lead by banking the puck off Smith at 13:41 of the third period, a goal that impressive Coyotes forward Tobias Rieder matched nine seconds later.

But with Zatkoff otherwise holding the fort, the Kings pulled out the second game of a back-to-back sequence against division rivals after losing at home to the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.

“I guess it doesn’t matter how you get the two points, as long as you get them, but it definitely wasn’t one of our best games,” Nolan said. “Zats came in and played good for us and we were fortunate enough to get the two points.”

Zatkoff was determined not to lose confidence during his long wait to get back in. “Maybe earlier in my career it would have been something that eats away at you in the sense that you want to play, you want to contribute to the team and you want to be a piece of the puzzle,” he said. “So you’ve just got to make sure you keep working in practice and be prepared.”

helene.elliott@latimes.com

Twitter: @helenenothelen