Kings overcome late Kraken goal, prevailing in nine-round shootout
Carl Grundstrom scored the deciding goal in the ninth round of a shootout and the Kings beat the Seattle Kraken 3-2 on Saturday night to snap a three-game losing streak.
Trevor Moore and Anze Kopitar scored in regulation for the Kings, who improved to 12-1-1 on the road this season. Cam Talbot made 17 saves through overtime.
“The group as a whole decided that they wanted to play our way,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “They took ownership of the game in certain situations, whether it was line changes, shift length, certain assignments. They took ownership and reestablished our way of doing things.”
Gabe Vilardi had a career-high four points with a goal and three assists in his impressive return to Los Angeles.
Adam Larsson and Oliver Bjorkstrand scored in regulation for Seattle, which lost for the ninth time in 11 games. Joey Daccord stopped 36 shots.
The Kraken mustered just four shots through the first 30 minutes and finished tied for their second-lowest shot total of the season.
“They’re outstanding defensively,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said of the Kings. “They play hard. They shut down the middle of the rink. They’re able to break out with structure and beat your forecheck by a few feet here and there.”
Adrian Kempe, Arthur Kaliyev and Trevor Lewis also scored in the tiebreaker for the Kings, and Kailer Yamamoto, Yanni Gourde and Matty Beniers tallied for the Kraken.
“I’m confident our group can play in these (low-scoring) games and win these games,” McLellan said. “We’re built for that type of night. We just haven’t had to play in many of them this year.”
Larsson opened the scoring 6:45 into the first period when he snuck a soft pass through two skaters and between Talbot’s legs for his second goal of the season. It came in Larsson’s 300th consecutive game, the fifth-longest active streak in the NHL.
Moore tied it with his team-high 14th with 6:28 remaining in the opening period, beating Daccord with a backhanded shot off a between-the-legs touch pass from Phillip Danault.
Kopitar gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead on a power-play goal with 2:44 left in the second. Quinton Byfield sent a backhanded pass to the crease and Kopitar one-timed it past Daccord for his 12th.
Bjorkstrand tied it at 2-2 on a power-play goal with 2:29 left in regulation when he fired a wrist shot past Talbot for his 10th.
“Unfortunately we gave up the power play late in the game,” McLellan said. “Give them credit. They scored a nice goal. But I thought tonight we deserved to win. We played a good, solid game, and if wouldn’t have won, it would’ve stung a little bit.”
Seattle was coming off back-to-back victories, but missed a chance to complete its first three-game win streak of the season.
The Kraken fell to 3-8 in overtime and shootouts this season. They have lost eight of their past nine shootouts, dating back to the start of last season.
Up next for Kings: at San José on Tuesday night.
