Islanders rookie Kieffer Bellows scores twice to beat Kings 5-3
Rookie Kieffer Bellows scored his first two NHL goals to help the New York Islanders rally for a 5-3 win over the last-place Kings on Thursday night.
Anders Lee had a goal and an assist, and Michael Dal Colle and Matt Martin also scored as the Islanders recovered from a 3-1 deficit in the second period to get their third win in five games (3-0-2). Derick Brassard had two assists and Thomas Greiss stopped 22 shots.
New York, splitting home games between the Nassau Coliseum and Barclays Center, improved to 6-0-3 in Brooklyn.
Ben Hutton had a goal and an assist, and Alex Iafallo and Trevor Lewis also scored for the Kings, which is last in the Western Conference and has lost eight of nine (1-7-1). Jonathan Quick finished with 28 saves and to fall to 1-9-1 in his last 11 starts.
Martin tied the score at 3 just 23 seconds into the third as he backhanded the rebound of Devon Toews’ shot from the left point past Quick for his fourth.
After trading Kyle Clifford and Jack Campbell to Toronto, Kings general manager Rob Blake knows he has more work to do with his last-place roster
Bellows, who scored his first NHL goal earlier in the game, gave the Islanders their first lead of the night as he scored on a sharp angle from the left side along the boards near the goal line with 7:50 left.
Lee capped the scoring as he hustled down the ice to knock in an empty-netter with 13 seconds left for his 17th.
Trailing 2-0 after 20 minutes, the Islanders pulled within one just 1:40 into the second as Johnny Boychuk’s one-timer from the right point went in off Dal Colle’s skate.
Lewis restored the Kings’ two-goal lead 5 1/2 minutes later as he redirected Michael Amadio’s shot in front past Greiss for his third.
Bellows, who had an assist in his NHL debut two nights earlier, pulled the Islanders to 3-2 as he converted a pass from Anthony Beauvillier past Quick from the left side with 9:38 left.
Hutton got the Kings on the scoreboard just past the midpoint of the opening period. Trailing the play, the defenseman got a pass from Adrian Kempe in the right slot and beat Greiss on the glove side for his third with 9:40 left. It came on Los Angeles’ fourth shot on goal of the game.
“Goalie,” starring Mark O’Brien and Kevin Pollak, spins the tragic tale of NHL Hall-of-Famer Terry Sawchuk, whose alcoholism and untreated depression contributed to his death at age 40.
Iafallo doubled the Kings’ lead exactly 7 minutes later on their sixth shot. With the Islanders possessing the puck in their defensive zone, Iafallo stole the puck skated to his left and fired a shot that went in on Greiss’ glove side for his 15th.
Notes
Iafallo has two goals and five points in the last three games. ... Kings forward Anze Kopitar snapped a four-game point streak in which he had three goals and two assists. ... The Kings lost in regulation for the first time in 14 games (12-1-1) when it took a lead into the third period. ... The Kings won the teams’ first meeting, 4-1 at home on Nov. 27. ... Toews played in his 100th game. ... Bellows became the first Islanders rookie since Anders Lee in April 2013 to have at least one point in each of his first two games. ... Defenseman Ryan Pulock had a secondary assist on Martin’s goal, giving him an assist for the fourth straight game. He has seven assists in his last eight games. ... The Islanders improved to 5-11-1 when trailing after two periods.
Up next
Kings: at New Jersey on Saturday night.
Islanders: at Tampa Bay on Saturday night to open a two-game trip.
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