Kings beat Golden Knights for 7th straight road win
Posted
The Associated Press (via Orange County Register)
Kings goaltender Cam Talbot, left, makes a save against the Vegas Golden Knights’ William Carrier during the second period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Kings defenseman Matt Roy, left, knocks the puck up the ice against Vegas Golden Knights right wing Jonathan Marchessault during the first period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill blocks a shot in front of Kings right wing Carl Grundstrom during the first period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone, left, vies for the puck with Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov during the second period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill, left, blocks a shot by the Kings’ Blake Lizotte during the first period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill blocks a shot by the Kings’ Blake Lizotte during the first period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill, right, blocks a shot by Kings center Blake Lizotte during the first period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Kings goaltender Cam Talbot, left, makes a save against the Vegas Golden Knights’ William Carrier during the second period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Kings center Adrian Kempe, right, celebrates with Andreas Englund after scoring during the second period of their game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The Vegas Golden Knights’ William Carrier, left, skates with the puck against the Kings’ Phillip Danault as Kings goaltender Cam Talbot, right, protects the near post during the second period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Kings goaltender Cam Talbot, right, stops the puck in front of Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone, left, and Kings center Phillip Danault during the second period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Kings center Trevor Moore, second from right, celebrates after scoring during the second period of their game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. The Kings won, 4-1. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The Kings’ Trevor Moore celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring a goal during the second period of their game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Kings goaltender Cam Talbot, left, makes a save against the Vegas Golden Knights’ Jack Eichel during the second period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Vegas Golden Knights’ William Carrier, left, skates with the puck against the Kings’ Phillip Danault during the second period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Vegas Golden Knights’ Alex Pietrangelo, right, skates with the puck against the Kings’ Alex Laferriere during the second period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone, left, commits a hooking penalty on Kings center Adrian Kempe during the third period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The Kings’ Quinton Byfield skates with the puck as the Vegas Golden Knights’ William Karlsson pursues during the third period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate after center William Karlsson (71) scored during the third period of their game against the Kings on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The Vegas Golden Knights’ William Karlsson celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring a goal during the third period of their game against the Kings on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill, left, Brayden McNabb (3) and Shea Theodore (27) defend the net in front of the Kings’ Anze Kopitar, center, during the third period on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS — It’s all clicking for the Kings when they pack their travel bags this season, and their success away from home has reached historic levels.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and the Kings won their fourth game in a row, 4-1 over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Kings became just the eighth team in NHL history to win each of their first seven road games to start a season, and the first to accomplish the feat since the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils did it in 2009.
Trevor Moore, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Anze Kopitar also scored for the Kings. Cam Talbot made 37 saves and is now tied with two others with a league-leading seven wins.
After opening the season with points in their first 12 games, the Golden Knights lost for the second straight time in regulation. Vegas hadn’t lost consecutive games in regulation since Jan. 16 and 19 of last season, to Dallas and Detroit.
William Karlsson scored for the Golden Knights and Adin Hill stopped 29 shots.
The Kings broke through first, opening the scoring midway through the second period.
Hemmed into the offensive zone, defenseman Jordan Spence blasted a shot from the blue line and Kempe was there to clean up on the right side of the net, slamming home the rebound for a 1-0 lead.
“It was the game we thought it would be,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “I thought early it was a boxing match. Everybody was just taking jabs and waiting for something to give. Fortunate to score first, and I think that’s always an advantage against this team.”
It didn’t take long for the Kings to extend their lead to two goals, as it was Spence once again with a blistering shot from the top, only this time Moore with a redirect from the slot.
With another power-play opportunity, Dubois beat Hill from the left side of the goal when he tapped home a rebound to push the visitors’ lead to 3-0 early in the third.
Karlsson brought life to an announced crowd of 18,330 in attendance when he cut the Kings’ lead to two goals, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Kings’ momentum.
“I think we’ve kind of run out of gas a little bit,” Vegas captain Mark Stone said. “And I thought we played pretty well for a majority of the game. Third period just kind of shut it down a little bit, didn’t really have our legs. But adversity doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger. We’ll be ready for San Jose on Friday night.”
Kopitar, who also had an assist earlier, notched the 400th goal of his career with an empty-netter to provide the final margin.
Since Vegas joined the NHL ahead of the 2017-18 season, no skater has more points against the Golden Knights than Kopitar (13 goals, 21 assists).
“Obviously, it’s a good feeling. I didn’t think it was going to happen tonight,” Kopitar said. “I figured I’d give it a go (at an empty net). Memories like this, you want to be on the winning side of this. I thought we played a solid, solid game tonight. It’s obviously a good feeling to get the two points.”
UP NEXT
The Kings host Pittsburgh on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
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