LA Kings defeat Tampa Bay to break 10 game streak against them- Oct. 2022
The LA Kings came into the game at the Crypto.com Arena versus the Tampa Bay Lightning with a mission. Tampa Bay has been to the last 3 Stanley Cup finals losing last year to Colorado but they had won the two previous year. Tampa Bay is led by forward Steven Stamkos, defenseman Victor Hedman, sniper Nikita Kucherov and great goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. Their coach, John Cooper, has his team very strong and always competitive despite their early season average record.
LA has a fresh new team with a lot of players surrounded by veterans Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar, and Jonathan Quick. They have a core of solid younger players with up and coming Adriane Kempe (who scored 1 goal to make it 4-1 and put the game away) young winger Kevin Fiala, Viktor Arvidsson (who was a late scratch due to illness), Trevor Moore, scoring machine Gabriel Vilardi (who scored a goal & had an assist). “Yeah, they’re a good team. They’ve been to the Cup final, whatever it is, three years in a row now,” Vilardi said. “But like I said, I think we’re a good team, too, so we have to beat teams like this, especially on home ice.”. “He’s got a lot of confidence off the power play right now,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “I think as he leaves the rink every day, he’s really enjoying the game. And he’s earned it.”
Blake Lizotte made it 3-1 when he scored off Brandt Clarke’s no-look pass with 6:43 left. . Phillip Danault scored for the second straight game and young defenseman Brandt Clark make up a good nucleus for this team going forward. After making the playoffs last year and taking Edmonton to 7 games without Doughty, they have the confidence and chemistry to get back to the playoffs.
The game was close throughout the first period with the King taking a 1-0 lead on a goal by Kempe. Tampa Bay tied it up at one going to 2nd period. Drew Doughty put the game away with a slap shot make it for two and that was the final. It was probably the best game the Kings played this year & against a very solid team which hopefully will give them momentum moving forward as they’ve been inconsistent so far. The Kings had lost 10 straight games to the Lightning dating to Jan. 16, 2017, which was the second-longest active streak in the NHL behind Arizona’s 19 consecutive defeats against Boston.
More at www.nhl.com/kings