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The Los Angeles Kings picked up a 4-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes last night, remaining undefeated in road games this season.
With Blake Lizotte injured, Jaret Anderson-Dolan joined the fourth line in place of him, while Pheonix Copley got the start.
While the Kings took the first penalty of the game early on, they managed to open the scoring while shorthanded, with Trevor Moore heading to the net on a great effort and roofing a nice shot over Connor Ingram. Then only five minutes later, Quinton Byfield took advantage of a turnover in the offensive zone, and made an excellent move to get around and opponent, then put a great backhand pass over to Anze Kopitar, who scored on the open net to make it 2-0 only about eight minutes in.
The teams traded partial breakaways over a quick stretch a few minutes later, before Nick Schmaltz had a great shorthanded chance on yet another breakaway, but his shot hit the post. Then the other way, Alex Laferriere came in on a rush and rang a shot off the post as well, before we saw a big fight between Andreas Englund and Josh Brown. The Kings had a power play to close out the frame from there, but once again gave up another shorthanded breakaway, where Lawson Crouse missed wide.
So while the Kings did enter the intermission up 2-0, they got lucky on a few breakaways not being converted, along with some nice saves from Copley.
Los Angeles had to kill a couple of penalties in the second period and didn’t even have a shot through the first 10 minutes of the frame, but still managed to prevent real quality chances against as well. However, later in the period, Mattias Maccelli committed a terrible turnover right to Trevor Moore, who beat Ingram with a well-placed shot, to extend the lead to 3-0. However, with just a minute to go in the frame, Copley went to cover a puck and Maccelli poked it through him before he could, making it a 3-1 game.
The teams traded off power play opportunities in the first half of the third period, each to no avail. However, late in the frame, Alex Laferriere made a great play to get the puck off the boards up to himself on a rush and head down ice, before dishing a perfect pass to Phillip Danault who beat Ingram, sealing a 4-1 win for Los Angeles.
It’s another big win for the Kings, as they jump to a 11-3-3 record on the year, and stay perfect on the road at 8-0-0.
The Kings’ penalty kill continues to be a big factor in their success, going 6-for-6 on kills last night. Los Angeles ranks second in the league on the PK this season, operating at a 90 percent success rate, and now they’ve gone seven games in a row without allowing a power play goal (through 26 times shorthanded).
Trevor Moore also had another big game, with two goals, putting him at nine tallies this season already. For reference, Moore has never scored more than 17 goals in a given season, just to detail how good of a start this has been for him.
Quinton Byfield also continues to impress more and more every game too, this time with that excellent set-up to Anze Kopitar. His development is essentially giving the Kings a whole other high-end forward as part of their top-six group, only contributing more to their dynamic offense, which now ranks second in the league in goals per game.
Meanwhile, it remains surprising that Alex Laferriere is still sitting at just four points through 16 games this year. Laferriere single-handedly created the Danault goal, and while it’ll be interesting to see whatever happens with him once Viktor Arvidsson eventually returns, he’s only getting more comfortable with the puck.
It was also a big game for Pheonix Copley, in what was his best outing of the season. Copley had to make some good saves throughout, and while the goal he allowed was a little weak, it’s the first time he’s looked good for the Kings this year.
The Kings will be back in action on Friday against the Anaheim Ducks.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM NOVEMBER
- Kings dominate in 4-1 win over Leafs
- Kings get past Senators to stay undefeated on the road
- Kings keep rolling with 5-0 win over Flyers
- 4 players who are exceeding expectations with the Kings early on
- Kings stay perfect on the road, extend streak with win over Golden Knights
- Kings' winning streak ends in overtime loss to Penguins
- Kings still looking to solve home-ice struggles
- Kings earn important home win vs. Panthers, Pierre-Luc Dubois injured
- Kings end homestand with win over Blues 
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
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