East meets West in tonight's matchup of the New York Islanders (29-28-7) vs the Los Angeles Kings (34-20-9). The Islanders were on their last leg of a three-game series in California and faced a team hungry for a win to set their playoff standings. Ilya Sorokin led the Isles out while Darcy Kuemper manned the net for the Kings. Los Angeles holds the best home record of 15-1-1 this season in the NHL and holds 77 points.
Coast to Coast Battle
The opening period witnessed the Kings aiming to score with a fast-paced offensive strategy that kept Sorokin busy. At 10:16, Adam Pelech headed to the peanlty box for tripping Andrei Kuzmenko, resulting in the Kings' first power-play opportunity of the game. With no luck, the Kings missed out on the window, with both teams back at full strength. Moments later, Vladislav Gavrikov snuck a slap shot past the Islanders' net and gave the Kings a 1-0 lead. The first period concluded as Los Angeles headed to intermission, and New York trailed by one.
Kings-Islanders Action in the Second Frame
With the second period underway, the Islanders fought to seek an equalizer and find a way past Kuemper's net. At the 11:23 mark, Anders Lee scored his twenty-fifth of the season to tie the game 1-1. Shortly after, Phillip Danault notched a goal, putting the Kings back in front. Quickly responding, Anthony Duclair evened the score with a wrist shot. The Kings initiated a goaltender interference challenge, and upon review, the officials disallowed the goal, putting New York down by one. With the second period winding down, Quinton Byfield tallied his fifteenth of the season, to make it 3-1. The Kings' momentum ended again, as Anders Lee recorded a backhand on a power play and his second of the night. Los Angeles, quick on their feet, challenged for goaltender interference as Lee's foot bumped into the front pad of Kuemper's leg. Twice in this game, the officials disallowed goals, leaving the Islanders aggravated and trailing 3-1.
Kings Control the Pace
The Islanders were given an immediate chance to bounce back 26 seconds into the final stretch, after Warren Foegele drew a penalty for hooking against Alexander Romanov. The Kings successfully killed the penalty, prevented the Islanders from scoring, and shut down any chance of New York's attempt to get back into the game. With the third period nearing its end, the Kings focused on maintaining their 3-1 advantage and avoided any chances for the opposing team to capitalize. As a minute remained, Drew Doughty lit the lamp with a short-handed goal, clinching victory on home ice as New York was defeated 4-1.