With the Vegas Golden Knights missing five key rotation players tonight, this was a winnable game for the Kings; instead, they crumbled in a third-period collapse that turned into chaos.
A loss over a Golden Knights team missing five key rotation pieces, including Mitch Marner, Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, etc, that in itself wasn't enough for the Los Angeles Kings to defeat the Golden Knights at home.
It looked like the Kings (23-20-14) had this game in the bag, leading 2-1 heading into the third period with a great ending in the second period. Instead, Los Angeles choked in devastating fashion, surrendering five goals in the third period, and lost 6-4 to the Vegas Golden Knights (28-16-14).
It was an electric 40 minutes with Artemi Panarin doing his thing in his debut and Quinton Byfield shining, then it collapsed, another reason why people shouldn't buy the Kings, who can never hold on to their leads this season.
First Period: Vegas Strikes First
Vegas opened the scoring at 9:01 when Pavel Dorofeyev buried the rebound off a 2-on-1 rush. A missed shot kicked off the end boards, and Dorofeyev stayed with the play, beating Anton Forbserg on the transition to make it 1-0.
Even with Vegas missing five key rotation players, the Golden Knights are still dangerous in transition.
But the Kings' response was quick; a few minutes later, at the 5:29 mark, Quinton Byfield tied the game 1-1, finishing off a sharp sequence set up by Artemi Panarin and Brandt Clarke. Panarin's touch and presence on ice immediately stood out, drawing coverage and creating space. The puck movement was crisp and beautiful to watch as Quinton Byfield snapped home his 12th goal of the season.
Second Period: Kings Capitalize
The middle frame was tighter and more physically charged.
Vegas pushed early in the second, winning the puck battles, but the Kings' talent took over the shorthanded Golden Knights.
The turning point came at 5:16 of the second period, when Vegas turned over the puck at the offensive blue line. Panarin immediately transitioned up ice, feeding Anze Kopitar, who slid a perfect pass to Adrian Kempe, finishing the play cleanly to give the Kings the 2-1 lead.
It was a textbook transition play that saw some showtime on ice, led by Panarin and the trio of Kempe and Kopitar. Panarin picked up his second assist and point of the night, continuing to show the instant chemistry he brings to the Kings.
As mentioned, the period got very physical, with Corey Perry dropping the gloves with Jeremy Lauzon after his hit on Byfield. Both teams were very into it tonight, fighting in a big divisional rivalry game.
After 40 minutes, aside from the fight that resulted in a penalty to Perry, the Kings looked to be firmly in control of this game heading into the third period, leading 2-1.
Third Period: A Five Goal Avalance
Everything slipped in the final frame. Within four minutes, the Golden Knights scored three goals to extend their lead to 4-2, with three different Golden Knights scoring despite missing five players.
Vegas is the best team in the third period this season with the best goal differential, so it was always going to be a tough task to close out this team for the Kings, but even without its key players, Los Angeles couldn't do so, and the Golden Knights showed why they're the No. 1 seed in the Pacific Division.
The momentum quickly shifted as the Kings were unable to create easy shots, while the Golden Knights were the much faster, more physical team, despite being severely shorthanded on the road.
The Kings did score two more goals in the third period, with Byfield scoring his second goal of the game, his first time this season scoring two goals in a game, and Brandt Clarke keeping Los Angeles alive, cutting the deficit to 5-4, with just under a minute remaining.
But, off a turnover, the Golden Knights hit the dagger on the empty netter, to win the game 6-4 in Crypto.com Arena.
Despite the loss, Panarin was great in his debut, finishing with two points and two assists, showing why he will quickly become a game-changer for the Kings, but it still wasn't enough to win tonight.
Vegas now leads the season series 3-1, winning the last three meetings.
For the Kings, it's a tough one to swallow, especially against a banged-up team, but all they have to do now is move on and quickly forget about this loss. Los Angeles is back at it again tomorrow night against a tough Edmonton Oilers team, who will likely have most of their guys ready as tip-off starts at 10:30 pm EST.
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