Los Angeles went toe-to-toe with the NHL’s top team for 40 minutes—then costly mistakes in the third period erased what could have been their biggest win of the season.
The Los Angeles Kings (28-25-16) blew a game in what could've been their biggest win of the season, where they were competing wire-to-wire against the best team in the league, the Buffalo Sabres (44-20-6), until it came down to the final period.
LA's defense was great for the first 40 minutes of the game, before entering the third period tied, but the Sabres scored two goals in the final frame to hold on and get the 4-1 victory on Saturday afternoon.
The Kings were great on the faceoff, winning 67.3% compared to the Sabres' 32.7%, and avoided the shutout, ending the Sabres' shutout streak since last Saturday.
But what this game showed was that there are levels to this: the mistakes Los Angeles made in the third period, Buffalo took advantage of to close out the game.
After suffering that heartbreaking loss on Thursday to the Philadelphia Flyers, where they gave up three goals in the second period, Los Angeles had an opportunity to pick up their biggest win of the season, but came up short in the final moments.
The game began with Artemi Panarin once again showing the Kings why he's a game-changer, especially on the power play, improving the stat to nearly 25% since he's been on the team.
Anze Kopitar found Panarin with a slick pass to earn his 700th point on home ice, tying Marcel Dionne for the most ever in Kings history.
It was an even first-period matchup for the most part. Despite the Kings getting on the board first to lead 1-0, the Sabres still weren't going away, outshooting Los Angeles 13-8 in the opening frame.
Both goaltenders were excellent in the game, Anton Forsberg once again showing why he should be the permanent starter over Darcy Kuemper, saving several shots that
Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen did a great job at limiting the Kings' chances of extending this lead, especially in the second period, when LA had a power play in the final minute of the period and failed to generate shots.
Buffalo finally got on board when Tage Thompson scored the nasty rebound goal after going around Forsberg and bringing the puck back to the net to tie the scoreboard 1-1.
The Kings were much better in the second period today, despite giving up a goal; the defense held the Sabres to just seven shots and got a lot of timely saves to end the period even.
The third period was quiet until the 8:48-minute mark when the Sabres scored to take their first lead. After Joel Edmundon stepped up for a big hit, Brandt Clarke was left alone to defend a 2-on-1, and the Sabres took advantage of that sequence to lead 2-1.
Los Angeles challenged the call for a potential high stick, but the goal would stand, and the delay would put the Sabres on the power play. And Buffalo would of course capitalize on the power play, scoring on the rebound after it went off defenseman Cody Ceci, giving Buffalo a 3-1 lead.
The Sabres defense picked up in the final period after getting that big stop in the second period, where they were all over the Kings' offense on the power play. Their intensity picked up in the final period, holding Los Angeles to single-digit shots.
Buffalo sealed the deal with an empty-net goal in the final two minutes of the match to take this game from the Kings on the road, ending their three-game road trip undefeated, while Los Angeles goes 0-1-1 in its two-game homestand.
With the loss now, the Kings fall out of the final playoff spot after the Nashville Predators won today, now holding a one-game lead over Los Angeles.
Give credit to the Kings for playing hard and staying in this game until the final period, but there are levels to this, and the Sabres showed Los Angeles why they're a championship contender and the Kings aren't.
Anton Forsberg was great, stopping 29 of 32 shots against the Sabres, coming up with big saves today, but in the final period, the Sabres flipped the switch.
Panarin scored the lone goal early on the power play to give the Kings that momentum lead, but that was all the offense could get against the Sabres' defense.
Luukkonen was also phenomenal on the crease for the Sabres, stopping 26 of the Kings' 27 shots, especially in the final period. He was huge for holding Los Angeles scoreless in the final 40 minutes of regulation.
The Kings will play the Utah Mammoth tomorrow night at 6:00 PM PT, beginning their three-game road trip.
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