Kings erase a three-goal deficit before falling to Hurricanes in shootout
Jordan Martinook scored in the ninth round of the shootout, and the Carolina Hurricanes blew a three-goal lead before hanging on for a 6-5 victory over the Kings on Saturday night.
Sebastian Aho set a franchise record with his 17th short-handed goal before scoring again in the shootout for the Hurricanes, who opened a six-game road trip by wasting a three-goal lead midway through the second period and taking eight minor penalties.
“I don’t know that we’ve played maybe a worse game ever, but I give [the Kings] credit,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “They outplayed us from start to finish. We just scored on every chance we had, basically. The game is just so hard when you’re in the box the whole game. It just has no flow, and [it’s] a disgusting game, really. We’re going to just trash it and move on.”
The NHL salary cap will present challenges for the Kings, and their season-opening loss to the Colorado Avalanche showcased some of their disadvantages.
Teuvo Teravainen also scored a short-handed goal, and Brendan Lemieux scored against his former team while Carolina racked up five goals on its first 12 shots against Kings goalie Pheonix Copley. Brent Burns and Jesperi Kotkaniemi had early goals while the Canes went up 5-2 midway through the second period, but the Kings tied it when captain Anze Kopitar scored with 1:22 left in regulation.
“It’s not the style we want to play,” said Aho, who surpassed Eric Staal’s team record for career short-handed goals. “Obviously a huge win, so the effort and the battle obviously got us there. Way too many penalties. Weird game. So much weird stuff happened there, but obviously a win is a win.”
Frederik Andersen made 25 saves in his second straight start for Carolina, which has scored 10 goals in the first two games of a season in which it has Stanley Cup aspirations after winning seven playoff rounds over the last five years.
Martinook scored the last of Carolina’s three shootout goals moments after Alex Laferriere missed for the Kings. Although Martinook has never scored more than 15 goals in a season, his teammates weren’t surprised by his poise on the puck.
“I’ve seen him do that move in practice on me,” Andersen said. “I think he’s more skilled than people give him credit for. He provides a lot of energy for us, and he can score. So it was cool to see him finish it for us like that.”
Kopitar scored two goals for the Kings, who have allowed 10 regulation goals while losing their first two games of the season, both at home.
Drew Doughty and Trevor Moore also scored for the Kings, and Vladislav Gavrikov made it 5-4 with 8:36 to play. Kopitar, who is beginning his 18th season in Los Angeles, tied it with a point-blank goal in the crease off a setup from Carl Grundström.
“It’s a good thing to see that we turned it up or locked it down, whatever you want to call it, and come back and at least get the one [point],” Kopitar said.
The Kings open the season Wednesday at home against the Colorado Avalanche. They have not won a playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup in 2014.
Copley stopped 14 shots, but the Kings’ first two games have done nothing for fans’ confidence in the team’s defense and its unlikely goalie tandem of 36-year-old Cam Talbot and Copley, a longtime minor leaguer.
“We will score enough goals to win games,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “I believe we will. It’s the tightening up of certain areas of our game, and tonight I point at individuals. I don’t think our team was bad. I think some individuals were sloppy.”
Aho got his short-handed goal off Kevin Fiala’s atrocious giveaway at the opposite blue line in the first period. Aho leads the NHL in short-handed goals since he entered the league in the 2016-17 season.
Viktor Arvidsson likely needs surgery
General manager Rob Blake told the Kings’ official broadcasters that veteran forward Viktor Arvidsson likely needs back surgery, and McLellan confirmed it after the game, saying Arvidsson will be out “a long time.”
Up next: Pierre-Luc Dubois returns to Winnipeg when the Kings visit the Jets on Tuesday.
