Kings’ season-opening road winning streak ends in overtime loss to Islanders
ELMONT, N.Y. — Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored 13 seconds into overtime and Ilya Sorokin stopped 34 shots as the New York Islanders ended the Kings’ record 11-game season-opening road winning streak with a 3-2 victory Saturday night.
Anders Lee scored twice in the third period to tie the score for the Islanders, who improved to 4-0-1 in their last five games and 7-1-4 in their last 12.
It was the first time this season the Islanders won after trailing heading into the third period and the first time in 14 games the Kings lost a game they led after two periods.
“We just played a really solid hockey game,’’ Lee said. “I think we proved that when we stick with it and continue to push, our resiliency can show itself.”
Quinton Byfield is starting to fulfill the expectations that were set for him as the No. 2 pick of the 2020 NHL draft, powering the Kings to a strong start.
Adrian Kempe and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov scored in the second period to give the Kings a 2-0 lead. Kevin Fiala had two assists, and Cam Talbot finished with 27 saves to fall to 9-0-1 on the road. Talbot is 12-4-2 overall in his first season with the Kings.
In the extra period, Pageau took a breakout pass from Simon Holmstrom before swooping in on Talbot and depositing a backhand for his second goal of the season, setting off a raucous celebration at UBS Arena. It was Pageau’s first goal in 14 home games this season.
“I was thinking shooting like I did all year — and it hasn’t been working — so I said I’ll try something else. I gave it a shot, it worked out,’’ Pageau said about his subtle shift to the backhand. ”In the third, we emptied the tank. I thought we were the better team at the end of the game.”
Kempe got the Kings on the scoreboard with a one-timer on a power play at 5:40 of the middle period for his ninth of the season.
Gavrikov made it 2-0 at 9:18 when his shot from the left point eluded Sorokin for his third.
Lee banged home a rebound at 8:42 of the third to get the Islanders on the board, and then tied it with 4:11 remaining for his seventh goal this season. Scott Mayfield and Bo Horvat assisted on the tying goal as Horvat extended his points streak to six games.
“We stuck with our game and played a full 60 minutes,’’ Islanders coach Lane Lambert said. ”We didn’t waver, and we got rewarded for it.”
Fiala leads the Kings with 19 assists and 25 points overall. Kempe also has 25 points. They are one point ahead of Kings captain Anze Kopitar who didn’t record a point for the first time in a road game this season.
The Kings were coming off a 4-0 win at Montreal on Thursday night that set the NHL record with an 11-0-0 start on the road. Los Angeles is 16-4-4 overall.
Journeyman goaltender Cam Talbot has quickly found a place in L.A. with the Kings, playing a vital role in the team’s fast start to the season.
“We didn’t come in and say we’ve got to get to 12 here after winning 11 in Montreal,’’ Kings coach Todd McLellan said. ”We just worry about our game. It’s a simple as that. Tomorrow nobody is going to ask me about it, which is fine.”
Lee added that the comeback win following several recent games with squandered third-period leads was a refreshing sign for the Islanders.
“We’re continuing to grow as a team and building what we’ve been working on,’’ he said. “You can see what we did tonight. That’s a result of all the work that we’ve put in.”
Up next for the Kings: at the New York Rangers on Sunday night.
