Kings beat Lightning to snap 10-game series skid
Gabe Vilardi had a goal and an assist, Phillip Danault scored for the second straight game and the Kings defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Blake Lizotte and Adrian Kempe both had a goal, Jonathan Quick made 24 saves and the Kings snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Lightning.
Brandon Hagel and Nikita Kucherov scored, and Andrei Vasilevskiy gave up four goals on 33 shots in the opener of Tampa Bay’s three-game California road trip.
The Kings struck twice in the second period, reclaiming the lead on Vilardi’s power-play goal at 5:03 when he tipped Drew Doughty’s slap shot.
Lizotte made it 3-1 when he scored off Brandt Clarke’s no-look pass with 6:43 left.
It appeared Victor Hedman halved Tampa Bay’s deficit 49 seconds later, but the goal was waved off after a challenge by the Kings showed Corey Perry was offside.
The Washington Capitals erase a two-goal deficit before Marcus Johansson scores the winning goal late in regulation to secure a 4-3 win over the Kings.
Kempe scored his fifth of the season with 5:30 left in the third for a 4-1 lead, keeping pace with Vilardi for the team lead.
Kucherov cut it to 4-2 with 2:16 to play and Vasilevskiy on the bench for an extra skater.
Hagel scored for the second consecutive game with 4:46 left in the first period, alertly corralling the puck after Quick tried to knock away Steven Stamkos’ centering pass. Hagel converted a backhand to answer Danault’s opening goal at 7:20.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
