By Bob Sutton

The Los Angeles Kings ended an eight-game stretch without a win by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 on Monday, with Trevor Moore scoring two goals.

In the third period, Phillip Danault, Alex Laferriere, and Pierre-Luc Dubois all scored for Los Angeles, leading to a total of four goals. Prior to this, the team had not won a game since December 27th against San Jose, going 0-4-4.

“We executed many things correctly and have consistently done so throughout this journey,” remarked Kings coach Todd McLellan. “We have finally received recognition for our efforts. Our team showed determination and persevered through the challenges.”

David Rittich stopped 30 shots for the Kings during the fifth game of their six-game road trip. Vladislav Gavrikov, Mikey Anderson, Matt Roy, and Danault each tallied two assists.

Dubois stated that this team is able to bounce back from setbacks and that they are familiar with the challenges of an 82-game season. He acknowledged that there will be difficulties, but losing eight consecutive games is not ideal.

Carolina’s Jordan Martinook and Jack Drury both found the back of the net, extending the team’s point streak to eight games. Antti Raanta made 20 saves before being replaced by Yaniv Perets, who made his NHL debut with 14:40 remaining in the game. Perets was only called upon to make one save.

“The game wasn’t completely terrible,” stated Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour. “We simply had a few moments of lapse. That’s the nature of this league.”

Rittich achieved his highest save count for the season in his fifth game.

McLellan stated that the team needs to put in that kind of effort to break out of their slump.

It had been since their last win that the Kings had last scored five goals in a single game.

The game was even at a score of 1-1 until Los Angeles surged ahead in the third inning.

McLellan stated that they arrived in various forms and that it was simply a matter of playing the game.

Danault’s ninth goal of the season gave the Kings a 2-1 lead 61 seconds into the period. Laferriere’s goal came at 2:21.

Next, Dubois scored his second goal in two games and ninth of the season at 5:20.

At 6:24 of the first period, Moore was the first to score. He then scored his team’s 20th goal with 1:16 remaining, when the other team did not have a goalie on the ice.

Martinook has netted goals in three consecutive games, a first for him in his 10-year career spanning 602 games. He tied the game at the 5:38 mark of the second period and secured his fifth goal of the season.

The Kings managed to overcome the absence of center Blake Lizotte due to a lower-body injury, which occurred within the first three minutes of play.

The Hurricanes paid tribute to retired forward Justin Williams by inducting him into their Hall of Fame before the game. Williams was a member of three Stanley Cup-winning teams, two of which were with the Kings.

“I am disappointed that we lost the game on Willy’s night,” Brind’Amour expressed. “It will bother me for a while.”

UP NEXT

The Kings will wrap up their road trip on Tuesday with a game against Dallas.

On Friday, the Detroit team will be hosted by the Hurricanes.

Source: wralsportsfan.com