The LA Kings returned to the win column on home ice as they skated to a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Monday evening at Crypto.com Arena.
Neither team found the back of the net in the first period, with Ottawa holding a narrow 11-10 advantage in shots on goal. Forward Adrian Kempe had arguably the best Kings chance of the period, off a centering feed from forward Quinton Byfield, but a big left-pad save from Senators netminder Leevi Merilainen kept the game 0-0 heading into the first intermission.
The second period had the same outcome as the opening 20 minutes, as neither team found the back of the net. Each team hit the post in the middle stanza, with Claude Giroux ringing the iron for Ottawa before Quinton Byfield hit the pipe at the other end late in the period.
Early in the third period, the Kings finally broke the deadlock as forward Warren Foegele opened the scoring. The play started with a cross-ice stretch pass from defenseman Joel Edmundson, who found his fellow Joel - Armia - skating down the right wing. Armia drove the puck down the wing and hit Foegele at the back post for the tap-in goal, his fourth of the season, and a 1-0 lead.
Midway through the third period, Ottawa tied the game as forward Fabian Zetterlund capitalised on a second chance in front of the net. Zetterlund was the first to reach a loose puck just outside the crease and his low shot found a way past Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper and in for his third goal of the season and a 1-1 scoreline.
Looking at a power-play opportunity inside the final 10 minutes of regulation, in a 1-1 game, the Kings finally broke through on the man advantage to pull back ahead. Stationed at the center point, defenseman Brandt Clarke shot through a double screen, provided by forwards Phillip Danault and Corey Perry, before the puck deflected off an Ottawa player and in for the go-ahead goal and a 2-1 lead.
