Armia scores twice, Kings defeat Mammoth

SALT LAKE CITY -- Joel Armia scored twice, and the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Utah Mammoth 4-2 at Delta Center on Monday.

Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist, and Anze Kopitar also scored for the Kings (14-8-7), who were coming off a 6-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. Kevin Fiala had two assists, and Darcy Kuemper made 19 saves.

“I think after that game on Saturday you come in here and feel good about your game,” Kempe said. “Obviously, you don't expect to go out and score six every game, but we kind of kept it going in the first period, had two goals, and then it was a tough game from there on. Second period, they kind of came back at us, and then in the third I think we started playing better again, but it was a tight game all the way to the end.”

Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist, and Karel Vejmelka made 23 saves for the Mammoth (14-14-3), who have lost two in a row and six of their past eight.

“I think we obviously didn't have the start we were hoping for and we needed against that kind of team,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “I liked the way we played in the second and the third periods. I think we competed really hard and the effort was there. The focus was there. But unfortunately, when you have that kind of a start, I often repeat in front of you that it's a one-goal game all the time, so you cannot give any free opportunities to your opponent.”

Kempe gave the Kings a 1-0 lead at 7:50 of the first period. He took a pass from Fiala on a 3-on-2 rush, got the puck around Nate Schmidt just inside the zone, and drove down the slot before making a move and tucking a backhand past the left pad of Vejmelka.

Armia made it 2-0 at 10:08, scoring blocker side on a breakaway off a pass from Fiala.

“I think tonight was a night where we didn't panic at all no matter if they had a push,” Fiala said. “It's hockey, you know, so both teams are going to push. They're going to have chances, and we just stayed with it, didn't have any panic, and when it was our chance to push, we pushed right back and had great chances.”

Brandon Tanev appeared to have cut the lead to 2-1 on his own breakaway at 11:08 of the first, but the Kings challenged the play for offside, and the call was reversed after a video review.

Dylan Guenther did make it 2-1 with a power-play goal 34 seconds into the second period. He beat Kuemper glove side with a one-timer from above the circles.

Kopitar pushed it to 3-1 at 3:27 of the third period. Kempe couldn't control a backdoor pass with his skate, but the puck bounced in the slot right to Kopitar, who lifted a shot past Vejmelka's glove from in tight.

Keller cut it to 3-2 at 12:15, roofing a backhand over Kuemper's blocker from the right circle.

“Obviously, not a great first period for us. They're an experienced team, they're structured, they defend really hard, and they made it tough on us in the first,” Keller said. “I think the way we were able to kind of bounce back in the second, I think that's one of our best second periods of the year, for sure. ... It [stinks] to have that little push there and not be able to get it done.”

Armia scored an empty-net goal at 18:22 for the 4-2 final.

“I thought we were dangerous in the first period,” Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller said. “I thought they pushed us pretty good in the second period. They got on the power play, got some momentum, got us on our heels, but I thought we gathered ourselves in the third despite them pushing a little bit at the end. I liked how we played our third period."

NOTES: The Mammoth are the 32nd franchise Kopitar has scored a goal against in his NHL career. ... Kempe has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games. ... Keller has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past five games.