Adrian Kempe scored two goals, including the game-winner at the 2:18 mark of overtime, as the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 on Friday night in Las Vegas.
Sean Durzi sent a crossing pass from the right circle to a wide-open Kempe on the left side of the goal, where Kempe tapped it into the open net to win it with his career-best 21st goal of the season.
Phillip Danault and Andreas Athanasiou also scored goals for Los Angeles, which won for the third time in four games to move into a third-place tie with the Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific Division. Jonathan Quick finished with 21 saves.
Max Pacioretty ended an 11-game goal drought with a pair of goals and Reilly Smith also scored a goal for Vegas, which lost its third straight game. Jonathan Marchessault added a pair of assists and Jack Eichel also had an assist for his first point in two games with the Golden Knights.
Laurent Brossoit, playing in his 100th NHL game, stopped 27 of 31 shots.
Pacioretty gave Vegas a 1-0 lead at the 8:11 mark of the first period with a power-play goal. His spinning wrist shot off a bouncing puck found the left of the goal, snapping a 147:57 scoreless streak by the Golden Knights.
Smith made it 2-0 with his 14th goal of the season at 15:06 of the first. He finished an odd-man rush with Marchessault with a one-timer from the right faceoff dot into the upper right corner of the net.
The Kings cut it to 2-1 just 28 seconds later on a breakaway goal by Athanasiou, who deked Brossoit and then slid a forehand shot around his right pad.
Kempe tied it 30 seconds into the second period with a power-play goal, firing a wrist shot from the left circle over Brossoit's right shoulder, off the crossbar and into the goal.
Pacioretty put Vegas back in front, 3-2, at 6:33 of the second. He took a pass from Eichel in the left circle and fired a wrist shot that hit the far post and then caromed off Quick and rolled into the goal for his 14th goal of the season.
Danault tied it at the 17:17 mark of the second with his career-high 14th goal of the season. He took a lead pass from Viktor Arvidsson and then split a pair of Vegas defensemen before snapping a wrist shot past Brossoit's glove side.
--Field Level Media
Los Angeles | Vegas | |
Adrian Kempe 2 | Points | Max Pacioretty 2 |
Adrian Kempe 2 | Goals | Max Pacioretty 2 |
Anze Kopitar 2 | Assists | Jonathan Marchessault 2 |
Adrian Kempe 1 | Power Play Goals | Max Pacioretty 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Jonathan Quick .875 | Save Percentage | Laurent Brossoit .871 |
Jonathan Quick 21 | Saves | Laurent Brossoit 27 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Los Angeles | 31 | 4 | 1-3 | 2-3 | 6 | 32 |
Vegas | 24 | 3 | 1-3 | 2-3 | 6 | 32 |