LOS ANGELES –– Day games at home were once the dreaded stuff of trap matchups, flat efforts and even, in rare instances, broken limbs for the Kings, but they methodically dispatched the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 on Saturday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena, barely 24 hours after they dominated an afternoon affair against the Ducks.
Captain Anze Kopitar, whose fractured leg in 2011 was perhaps the most harrowing matinee moment in Kings history, was held scoreless, meaning taking sole ownership of Marcel Dionne’s record for career assists by a King would wait. His line was the only one that was suppressed effectively Saturday though, when the Kings won their fifth consecutive game. Since dropping their opener, the Kings have lost only twice in regulation. They are now 10-0-1 when scoring first and 11-0-0 when holding a lead at the second intermission.
A goal in each period and from three different lines and then an insurance marker by Trevor Moore to complete his brace sustained the Kings offensively. Goalie Pheonix Copley boosted his confidence with his third victory and first shutout of the campaign, meaning the Kings have now allowed a meager five goals during their streak.
Moore lit the lamp twice for the Kings, who also got goals from Carl Grundstrom and Trevor Lewis. Pierre-Luc Dubois contributed two assists. Copley stopped all 18 shots he faced.
Veteran Jake Allen was noticeably busier than his opposite number, Copley, making 26 saves against a balanced, meticulous Kings attack.
“Shift after shift, we just did what we wanted to do and stayed patient,” the Thousand Oaks native Moore said.
“[Copley] gave us so much last year, so much stability, and I never had any doubts that we were going to see some really good games out of him,” he added.
The Kings’ first period was subtly dominant, leaving them with a one-goal lead through 20 minutes but a staggering 10-1 advantage in shots on goal. Grundstrom tallied off a thunderous one-timer from the right circle, but it was the setup by Dubois that elicited “oohs” and “ahs” from the crowd. He received Andreas Englund’s pass in the defensive zone and burst across both blue lines, backing up Montreal’s defense while treating Jake Evans as a mere nuisance while the Montreal center yanked, whacked and jostled Dubois from behind before he effortlessly flung the puck to a wide-open Grundstrom.
“(Dubois) is really strong on the puck, so I just try to skate and be open for him to find lanes, he makes it easy,” Grundstrom said.
Coach Todd McLellan praised that line as an invigorating force on a day when both teams were competing in the back end of back-to-back sets.
“When you play back-to-back, you’re looking for at least a line to get you going and pull everybody else along, and I thought that line did it for us tonight,” he said.
Despite a lopsided opening frame, the second stanza brought some pushback from Montreal and left the Kings one shot away from a tie game. That was until midway through the period, when a rush broke down and Moore went to work, attacking the net and stuffing home a wraparound to make him the second King to reach double digits in goals this season. Moore would add another goal from right near the post in the third period when he sneakily banked the puck in off Allen from a sharp angle with 6:34 to play.
Between Moore’s markers, Lewis tallied for the third time this season 3:14 into the third period. Jaret Anderson-Dolan broke up Montreal’s breakout, stealing the puck and dropping it to the trailing Lewis for a shot from the low slot.
With 11 tallies, Moore leads a roster that has scored the third-most goals in the NHL this season, trailing only Vancouver and Tampa Bay. His team-leading third multi-goal game of 2023-24 intensifies his designs on hitting his career-best mark of 17 goals before midseason. Moore’s versatility as a forward has been well-documented, but he took it to new heights by playing a little defense at Honda Center on Friday before potting two goals at home Saturday.
“Trevor’s biggest tools for me are his quickness, his escapability, his tenacity,” McLellan said. “There’s nothing that really happens in slow motion, until it has to, then he can settle things down and find his spot.”