LOS ANGELES — Though nearly a century separated the two franchises’ first Stanley Cups, the Kings and Montreal Canadiens were on even footing as last-placed teams entering Saturday’s matchup.
The Kings won resoundingly, 5-2, on the strength of three power-play goals at Staples Center.
It was the Kings’ first victory and first multi-goal performance on the power play since their season opener, with six losses coming in between. Both power-play units featured reconfigured personnel, and combined to produce three goals for the first time since their only three-goal performance of last season on Feb. 11 against the San Jose Sharks.
“The power play gave us a cushion, it gave us some comfort and it gave us confidence. We’ve been waiting for that to happen,” Kings Coach Todd McLellan said. “When you score like that on the power play, other parts of your game come along with it.”
Winger Alex Iafallo paced the Kings with two goals and an assist. Winger Viktor Arvidsson, rookie winger Arthur Kaliyev, and rookie forward Rasmus Kupari also scored goals for the Kings. Center Anze Kopitar and defenseman Matt Roy chipped in two assists apiece. Goalie Cal Petersen made 26 saves.
Montreal winger Josh Anderson had a goal and set up defenseman Ben Chariot’s academic goal with 2:20 remaining in the game. Goalie Jake Allen was touched up for five goals on 38 shots.
Iafallo scored twice in the third period, a putback goal 5:37 into the third period and a close-range, power-play tally off the rush with 5:44 to play.
“Different players play differently, sometimes they can make extra passes, that’s just how it works sometimes,” Iafallo said of the Kings’ shuffling of players on the power play. “Some units aren’t hot, then you switch it around, and all of a sudden it starts going in.”
The Kings also reversed a trend of blowing late leads. They had won just one of the four previous games this season in which they held a lead after two periods.
“We’ve got to learn from our mistakes in the third period. I think we did that tonight and took a good step forward,” Iafallo said.
Less than two minutes into the closing stanza, the Kings had extended their lead with a second power-play goal, this time from their second unit. Roy and Iafallo moved the puck high, controlling possession and freeing Kupari for a rising shot from the top of the right circle that smacked the crossbar as it entered the net. It was Kupari’s second goal in as many games.
“That was probably the shot of my life so far,” Kupari said, stopping short of saying the goal was better than his slick breakaway marker Thursday against Winnipeg.
With 7:41 left in the second period, the Kings went ahead off their first power-play goal. A newly formed top unit saw Arvidsson and Kopitar on the ice with Adrian Kempe, who was often part of last season’s top unit. But it was the two youngest players on the ice connecting on the goal, with Kale Clague dishing to Kaliyev.
With defensemen Drew Doughty and Sean Walker out long term, Clague and Roy each ran one unit, and with famous results Saturday.
“We talked about training quarterbacks, and they both did a real admirable job against a team that gets up ice, flushes and puts you in some awkward situations,” McLellan said. “They made good reads and good outlet passes just to get into the zone, then after that they controlled it up top.”
The Kings returned to the power play soon after, but the opportunity proved ephemeral when Kempe took a penalty of his own 20 seconds later.
The Kings had knotted the score 4:31 into the second period when defenseman Olli Maatta grabbed a giveaway to initiate transition. Kopitar generated some speed and made a wall-to-wall pass for Arvidsson, who darted in for a lively wrist shot to the far side. The assist was the 100th of Maatta’s career.
At the end of the first period, Lias Andersson, freshly activated from IR and playing his first game of the season, took an evident high stick to the face but no penalty was called. Winger Brendan Lemieux also returned to action for the first time since the season opener, having recently exited COVID protocol. Forwards Gabe Vilardi and Carl Grundstrom were healthy scratches, while winger Vladimir Tkachev was sent down to the minors.
With 1:38 remaining in the first period, Montreal opened the scoring with a goal off the rush. Center Christian Dvorak dashed down the left wing and sent a cross-ice saucer pass that narrowly eluded a diving Phillip Danault to find Anderson for a searing wrister to the short side.
Early in the opening frame, former Kings right wing Tyler Toffoli was honored with a video tribute on his first visit to Staples Center since being traded to Vancouver in 2020. Drafted by the Kings in 2010 and a member of the 2014 Stanley Cup team, Toffoli would have returned with the Canucks in March 2020, but the pandemic suspended play nine days before the game was scheduled. The following season, Toffoli signed with the Canadiens before realignment and an intra-divisional schedule left Montreal to play only against the other six Canadian franchises.