In Washington, DC< the Los Angeles Kings were unable to hold a 2-0 lead on Saturday night over the Capitals.
The Caps rallied with four goals in the third period for a 4-3 win.
Marcus Johansson‘s wraparound goal late in the third period snapped a 3-3 tie to give the Caps the lead, 4-3.
“I was a little bit tired, and my first thought was to go to [T.J. Oshie in the slot], but the puck kind of jumped my blade or something,” Johansson said. “But then I just wanted to get it to the net and it snuck in.”
LA’s Viktor Arvidsson had tied the game, 3-3, in the third [period the Caps had taken a 3-2 lead to erase yet another two-goal lead in the NHL.
“Usually they or I, or we both together have a good idea when we don’t play well,” Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. “It didn’t feel like it was 2-0 and so we just stayed with it. The big thing was putting more pucks to the net, trying to generate more chances, whether it be the first chance or the second chance, third chance.”
Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves in the Caps win.
Sean Durzi and Phillip Danault scored for the Kings to give them the 2-0 advantage.
“You look at it at 3-2, but then obviously the last two, the [6-1 loss at] Pittsburgh (on Thursday), we weren’t real pleased with. This game wasn’t a disaster, although we gave up four in the third to lose it,” Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan said. “So, we’re still not where we need to be, quite frankly, and I think that’s evident in the amount of goals we’ve given up.”
Nic Dowd and John Carlson pulled the Caps even in the rally, 2-2.
“We said in here, ‘We already did it once this year and we can do it again,'” Johansson said. “We had chances to score goals, and with this team there’s plenty of guys that can score. We stuck with it and we got some looks and it started going in.”
Lars Eller gave the Caps a 3-2 lad in the third period.
“I think I’ve been playing pretty well this trip, better and better, and I think I got rewarded for it tonight,” Arvidsson said. “I’m more comfortable with the puck and making plays and I think we’re starting to get our groove back, me, [Danault] and [Moore], and I think we’re feeling better.”
Jonathan Quick made 28 saves in the LA loss.
“The two first periods we really limited their chances and had good sticks, and then they hurt us in the third,” Arvidsson said.
You must be logged in to post a comment.