In a tough match up with the Golden Knights in Vegas, the Los Angeles Kings started Jack Campbell who promptly made 41 saves to help the Kings to a 4-1 win.
“It just feels really good. It’s been a long time coming,” Campbell said. “The boys played great in front of me tonight.”
It was his first career NHL win in his second start.
Campbell was called up from the Ontario Reign of the AHL after LA traded Darcy Kuemper to Arizona.
“The guys in this room are awesome,” Campbell said. “They made me feel like a part of the team right away ever since I got traded here. I just knew I had to do my job because I knew the guys would do their job.”
The win enabled the Kings to jump over the Anaheim Ducks for third place in the Pacific Division.
“We’re trying to get our foot back in the playoff door and we knew these were going to be big games against a really tough opponent. To come in and get back-to-back four points was really good for us, and I thought it was a great couple games of commitment from our hockey team,” LA head coach John Stevens said after the win.
Kyle Clifford, Tyler Toffoli, Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter had the Kings’ goals.
“It’s the time of the year where every single point counts and we put ourselves in a hole before,” Kopitar said. “The four points are what really counts right now.”
LA improved to 35-24-5.
“I would love to see this team in the playoffs,” the Knights’ Ryan Reaves said after losing to the Kings.
William Karlsson scored the lone goal for the Knights, his 34th.
“I didn’t like the score. That’s one thing,” Vegas head coach Gerard Gallant said. “But we had some chances. We just didn’t compete hard enough in the blue paint, and it looked like our team was tired.”
[WATCH: All Kings vs. Golden Knights highlights]
Maxime Lagace made 26 saves in the loss.
“Right now it’s getting back to basics,” Lagace said. “I thought we played pretty good tonight. It’s about sticking to those details that make us the Vegas Golden Knights, a really good team.
“Sometimes you play really good, but the results aren’t there. That one hurts, but we’ll get back to it.”
Vegas dropped to 41-17-5 with the loss.
“We worked hard,” Gallant said. “We competed hard. We didn’t play great. Every mistake we made they capitalized by putting the puck in the back of the net.”
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