In Los Angeles, the Kings’ Jordan Spence scored his first NHL goal and LA downed the Seattle Kraken, 4-2 on Saturday.
“At first, I thought it got tipped, so I didn’t celebrate as much,” the Australian Spence said. “But when [Carl Grundstrom] told me he didn’t tip it, I was pretty excited. It was a pretty surreal moment.”
LA took a 1-0 lead in the game off a goal from Gabriel Vilardi.
“It was certain things in my game back in October that I wasn’t doing very well, and I think specifically it was the defense, and I think I’ve improved on that,” Vilardi said. “But, yeah, it was nice to score, for sure. I feel like my defensive game’s improved, but at the same time I do want to contribute offensively.”
Cal Petersen made 23 saves in the Kings win.
Anze Kopitar hit for a goal and two points in the win.
“This is the playoffs for us, and we’ve shown signs of growth during it, and it’s going to have to continue for whatever we have left,” Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan said.
The Kings improved to 36-22-9.
Daniel Sprong and Morgan Geekie scored for Seattle.
The Kraken dropped to 20-39-6.
“They check hard, and there’s not a lot of room,” the Kraken’s Morgan Geekie said. “They’ve got some good veteran players and a good system.”
Spense’s goal gave the Kings a 3-1 lead and provided to be the game-winner.
“It feels amazing,” Spence said. “Just going into the game, I just wanted to focus on the simple things, trying to do the simple things on the ice in the O-zone and the D-zone. It was good to see that shot go in, and it was obviously an unbelievable feeling, and I wouldn’t have done it without my teammates. The first star is just another bonus, but it was an unbelievable feeling.”
Sean Durzi scored off the power play to extend the LA lead to 4-1.
Philipp Grubauer made 23 saves in the Kraken loss.
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