PHILADELPHIA – Alec Martinez and Trevor Lewis scored early for the Los Angeles Monday night and the Kings went on to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1, to end the Flyers win streak at six games.
Jonathan Quick made 36 saves in the win and yielded the Flyers’ lone goal in the
Goalie Jonathan Quick (#32) of the Los Angeles Kings protects the net from Defenseman Robert Haag (#8) of the Philadelphia Flyers
opening frame, Jakub Voracek, then closed the door the rest of the way.
“It was a tight game,” Voracek said. “They didn’t make any mistakes. … We had a few looks, in the second period especially, but we couldn’t score on the power play. I think the power play lost the game.”
Adrian Kempe and Tyler Toffoli also scored for LA as they snapped out of their road doldrums with the win.
Everything clicked for the Kings Monday including their penalty kill which yielded only one goal in six Flyers’ chances.
“Special teams can generate momentum in a hockey game and penalty kill is a really big part of that,” Martinez said. “That’s something we’ve used this year, and I think past four or five games we’ve been giving up some [power-play] goals, and we weren’t happy with it.”
The Kings have given up one power play goal in each of their last six games despite leading the NHL in the category.
“[Penalty kill] starts with your goalie, and our goalies have been terrific all year,” LA head coach John Stevens said. “Guys have been together a long time, they pressure the puck, they read off the puck really well. We’ve got some really quality guys that have done a good job in the face-off circle. When we’re really on, we can limit the time in the zone because we can deny entries, put pucks on the wall.
“We have lots of guys … we’re one of the few teams that uses seven or eight forwards to kill penalties, so as long as we’re getting clears and winning face-offs, we usually have fresh guys on the ice, which I think helps us.”
[WATCH: All Kings vs. Flyers highlights]
Brian Elliott made 21 saves in the loss.
“We created opportunities to win the game. Maybe it would have had to have been 2-1 in overtime, maybe it would have had to be in a shootout. That’s the type of game that it probably needed to be tonight,” Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said after the loss.
Los Angeles Kings celebrate the goal scored by Center Tyler Toffoli (#73) in the third period.
Defenseman Andrew MacDonald (#47) watches the puck get past Goalie Brian Elliot (#37) of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Goalie Brian Elliot (#37) of the Philadelphia Flyers pushes Left Wing Tanner Pearson (#70) of the Los Angeles Kings out of the crease.
Goalie Jonathan Quick (#32) of the Los Angeles Kings with another save through traffic in front of the net.
Goalie Jonathan Quick (#32) of the Los Angeles Kings makes a pad save.
Goalie Jonathan Quick (#32) of the Los Angeles Kings makes a stop against Left Wing Michael Raffl (#12) of the Philadelphia Flyers
Left Wing Michael Raffl (#12) of the Philadelphia Flyers battles with Left Wing Adrian Kempe (#9) in front of Goalie Jonathan Quick (#32) of the Los Angeles Kings
Right Wing Wayne Simmonds (#17) of the Philadelphia Flyers drives to the net against Goalie Jonathan Quick (#32) of the Los Angeles Kings
Goalie Brian Elliot (#37) looks for the shot as Defenseman Andrew MacDonald (#47) of the Philadelphia Flyers battles with Right Wing Dustin Brown (#23) of the Los Angeles Kings
Goalie Jonathan Quick (#32) and Left Wing Adrian Kempe (#9) of the Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings teammate celebrate their second goal of the first period.
Right Wing Wayne Simmonds (#17) of the Philadelphia Flyers fights for position against Left Wing Tanner Pearson (#70) of the Los Angeles Kings
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