In Glendale, the Arizona Coyotes’ Antti Raanta made 31 saves to shut out the visiting Los Angeles Kings, 3-0, on Monday night.
Arizona posted two first period goals to give Raanta breathing room.
“We got off to a great start, and I think we played pretty smart the whole way through,” Raanta said. “Our [penalty kill] was really good, and obviously the power play got a couple of goals, and that’s nice because that always gives you confidence. … They had a three-game winning streak, and you know it’s not going to be an easy game.”
It was the second straight shutout for the Coyotes, who blanked the Calgary Flames by the same score in their previous match.
Conor Garland and Derek Stepan (power play) scored in the first period for the early lead.
“We were just too slow, our feet weren’t moving, and our mind wasn’t as sharp as it needed to be,” the Kings’ Anze Kopitar said. “It seems like we were a half step too slow, a couple of feet off, which in the big picture is obviously big and was the difference.”
Jakob Chychrun struck for the second power play goal in the middle frame to make the score 3-0.
“It was huge for us to get that (power play) going,” Christian Dvorak (two assists) said. “We were moving the puck well, winning our battles and we were able to execute. We were struggling before, but we practiced on that this morning and it paid off.”
[WATCH: All Kings vs. Coyotes highlights]
Jack Campbell made 24 saves in the loss.
“I think it’s pretty obvious,” Kings head coach Todd McLellan said. “They get two [power-play goals], we don’t get anything, and momentum swings a lot. We tried to prepare our group for their quickness and tenacity, and we just didn’t quite get there. We weren’t ready to experience it.”
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