Matvei Gridin broke a third-period tie and Yegor Sharangovich collected a goal and an assist to give the visiting Calgary Flames a 3-2 victory over the slumping Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
Morgan Frost also scored for the Flames, who kicked off a three-game trip through California on a winning note.
Goaltender Dustin Wolf made 29 saves. The California native has won five of six career clashes with the Kings.
Joel Armia and Mats Zuccarello each scored for the Kings, who have lost four straight games and managed only two victories in a seven-game homestand.
Goalie Anton Forsberg stopped 21 shots and Alex Laferriere collected a pair of assists.
Gridin broke the tie at 11:21 of the final frame thanks to the club’s forecheck. After he forced a turnover deep in Kings territory, Gridin headed to the net and received the feed back from Martin Pospisil before depositing the puck for his sixth goal of the season.
Sharangovich appeared to simply provide an insurance marker by potting an empty-net goal with 74 seconds remaining, but it ended up the eventual game-winning tally.
That’s because Zuccarello made it a one-goal game again by finishing a sharp-angled offering with 56 seconds remaining in regulation. The marker, coming while Los Angeles had the goalie pulled for the extra attacker, was his first goal of the season.
That goal sparked the hosts’ push to the final buzzer but they could not find the equalizer.
Los Angeles, which has only two victories in 10 home games, was without star forward Artemi Panarin. Panarin, who leads the Kings in goals (eight) and points (19), did not play due to the death of his grandfather.
Frost opened the scoring at the 2:13 mark of the second period. Adam Klapka forced a turnover in the neutral zone, and the ensuing 2-on-1 rush ended with Frost blasting home a one-timer set up by Sharangovich.
The Kings found their footing throughout the second period and were finally rewarded when Armia tied the clash at 6:21 of the third period by finishing an open chance set up by Laferriere.
–Field Level Media
