Kevin Fiala had a goal and an assist and the host Los Angeles Kings held on to beat Florida 2-1 on Thursday, ending the Panthers’ five-game winning streak.
Anze Kopitar also scored and Cam Talbot made 30 saves for the Kings, who ended a two-game losing streak. Los Angeles is 7-1-2 in the past 10 games.
Sam Reinhart scored and Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves for the Panthers, who went 0-for-5 on the power play after going a combined 4-for-7 over the previous two games.
The Kings took a 1-0 lead at 1:20 of the first period.
The Panthers failed to pinch a clearing attempt up the boards, leading to a two-on-one break by the Kings. Phillip Danault saucered a pass to Fiala on his left, and Fiala pulled the puck to his backhand before lifting it over Bobrovsky’s left pad.
Los Angeles went on its second power play when Kevin Stenlund was called for tripping Danault at 12:43 of the second period.
The Kings set up in the Florida zone and Kopitar found an opening in the high slot. He took a pass from Fiala and scored his eighth goal of the season on a one-timer for a 2-0 lead at 13:53.
Florida ended Talbot’s bid for a second shutout this month when Carter Verhaeghe came out from behind the net with the puck and fed Reinhart for a one-timer from the slot to cut the lead to 2-1 at 11:45 of the third.
It was Reinhart’s 13th goal of the season, moving him into a tie for the NHL lead.
Shortly afterward, Kings forward Pierre-Luc Dubois slid into the left goal post on the Florida net and could not put any weight on his right leg as he departed into the locker room.
The Panthers lost defenseman Josh Mahura to a lower-body injury during the first period.
Florida is close to getting back two other defensemen who underwent offseason shoulder surgery, Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad. Both could return as early as Friday night against the Anaheim Ducks in the finale of the three-game California trip.
–Field Level Media
