LOS ANGELES — Jeff Carter opened the scoring with his 13th goal in 13 games, Justin Williams had a goal and two assists, and the Los Angeles Kings beat Calgary 6-2 on Saturday night in their first of back-to-back home games against the Flames.
Anze Kopitar, Colin Fraser, Trevor Lewis and rookie defenceman Jake Muzzin also had goals, defenceman Slava Voynov tied a career high with his second three-assist game in a week, and Jonathan Quick made 17 saves to help lift the defending Stanley Cup champions into a tie with St. Louis and Detroit for fourth place in the Western Conference.
Michael Cammalleri and Alex Tanguay scored for Calgary. Miikka Kiprusoff, making his third straight start after missing 13 games because of a sprained knee, gave up six goals on 22 shots and was replaced by Joey MacDonald after Fraser’s goal with 11:38 remaining.
The Flames’ first visit to Los Angeles this season was eventful from the start.
Less than a half-minute after the opening faceoff, Kings centre Mike Richards skated toward the red line and fired a slap shot that hit Kiprusoff’s right arm and bounced off the left post. The puck rolled parallel with the goal line and through the other side of the crease.
The standing-room-only crowd of 18,248 was still buzzing about the close call when Dennis Wideman put a wrist shot past Quick at 2:48, but the goal was waved off because of a goalie interference call against Lee Stempniak.
Apparently still upset about the call by referee Kyle Rehman, the Calgary bench received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at 3:04. Los Angeles capitalized on the ensuing power play when Carter redirected Dustin Brown’s short pass from a few feet away, extending his goal streak to four games.
The Kings were then whistled for three penalties in 75 seconds. The first two resulting in the tying goal by Cammalleri at 7:24 during a 5-on-3 advantage.
Wideman faked a shot from the high slot and fed a pass to the former Kings centre, who had plenty of room at the right side of the net with Quick out of position to score his ninth goal.
Kings centre Jarret Stoll, who won 24 of 29 faceoffs in the previous two games, was given a delay-of-game penalty for a faceoff violation right after Cammalleri’s goal when he tied up the Flames’ goal leader with his stick on the ensuing draw. That gave Calgary a two-man advantage for another 1:38.
The Kings survived that threat, and Muzzin regained the lead for them at 10:42 with a long wrist shot through traffic that beat Kiprusoff through a screen. Lewis made it 3-1 at 18:23 with a wrist shot over Kiprusoff’s glove.
Tanguay scored 17 seconds before the first intermission, but Williams, restored the Kings’ two-goal margin at 9:44 of the second period on a deflection of Voynov’s long slap shot through a screen. Voynov also had three assists Monday night in a 5-1 win against Nashville.
NOTES: Former Los Angeles goalie Kelly Hrudey was honoured in a pregame ceremony as the Kings continued their “Legends Night Series.” Hrudey, who backstopped the team to its first Stanley Cup finals appearance in 1993, is second behind Rogie Vachon on the Kings’ list in regular-season games played (360) and wins (145). … Cammalleri has nine goals in 13 games since sitting out three because of a lower body injury. The 10-year veteran, who began his NHL career with the Kings, has six goals and three assists in 12 games against his former team. Three goals have been game-winners. … Tanguay has scored seven goals this season despite taking just 27 shots. … All four meetings between the teams last season were won by the visiting club. They will meet again on Monday. … Matt Stajan earned his 300th NHL point with an assist on Tanguay’s goal.
