LA Kings
Kings Hang on, Beat Blues 7-6
It appeared they had cut that out of their game recently, but it was back Sunday.
The Los Angeles Kings made life difficult on themselves Sunday, nearly blowing multiple leads after going up 5-1 in the first.
They were able to hold on and grab a 7-6 win, their third straight win.
Kings Offense Explodes in Period One
The big news heading into Sunday's game was the return of Kevin Fiala and it didn't take long for him to make his impact.
Just 27 seconds in, Fiala fed Viktor Arvidsson in the high-slot, who carried the puck to the top of the right circle and beat Joel Hofer to open the scoring.
The Kings doubled their lead two minutes later on the power play.
Phil Danault went low to Arvidsson, who one-touched the puck across to Alex Iafallo for an easy backdoor tap-in. A tic-tac-toe goal for the second unit.
The Kings offense continued to poor it on, with Adrian Kempe grabbing his 35th of the season on the penalty kill.
After Trevor Moore forced a turnover at the blue line, he sent Kempe down the right win. Kempe fired a wrist shot that glanced the top of Hofer's glove and into the net.
The Blues got themselves on the board shortly after. Brandon Saad picked up a puck in the slot and beat Copley over the shoulder.
After a few minutes without any goals, the Kings went back on the power play, and the second unit remained hot.
Sean Durzi picked up the puck at the point and ripped a pass backdoor for Arvidsson to one-time home.
Two minutes later, the second unit got their third goal of the game.
This time Danault shot a pass to Moore in the bumper spot, who tipped the puck on goal and past Hofer.
Moore's goal ended Hofer's night and Jordan Binnington came in for relief.
Kings Collapse in the Second
It wasn't long ago that the Kings couldn't hold onto leads and made a habit of allowing teams back into games.
It appeared they had cut that out of their game recently, but it was back Sunday.
Justin Faulk scored just three minutes into the period and put the Kings onto their backfoot early. Faulk's initial point shot was stopped but Copley couldn't control the rebound. After a battle in the corner, the puck came back out to Faulk who wired a slap shot past Copley.
The Kings were able to regain control of the game after Faulks goal. And Arvidsson had a chance to complete his hat trick via a penalty shot 11 minutes in.
Arvidsson tried to wait out Binnington and had him beat, but pushed the puck just wide.
Late in the period, Pavel Buchnevich found himself all alone in front after a Mikey Anderson and Matt Roy miscommunication and the Russian sniper made no mistake, beating Copley to bring the Blues within two.
Soon after, Kempe rang the iron after beating Binnington with a shot and Quinton Byfield took an offensive zone interference penalty.
On the ensuing power play, Jordan Kyrou brought the Blues within one.
Kyrou found himself all alone in front following a quick zone entry, dangled and beat Copley over the shoulder.
The Blues were fully back into the game despite the Kings out-chancing them in the second frame.
Kings Hold on
After losing the second period 3-0, the Kings quickly re-established their two goal lead in the third.
After a strong forecheck from Byfield forced an uncontrolled clear attempt up the wall. Vladislav Gavrikov pinched aggressively and grabbed the puck, feeding Kempe in the slot for a one-timer.
Kempe made no mistake, burying his career-high 36th goal of the season.
The Kings only held the two goal lead for a few minutes as Kasperi Kapanen crept into some soft ice and buried in the slot.
Less than 40 seconds later, Drew Doughty grabbed his fifth goal in six games. Doughty hammered a slap shot from the point past Binnington on the power play.
Kings looked like they were going to hold onto the two goal lead through the end of the game.
But with 49 seconds remaining, Kyrou scored his second of the game in front.
The Blues couldn't continue the comeback though and the Kings made it a franchise record 12 straight games with points.