‘We were sloppy early’: Knights’ road woes continue in loss to Kings
The Golden Knights went to Los Angeles in search of their first road win of the young season.
They are going to have to continue their search elsewhere.
A four-game winning streak came crashing to a screeching halt in a 6-3 loss to the Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night as the Knights (7-3-1) left their offense at home until a late flurry.
Their defense wasn’t much better, as the Kings were able to score in bunches.
“They were more competitive than us, certainly in the scoring area,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I thought we were sloppy early, and the first goal is basically a gift.
“We gave them life early. Give them credit after that, but I thought the last 10 minutes of the first period was on us. We need to be better.”
Warren Foegele got the Kings (6-3-2) on the board late in the first period, and Adrian Kempe tacked on to the lead 42 seconds later. Alex Laferriere then scored midway through the second period, and Anze Kopitar followed it up with another goal 44 seconds later to open a 4-0 lead.
“We just didn’t take care of the middle of the ice tonight,” captain Mark Stone said. “When we’re at our best, we’re pretty tight in there. We keep plays to the outside and allow our goaltender to make saves.”
The Knights have now been outscored 18-11 in road games this season while holding a 39-16 edge at home.
“You definitely want to be good road team, as well,” Stone said. “You can’t just rely on trying to win 41 home games. It’s something we need to get better at. We’re giving up far too much on the road. It’s weird because we play a simple game on home ice. It’s not like we’re doing anything crazy. But we get out on the road and just lose it. I don’t know what to tell you, but we definitely have to address it.”
By the time Tanner Pearson, who was drafted by the Kings and won a Stanley Cup with the organization, got the Knights on the board late in the second period, the game had started to get out of hand.
Pearson worked his way to the front of the net and scored when William Karlsson won a battle for the puck and worked it to Alexander Holtz, who found Pearson all alone for the finish to cut the deficit to 4-1.
It was his third goal of the season and first against the Kings as a member of the Knights.
“The names and faces have changed, but a lot of good memories here for sure,” Pearson said before the game against the team that drafted him in 2012.
Pavel Dorofeyev scored on the two-man advantage midway through the third period and added a second goal in the waning minutes.
The Kings looked like a much different team even than the one that was crushed 6-1 by the Knights at T-Mobile Arena just a week earlier.
Fast start
They got a bit of help from the visitors early on.
Quinton Byfield sent a stretch pass up the ice in a scoreless game late in the first period that Ilya Samsonov tried to play off to the side of the goal, but his clearance ended up on the stick of a streaking Foegele, and he spun it right by Samsonov.
Moments later, Kempe controlled the puck in the neutral zone and made a move past several defenders before firing it past Samsonov.
Their two second-period goals also came within a minute of each other.
First, Laferriere was given space to walk in on a shot on goal and beat Samsonov with a blast.
Then defenseman Brandt Clarke pulled off a filthy spin move against the wall and looked up to see Kopitar all by himself on the far post for an easy tap-in goal.
Kevin Fiala added a power-play goal early in the third for the Kings, and Joel Edmundson scored 1:40 later.
It was too much for even the league’s highest-scoring team to overcome, as the Knights had a streak of four straight games with at least five goals snapped.
Hertl ‘good to go’
One of those games had come against the Kings, and there may have still been some residual effect.
Andreas Englund laid a big hit on Keegan Kolesar early in the game, triggering a fight between them.
Late in the second period, Mikey Anderson hit Tomas Hertl up high and sent Hertl staggering around the ice.
Hertl went to the locker room, but was able to return to the game in the third period.
“You always worry about that, but he got cleared and he’s good to go,” Cassidy said. “He came back and played hard. Hopefully no effects tomorrow.”
Kopitar had two assists to finish with three points, and Clarke had three assists in the game as the Kings needed just 26 shots to get their six goals.
The Knights had some frustrations early when the game was still scoreless.
Brett Howden hit the post and then got the puck back in front of the net, but was denied by Darcy Kuemper. Ivan Barbashev also had a great look at a backhand from the side of the net that Kuemper made a diving stop on in the closing seconds of the first period.
The Knights are off until Saturday when they host Utah at 7 p.m. before heading back on the road for two more chances to pick up a first victory away from home.
“We have a lot of road games in November, so we’re going to have to figure it out in a hurry,” Cassidy said. “Part of it is just getting on the road and taking care of the details. Maybe tonight we thought we’d score six again so we’ll give them a couple chances early. I don’t know it that’s the mindset, but it shouldn’t be.
“You don’t just walk into buildings and get five or six goals.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
