Slafkovsky, Suzuki each has 3 points for Montreal; Laughton scores in Los Angeles debut
Canadiens at Kings | Recap
Juraj Slafkovsky had two goals and an assist, Nick Suzuki had a goal and two assists, and the Montreal Canadiens rallied for a 4-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Slafkovsky tied it 3-3 on a one-timer from the right circle on the power play at 14:38 of the third period.
Suzuki put Montreal ahead 4-3 at 15:27 on a one-timer from the left circle set up by Slafkovsky after Cole Caufield forced a takeaway in the offensive zone.
“I want to be the guy that takes the game over, and we got a bunch of guys here that can do it, and, obviously, I want to be one of them as well,” said Slafkovsky, who has a career-high 52 points (23 goals, 29 assists) in 62 games. “Today, it could be me. Next game, it could be someone else, so that’s good, but I feel like the mindset that you want to be the guy that changes the momentum, that’s important.”
MTL@TOR: Slafkovsky, Suzuki strike back-to-back to lift Canadiens past Kings
Jake Evans scored and Jakub Dobes made 36 saves for the Canadiens (34-18-10), who were playing the second game of a back-to-back after losing 6-5 in a shootout at the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
“I feel like we put more effort into it in the end, and scored two big goals,” Dobes said. “Finally, … we played as a group and we locked in together, so I’m really proud of the effort at the end.”
Scott Laughton scored in his Los Angeles debut for the Kings (25-23-14), who have lost seven of nine. Darcy Kuemper made 19 saves.
“When the game’s on the line, you got to make plays,” Los Angeles coach D.J. Smith said. “And with six minutes to go, their top guys made plays. We did a lot of good things. To a man, we worked, we checked. … That’s a hard one, but you got to let it go.”
Los Angeles is 1-2-0 in three games since Smith took over after Jim Hiller was fired on Sunday.
Anze Kopitar put the Kings up 1-0 at 14:12 of the first period, attacking through the slot to the left post and putting in Adrian Kempe’s centering pass. Kopitar has 1,304 NHL points (447 goals, 857 assists), three away from tying Marcel Dionne for the Kings’ franchise record.
MTL@LAK: Kopitar finishes slick play for a 1-0 lead
Artemi Panarin had the secondary assist, his sixth point (one goal, five assists) in six games since being acquired from the New York Rangers on Feb. 4.
Samuel Helenius looked to have made it 2-0 at 15:59, but the goal was waved off for goaltender interference by Jeff Malott.
Evans tied it 1-1 at 3:09 of the second period on a slap shot from the left point through Kirby Dach’s screen.
Slafkovsky put the Canadiens up 2-1 at 15:41 on his 22nd goal of the season. He got inside of Laughton for a wrist shot from the slot.
Slafkovsky is the first player in Montreal history with three 50-point seasons before age 22, and his 163 career points (65 goals, 98 assists) tied Henri Richard for most by a Canadiens player before age 22.
“I think it’s just an evolution, you know,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “I don’t think we’re surprised. All along, three years ago, two years ago, you’re trying to get him to improve all the time, think big picture. … He’s still very young, who knows how high his ceiling is, but it’s very, very high.”
MTL@LAK: Slafkovsky scores a goal while falling to the ice
Laughton tied it 2-2 at 17:31, spinning around from the right of the crease and putting the puck in off Dobes’ right skate. Laughton was acquired in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.
“It’s tough at the start, I think, just kind of finding your way around,” Laughton said. “I think everything from off the ice is harder than once you get on the ice, but it’s nice to get into a game right away.”
Jared Wright had the primary assist for his first NHL point in three games.
Los Angeles regained the lead 3-2 at 6:44 of the third when Alex Laferriere was in the slot to put in Brandt Clarke’s rebound.
“That’s one we definitely want to have two points from,” Laferriere said. “I mean, there’s been nights where we get outworked and we sneak away with two points, and obviously we’ll take that when it happens. But on a night like tonight, when we seemingly outwork them in every area of the ice and felt like we were all over them, to not come away with a win, it hurts pretty bad.”
NOTES: The Canadiens ended a nine-game skid (0-8-1) against the Kings, having lost seven straight in regulation. … Suzuki has nine points (three goals, six assists) during a four-game streak, with three multipoint games in that span. … Evans has five points (two goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. … Clarke had two assists for the second straight game; he has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past three games. … Kings center Quinton Byfield played 21:26 in his return after missing two games because of an undisclosed injury.
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