The LA Kings beat the Calgary Flames 4-3 in thrilling fashion. In a back-and-forth game, the Kings play one of their most exciting games of the year and extend their winning streak to four straight games.

Goal Breakdown

1st period:

CGY: Jonathan Huberdeau (6), ASST: Milan Lucic (7)

LAK: Gabriel Vilardi (14), ASST: Sean Walker (6), Blake Lizotte (8)

2nd period:

No goals

3rd period: 

LAK: Phillip Danault (9), ASST: Alex Iafallo (9)

LAK: Blake Lizotte (7), ASST: Gabriel Vilardi (8)

CGY: Tyler Toffoli (PPG) (14), ASST: Rasmus Andersson (19), Adam Ruzicka (13)

CGY: Dillon Dube (8), ASST: Noah Hanafin (12), Elias Lindholm (21)

Overtime:

LAK: Adrian Kempe (13), ASST: Viktor Arvidsson (15)

Gabriel Vilardi is BACK (and the third line is clicking)

Before entering Thursday’s game against the Calgary Flames, Gabriel Vilardi had no goals and only two assists in his last ten games. He’s been shuffled around the lineup, most notably hopping around from the third and fourth lines. It was safe to say he got his swagger back against the Flames Thursday night.

Vilardi finished the game with one goal and one primary assist, matching his point total to his last ten games. Not only did he open the scoring for the LA Kings, but he looked confident, trying out risky (yet successful) dekes, joining in transition, and trying to generate scoring chances with any shot he got. He finished the night with .45 xG (3rd on LA), .55 GAR (3rd on LA), and a 63.7% xGF. 

Not only was Vilardi playing some of his best hockey of the season, but the entire third line of him, Viktor Arvidsson, and Blake Lizotte was on point. Undoubtedly LA’s best forward line of the game, all three players ended up tallying points, with Lizotte and Vilardi scoring one each. Both of them had two points each, too. The line finished the game with a 1.2 oixGF. It happens to be first out of every single line on both teams. Hopefully, this game is the beginning of a dominant streak, with Vilardi finally getting back into his groove.

A hot start to the second

It’s fair to say that the game was boring heading into the third period. The score was 1-1, both goals happening in the opening 20 minutes. The second was mostly a goalie showdown, but even then, it wasn’t that fun. Once the third period started, it was chaos from there on out. 

Phillip Danault scored only a minute and a half into the third period, putting the LA Kings ahead by one. With a beautiful rush by the second line, the red-hot-Iafallo made a perfect pass to Danault, who finished it well.

Only ten seconds later, Lizotte tallied his seventh goal of the 2022-23 NHL season, finishing on a terrific attack from Vilardi, who had a moment of creative puck protection that followed into a great setup. 

The LA Kings looked tremendous for a solid five minutes until an unfortunate penalty taken by Sean Walker put the LA Kings shorthanded. Former LA Kings Stanley Cup Champion, Tyler Toffoli, wired the puck right past the defense and Pheonix Copley to cut LA’s lead in half. 

Later in the third, Copley had a Jonathan Quick-Esque save with the fans at Crypto.com arena on their feet.

Unfortunately, Dillon Dube found the back of the net right after that and tied the game up at three. A total defensive breakdown from the Kings, which had Copley working on his own.

We’re going streaking!

The LA Kings did come out victorious in Thursday’s game after Adrian Kempe and Viktor Arvidsson combined for a nice goal on a 2-on-1 which had Calgary goalie Dan Vladar befuddled. 

Thanks to Kempe’s overtime winner, LA managed to extend their winning streak to four straight games, their longest winning streak of the 2022-23 season. Following the 6-0 loss against the Buffalo Sabres, it was clear that the LA Kings needed to wake up. And wake up they did. A four-game winning streak brings the LA Kings more confidence and, hopefully, they’ll be able to have that confidence in Arizona Friday night.

Interestingly, three of LA’s four straight victories have settled after 60 minutes of play. Close matchups, but a win is a win. Huge credit to those four wins goes to the North Pole, Alaska native Pheonix Copley, who’s been playing lights out and has bailed the Kings out as the last line of defense. It looks like LA’s Christmas hero from the North Pole is here, and his name isn’t Santa Claus.

Up next: The LA Kings head to Tempe to take on the Arizona Coyotes before heading to their scheduled Christmas break.

Cover image courtesy of Getty Images

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