Russell Morgan The LA Kings beat their cross-town rival Ducks in a fiery Friday night matchup 6-3 in Anaheim.
Goal Breakdown
First period:
LAK: Blake Lizotte (8), ASST: Alex Iafallo (12), Kevin Fiala (38)
Second period:
ANA: Kevin Shattenkirk (2), ASST: Dmitry Kulikov (10), Frank Vatrano (14)
LAK: Viktor Arvidsson (15), ASST: Trevor Moore (13)
LAK: Adrian Kempe PPG (28), ASST: Anze Kopitar (31), Drew Doughty (33)
Third period:
ANA: Mason McTavish PPG (12), ASST: Cam Fowler (20), Trevor Zegras (28)
LAK: Anze Kopitar PPG (17), ASST: Kevin Fiala (39), Drew Doughty (34)
YOU ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO C IT pic.twitter.com/hwKyxsTt1w
— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 18, 2023
ANA: Frank Vatrano (14), ASST: Cam Fowler (21)
LAK: Viktor Arvidsson (16), ASST: Sean Durzi (22), Phillip Danault (26)
LAK: Kevin Fiala (19), ASST: Alex Iafallo (13), Blake Lizotte (18)
Copley steals Kings’ fan’s hearts
The Freeway Faceoff has had its fair share of iconic moments in the history between the LA Kings and the Anaheim Ducks. And on Friday night, it added another forever highlight to the mix. With less than a minute remaining in the second period, after a stoppage from Pheonix Copley, Frank Vatrano skated by the Kings’ netminder and threw a sucker punch that would ignite the North Pole native into an explosive rage yet to be seen by Kings fans.
He jumped on top of Vatrano and gave him a few shots with his blocker which would ultimately lead to a match penalty. After that scrum, Pheonix saw John Gibson at center ice and threw his helmet and glove off in anticipation of what would be his first NHL fight before the refs stopped him. Copley wanted the smoke.
Pheonix Copley was given a two minute penalty for leaving the crease and a match penalty for a “punch with a blocker.”
Here’s the video.#GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/t3ytShkE8x
— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) February 18, 2023
This wasn’t something new for Pheonix though. We’ve seen him get into fights during his AHL tenure before. But in the moment and against the Ducks, he stole the hearts of Kings’ fans all over and showed his true competitive nature.
Unfortunately, the match penalty did leave the Kings shorthanded for five minutes. But the Kings faired ok during the penalty kill, only giving up one goal. And Jonathan Quick was able to come in for Copley and secure his first victory since December.
Hot power play
The power play improvement this season compared to last is truly remarkable. Sure they’ve added Kevin Fiala and have been blessed with a healthy Drew Doughty this season, but it is hard not to give much of the credit to new assistant coach Jim Hiller.
DOUBLE THE ARVY DOUBLE THE FUN pic.twitter.com/l0PDNN9w1M
— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 18, 2023
In three games since coming out of their bye week/all-star break, the LA Kings have scored in seven of their 12 power play opportunities (58.3%). They now possess the league’s second-best man advantage sitting at 26.2% on the season. It’s too bad an assistant coach can’t win the Jack Adams award because Hiller certainly deserves some recognition for his incredible work.
UP NEXT: The LA Kings are right back at it tonight in LA against the Arizona Coyotes at 7:30 pm PT.
Featured image credit: (Mark J Terrill / AP)