LOS ANGELES — Gabriel Vilardi and Drew Doughty scored 53 seconds apart in the third period to lift the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-3 win against the San Jose Sharks at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.
Quinton Byfield had a goal and an assist for the Kings (25-14-6), who have won three straight. Pheonix Copley made 27 saves to improve to 12-2-0 after being recalled from Ontario of the American Hockey League on Dec. 1.
“‘Cops’ has been unbelievable in his couple games here,” Byfield said. “We trust him a lot. It allows you to make a couple more offensive plays, just to know you’ve got a guy like that back there.”
Timo Meier had a goal and an assist for the Sharks (13-22-8), who were playing the second game of a back to back following a 4-2 win at the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday. James Reimer allowed four goals on 37 shots.
“I thought we played real decent, good enough to win,” Reimer said. “Once again, it comes down to a one-goal game. … It’s just a matter of trying to get over that hump.”
Video: SJS@LAK: Meier nets 24th goal of the season in the 3rd period
Meier tied it 2-2 at 10:11 of the third period, faking a slap shot before scoring short side with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle on a power play.
Vilardi responded to put Los Angeles back in front 3-2 at 12:40, redirecting Sean Durzi‘s shot from the left point.
Doughty then made it 4-2 at 13:33. Phillip Danault skated in with Jaret Anderson-Dolan on a rush and passed back to the trailing Doughty, who scored from the right circle.
“Well, it wasn’t our finest game, honestly,” Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan said. “I didn’t think that we had the details or the commitment to winning that was needed. … There were some areas of the game, I thought we cheated it a little bit, and we clearly needed to have a practice or two, which we will get, but when you’re not playing your best, it’s nice to find a way to win.”
Video: SJS@LAK: Doughty pads lead in 3rd period
Thomas Hertl cut it to 4-3 at 17:54.
“This is not easy, the season we’ve gone through,” San Jose coach David Quinn said. “There’s a lot of level of frustration because we feel like we’ve played better, but our record is what it is. I’m just proud of the way we competed and didn’t give up. Even at 4-2, we kept playing and had chances to tie.”
Adrian Kempe gave the Kings a 1-0 lead at 5:59 of the first period, positioning himself at the edge of the crease and finishing a wraparound pass from Byfield.
Nick Bonino tied it 1-1 at 1:20 of the second period. Copley couldn’t catch Erik Karlsson‘s slap shot from the left point, and as the goalie tried to poke the rebound away, Bonino scored five-hole with a backhand.
“We’re there every game and just can’t get wins,” Bonino said. “It’s frustrating for everyone. We’re trying everything in practice and video, competing, and it’s just not going our way right now.”
Byfield scored his first goal of the season for the Kings in 16 games to make it 2-1 at 6:58, redirecting Mikey Anderson‘s shot from the point five-hole on Reimer.
“It was good to see him get rewarded around the net. Maybe that will give him some offensive confidence,” McLellan said. “He’s had some looks since going up on the wing and it hasn’t gone in for him, and you could sense a bit of frustration.”
Video: SJS@LAK: Byfield gives Kings lead in 2nd period
NOTES: Kings forward Viktor Arvidsson did not play because of a non-COVID-19 illness. … Sharks defenseman Scott Harrington did not return after sustaining an upper-body injury in the final seconds of the first. … Doughty scored his 29th career game-winning goal, tying Rob Blake for the most by a defenseman in Kings history. …. Los Angeles forward Anze Kopitar had the secondary assist on Kempe’s goal to extend his point streak to five games (one goal, four assists).
.