(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The Los Angeles Kings got through their morning skate and game without a goaltender getting injured. Indeed, that represents progress around here.
After a rough first week, the Kings are trending up with three straight victories after starting the season, 0-3-0. They rallied with a late goal in regulation on Tuesday and won it in overtime, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-2, at Staples Center.
Kings defenseman Alec Martinez scored on the rebound of Tanner Pearson";s shot, at 1:14, in overtime, taking advantage of the weary Blue Jackets nearing the end of a shift. Martinez, who had his second overtime winner of the season, almost always gives credit to his teammates.
And he did it again.
'I feel like a broken record but Tanner and Tyler (Toffoli) just do the work and some reason I end up getting it at the end,” Martinez said. 'It was a really good rush ... .I just try to get the puck in their hands. They";re the really skilled ones. Tanner had a good shot and I was able to find the rebound back door.
For Kings goalie Peter Budaj, who faced 21 shots, it was his third win in three starts this season. He won at Dallas on Thursday and at home, on Saturday, against Vancouver, in a shootout. His other appearance came in relief of Kings goalie Jeff Zatkoff at Minnesota last week.
'I think we just stuck to our game,” said Martinez. 'We were really happy with our first period. We had a couple of breakdowns in the second period and they capitalized.”
The Kings"; patience eventually paid off with defenseman Drew Doughty";s goal late in regulation, with 5:57 remaining, to tie it, 2-2, as Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky let in a soft goal. Kings center Nick Shore found Doughty in the circle and Doughty";s shot went over Bobrovsky";s pad and under his blocker. Columbus had led 2-1 after two periods.
The Blue Jackets took the lead when Kings forward Dustin Brown went off for holding Lukas Sedlak and their potent power play capitalized.
Cam Atkinson scored at 14:51, beating Budaj with a shot from the left circle, taking a feed across the slot from Sam Gagner.
'It";s a hell of a play,” Atkinson said in his TV interview after the second period. 'That";s what he (Gagner) brings to this team. He";s an offensive guy.
'I knew eventually he was going to find me and I just buried it. I just wanted to shoot it as hard and as fast as I could and luckily it went in.”
The Kings had tied it, 1-1, on a nice-looking give-and-go between Kings center Anze Kopitar and defenseman Tom Gilbert at 13:40 of the second period, with Gilbert finding Kopitar in the left circle. It was Kopitar";s second goal of the season.
Earlier, the Kings"; search for organizational goaltending depth has led them to sign veteran Swedish goalie Anders Lindback to a professional tryout. Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi confirmed the move but said Lindback would be joining their minor-league affiliate in Ontario, Calif. The move was first reported by the Swedish newspaper Expressen.
Essentially the Kings have nothing to lose.
Most recently, Lindback, who is 28, had a shot in New Jersey";s training camp but the Devils did not retain him.
His last NHL gig was last season with the Arizona Coyotes as he went 5-7-1 and had a goals-against average of 3.11.
Results
Pittsburgh 3 Florida 2
Minnesota 5 Boston 0
New Jersey 5 Arizona 3
Pjiladelphia 4 Buffalo 3 (SO)
Tampa Bay 7 Toronto 3
Detriot 4 Carolina 2
Calgary 4 St. Louis 1
Dallas 3 Winnipeg 2
Ottawa 3 Vancouver 0
San Jose 2 Anaheim 1 (OT)
Los Anegles 3 Columbus 2 (OT)
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.