GLENDALE, Ariz. – Viktor Arvidsson scored his second goal of the game with 3:39 remaining to give the Los Angeles Kings a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night.
Blake Lizotte also scored for the Kings, and Cal Petersen made 17 saves for his second consecutive win over Arizona.
“Obviously, (Arvidsson) is a shooter,” linemate Trevor Moore said. “He calls for the puck. He wants the puck. He’s competitive. He just finds open ice. It’s something a good goal scorer is able to do, and he does it on a consistent basis.”
Clayton Keller and Barrett Hayton scored for the Coyotes. Scott Wedgewood stopped 32 shots in his second consecutive start.
The Kings have won five straight road games and are 7-0-2 in their past nine, with the last two coming in Arizona. Los Angeles beat the Coyotes 5-3 on Saturday in a game rescheduled from Dec. 27 because of COVID-19.
“This is our road game,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “There is no secret recipe. I really think the ability to play four lines is a factor in it, and six deep (on defense). And checking. When you are on the road you have to check.”
The Kings have won their last seven in Arizona and are 7-1-2 in their past 10 games overall, nine away from home.
Arizona pulled Wedgewood with 3 1/2 minutes left and played 6-on-4 for two minutes after a tripping penalty on Adrian Kempe with 2:57 remaining. But the Coyotes did not generate a strong scoring chance.
“Big kill at the end,” McLellan said. “At the end of the day, it was generally a team win. I’m not sure we had the energy we needed, but we found a way.”
Keller scored his 21st goal on a 2-on-1 break at 6:25 of the first period, beginning a stretch of four goals — two by each side — in a 6:38 span.
Keller took a cross-ice saucer pass from Nick Schmaltz, who drove in from the right wing and found Keller on the opposite side. Keller has points in his last five games and 10 of the last 11.
Lizotte answered 18 seconds later when he redirected a shot from Mikey Anderson into the left side of the net.
Arvidsson scored the Kings’ second goal in 70 seconds for a 2-1 lead, putting a pass from Moore into the right side of the net after a Coyotes turnover in their end.
Hayton tied it 2-all at 13:03 when he threw a puck in front of the net from the left side and it bounced off a Kings defender past Petersen. Loui Eriksson, stationed in the crease, originally was credited with the goal.
Anze Kopitar hit the right post on the Kings’ power play early in the third period, keeping the score tied.
“They are a volume-shot team,” Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. “They put a lot of pucks on net. Our guys were pretty urgent around the net. Did a pretty good job.”
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