111-Word Recap
Something had to give Saturday afternoon at Staples Center as the New Jersey Devils and the Los Angeles Kings—two of the NHL’s bottom six teams—were jockeying for ping pong balls in the Alexis Lafrenière Sweepstakes. Neither could pull away from each other and they daydreamed about the 6’1” phenom flying down their respective left wings. Meanwhile Jonathan Quick and Mackenzie Blackwood were locked in an old-fashioned goalie duel with each only allowing a goal apiece against 69 shots through the end of regulation. Just 1:58 into overtime, Adrian Kempe decided enough is enough and buried the game winner top shelf as the Kings skated off with a 2-1 win.
Game Notes
Stars of the Game—Kempe (1st), Quick (2nd), Blackwood (3rd)… The Kings won after trailing at the end of the first period for the first time this season (1-22-1)… Jeff Carter (lower-body injury) missed his fifth straight game… Blackwood is 7-0-2 in his last nine games but had his six-game winning streak broken… He made 36 saves while Quick had 32 saves… Devils tallied a point in their fifth straight game… The Kings are 3-1-1 during their five-game homestand and 5-2-1 in their past eight… Dustin Brown had the tying goal and assisted on the game winner which was Kempe’s 100th career point… Kempe’s 11th goal of the season ended an 18-game goal scoring drought… Nikita Gusev’s assist on the Devil’s lone goal extended his point streak to five games (2G / 6A)…Kings D Mikey Anderson played 18:59 in his NHL debut against his older brother F Joey Anderson of the Devils… The Kings are now 2-0-0 in their Stadium Series jerseys and one-of-a-kind chrome helmets…
🔥 jerseys pic.twitter.com/W11ee43C0x
— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 29, 2020
Up Next: The Kings travel to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to take on the Golden Knights this evening.
Highlights
Devils 1. Kings 0.
7:19 / 1st Period: Jesper Bratt (15) from Nikita Gusev (29)
Devils 1. Kings 1.
Dustin Brown (14) from Anze Kopita (39) and Alex Iafallo (23)
The Duel is On!
What a sequence from Blackwood!! pic.twitter.com/1G16QXIxR1
— Devils on MSG (@DevilsMSGN) February 29, 2020
Vintage Quick
Jonathan Quick did everything he possibly could to send this game to OT
🤯🤯🤯#GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/IPBKDcOuU4— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 29, 2020
Kings 2. Devils 1.
1:58 / Overtime: Adrian Kempe (11) from Blake Lizotte (17) and Dustin Brown (16)
Quotables
“Exciting for him to play his first game at home, against his brother, with his family in the crowd… I don’t think you could write it any better for any young man”
Coach Todd McLellan shares his thoughts on today’s OT win and @miklovin8’s debut@LAKings | #LAKingsLive pic.twitter.com/4uVUJGYIQF
— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) March 1, 2020
“Haven’t scored in a while so it was time to shoot, ya know?” @AdrianKempe picked the perfect time to shoot in overtime 😎 pic.twitter.com/61RzGWnKEm
— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 29, 2020
“Being able to be a part of the game is pretty special and everything lined up to have me play Joey, so that made it all that more special for the family”@miklovin8 sits down with @CarrlynBathe to talk about his storybook NHL debut@LAKings | #LAKingsLive pic.twitter.com/0mzqW1Vcdm
— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) February 29, 2020
Joey Anderson discusses what this weekend has been like for the Andersons.
“Obviously they are all super excited. To be here and be able to see it happen live is pretty special. The opportunity for us to play in the same NHL game is something most family can only dream about.” pic.twitter.com/ca3cL8koqG
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) February 29, 2020
The #NJDevils barely touched the puck in overtime before the L.A. Kings scored on Mackenzie Blackwood to down New Jersey 2-1.@amandacstein reports. pic.twitter.com/RLjblP7ICE
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 1, 2020