Kings Get Late Victory Over Blackhawks
CHICAGO (AP) — Dustin Brown converted his own rebound with 1:27 remaining, lifting the Los Angeles Kings to a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night.
Brown's first attempt went off the back of Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya, but it bounced right back to the captain, who sent it past Corey Crawford for his 12th of the season. Anze Kopitar set up the score by winning a faceoff in Chicago's end.
Kopitar also had a goal in the second period to end Los Angeles' scoreless streak at 150 minutes, 35 seconds.
Michael Frolik had two goals and an assist for Chicago, which has lost two in a row. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews also scored.
The Blackhawks were without right wing Marian Hossa for the second straight game due to an upper-body injury. Hossa isn't expected to play Tuesday night against Calgary, but could return this weekend.
Toews gave Chicago the lead when he beat Jonathan Quick with a rebound backhand early in the third period, but Tyler Toffoli responded with a quick tying snap shot.
Jarrett Stoll and Dwight King also scored for Los Angeles, which had been shut out in each of its previous two games. The reigning Stanley Cup champions have won four of six overall.
Kopitar picked up a loose puck, skated in and sent a beautiful shot over a sliding Oduya and into the upper right corner of the goal just 4:21 into the second period. Kopitar's 10th of the season tied it at 1 and was the first goal for Los Angeles since Stoll scored a power-play goal in the third period of a 3-2 victory over Phoenix last Tuesday.
After Stoll and Frolik exchanged scores in the middle of the period, Kane gave the Blackhawks the lead when he waited until the perfect moment to slide the puck past a prone Quick on the left side of the net for his team-best 17th of the season.
Los Angeles needed just 40 seconds to respond, getting the tying goal at 19:59 of the period. Drew Doughty made a strong push that was denied by Crawford, but the rebound went off King's skate and in for his fourth on the year.
And just like that, the Kings had equaled their output from the previous three games in just one period.
Frolik matched a career high with two goals and three points overall. Duncan Keith added three assists for Chicago.
The Blackhawks used a quick burst of precision passing to jump in front 5:55 into the game. Toews won a faceoff in the Kings' end back to Keith, who quickly sent it forward to Brandon Saad. The rookie forward then passed it to the middle to Frolik, who whipped it past Quick for his first goal since Chicago's 5-2 victory at Los Angeles in the season opener on Jan. 19.
Chicago had a chance to add to the lead after Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi whiffed on a shot and struck Viktor Stalberg in the face with his stick, sending him to the ice. Stalberg eventually got up on his own and skated to the bench, where he held a towel to his face for a bit before returning for another shift. Scuderi received a double minor for high-sticking.
Kane then sent a shot past Quick, but it caromed off the inside of the left post and back out as the Kings killed it off another power play. Los Angeles hasn't allowed a power-play goal since the second period of a 4-3 loss to San Jose on March 14, killing off the past 17 chances it has faced.
Scuderi made up for his penalty with about a minute left in the first, sweeping away a loose puck that had gotten behind Quick.
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