LOS ANGELES — Drew Doughty netted
the tiebreaking goal, Wayne Simmonds scored on a penalty shot, and the
Los Angeles Kings beat the Ottawa Senators 6-3 Thursday night for their
fourth win in five games.
After Anze Kopitar snapped a
four-game scoreless skid with an assist on Doughty's goal in the second
period, Justin Williams added two insurance goals in the final 2:33.
Randy Jones and Brad Richardson also
scored for Los Angeles, and Jonathan Quick made 27 saves while looking
sharp in the third period.
Mike Fisher scored two goals for the
Senators, who have lost the first three games on a five-game West Coast
trip. Jonathan Cheechoo also scored for Ottawa, giving the longtime San
Jose forward 20 goals in 36 games against Los Angeles.
After a swift start, Los Angeles had
won two of its previous 11 games in regulation — picking up three
shootout wins along the way — before beating Anaheim 4-3 on Tuesday
night. A scoring drought has caused the slump, with top-line forward
Ryan Smyth's injury absence directly correlating to a decline in the
Kings' formerly potent offense.
Scoring wasn't a problem against Ottawa goalie Brian Elliott, who stopped 18 shots. The Senators have lost four of five overall.
Just 42 seconds in, Alexander Frolov
expertly occupied three Ottawa skaters on a rush before threading a
pass between Milan Michalek's legs to the trailing Jones, who banged
home his fourth goal.
After Fisher's first of the night,
Simmonds put the Kings back ahead with a precise penalty shot between
Elliott's pads after he was taken down on a breakaway. Ottawa then took
three penalties in 51 seconds late in the period, but the Kings
couldn't capitalize on their lengthy advantage.
Richardson converted a rebound for
his second goal in 28 games this season, but Cheechoo kept the Senators
close moments later by forcing a turnover by Frolov before knocking in
Chris Kelly's rebound. The goal was the third in 26 games for Cheechoo,
the former Richard Trophy winner traded by the Sharks in the offseason.
Fisher tied it on a clever pass from
Alex Kovalev, but Doughty put the Kings back ahead on a slap shot early
in a power play moments later.
Quick kept Ottawa off the board in
the third, and Williams iced it when Senators defenseman Matt Carkner
coughed up the puck in the corner, setting up Williams for an easy
score. Williams scored again in the waning seconds on a rebound,
prompting a prone Elliott to slap his stick on the ice in frustration.
Notes
Alexandre Picard, Ottawa's
top-scoring defenseman, left in the first period due to an upper body
injury. … Kopitar was checked into the boards and skated slowly to
the bench while Fisher scored his second goal. Kopitar returned moments
later. … Simmonds has a five-game scoring streak, the longest of his
career.