There are a plethora of sports cliches. Among the many of them used by hockey coaches at all levels is the rallying cry to score early and often.
Tuesday night in Ottawa, the visiting LA Kings once again use that as their stamp on the 2022-23 season. Forward Viktor Arvidsson scored twice and coach Todd McLellan’s club recorded four goals total in the opening frame.
In a season with many storylines already, one thing has been fairly constant — the Kings ability to put goals on the board in the first 20 minutes of a game. In fact, they’re 30 opening period goals are second only to Vegas (33) among all NHL teams,
This time around, they got started vs. the Senators early, notching a pair of goals in the opening 2:15 of play. LA now has nine goals within the first five minutes of a game, only Dallas (11) and Vegas (10) have more this season.
Leading 4-1 as the teams headed into first intermission, LA added to a recent trend. Only nine games in the NHL this season have featured five total goals scored. And the Kings have been involved in the last three.
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It was business as usual for Kings captain Anze Kopitar. He does not play the Senators often, but when he does, he seems to wear them out; picking up three assists in this game.
Goaltender Pheonix Copley made a somewhat surprising start for McLellan. Most had expected the veteran netminder would have Montreal circled as his game on this road trip. He did not disappoint, though. Already holding a 6-4-1 record with AHL Ontario this season, Copley earned his first NHL victory since March 2019. In doing so, he made 31 saves vs. the Senators and finished the evening with a .939 save percentage.
For Ottawa, it was more than just a loss. The team is about to begin their annual father-son road trip and most of the dads had arrived in town early to watch this game. Needless to say, it wasn’t the outcome they were hoping for.
Below are select highlights from Tuesdays game:
Additional Post-Game Notes:
"The guys wanted to play well for him, and we needed that in our locker room"
McLellan talks Copley's first start in the net in the win over Ottawa.@LAKings | #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/C2uyaqn4oJ
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) December 7, 2022
Sean Durzi became the third @LAKings defenseman in the past 10 years to register a six-game point streak, joining Jake Muzzin (8 GP in 2015-16 & 6 GP in 2017-18; 2x) & Drew Doughty (7 GP in 2016-17).#NHLStats: https://t.co/RMGNFdpTG2 pic.twitter.com/zVLlXPQlbn
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 7, 2022
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