Kevin Fiala, recently named an All-Star, ended his goal drought in spectacular fashion by scoring three goals to lead the Los Angeles Kings to a 5-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night.
The victory brings second-place Los Angeles within four points of the division-leading Knights, who have a game in hand. The Kings have won two out of three meetings this season, with one game left between the teams on April 6 in L.A.
“These games are crucial,” Fiala said. “We want to keep climbing. They’re No. 1 right now, so that’s a huge game for us.”
The Kings ended the Knights’ four-game home winning streak and their three-game overall win streak.
“It should be a rival,” Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It was probably the most disappointing game of the year for us when I look at our competitiveness from top to bottom.”
Fiala, who scored his first multigoal game this season and his second career hat trick, had been on a dry spell with no goals in his last seven games and only one goal in his previous 14.
“Kevin was snake bit for a while,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “He’s off that now. Hopefully, things will start going in for him a little more regularly.”
Matt Roy and Viktor Arvidsson also scored for Los Angeles, while Gabriel Vilardi contributed three assists. Arvidsson has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past six games.
Pheonix Copley made 19 saves for his eighth victory in nine games, with his only loss in that span being a 5-2 defeat to the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
“That was one of those games that we battled hard and, unfortunately, we didn’t win,” Copley said of the loss to the Bruins. “So to not let that get to us and to come out tonight and get a big win, that’s huge for us, and it definitely shows maturity.”
Copley came within 2:15 of his second career shutout before Jonathan Marchessault’s slap shot put the Knights on the scoreboard.
Fiala completed his hat trick with an empty-netter, giving him 13 goals for the season.
Los Angeles dominated the second period, scoring twice while holding Vegas to four shots on goal. Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy replaced goalie Logan Thompson with Adin Hill after the period.
The Golden Knights welcomed back two key players. Marchessault returned after missing six games due to a lower-body injury, and defenseman Alec Martinez returned after a four-game absence. Marchessault is third on the team with 15 goals, and Martinez leads the NHL with 133 blocked shots.
CAPTAIN STRIKES AGAIN
Los Angeles captain Anze Kopitar reached 500 career points on the road with an assist in the second period, becoming the sixth active player to reach that milestone. He is also one point away from 1,100 career points. Kopitar has 31 points in 28 career games against the Knights, the most by any opponent, and has points in three consecutive games (one assist, two goals).
UP NEXT
- Kings: Host Edmonton on Monday night.
- Golden Knights: Host Florida on Thursday night.