Los Angeles 4, Calgary 1
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 31, 2015
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta
Referees:
Gord Dwyer, Eric Furlatt
Linesmen:
Trent Knorr, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance:
19289
By The Sports Xchange
CALGARY, Alberta -- The Los Angeles Kings finished off 2015 in style by beating the Calgary Flames 4-1 for their fourth straight win, all on the road.
Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, who stopped 23 of 24 shots he faced, got some help from left winger Milan Lucic to record his 21st win of the season.
Late in the second period, Lucic reached behind him to deflect a shot taken by Flames defenseman TJ Brodie wide of the Kings' net with the blade of his stick.
Right winger David Jones made a nice cross-crease pass to Brodie, whose one-timer would have gone into a wide-open net if not for Lucic's heads-up play.
Right winger Marian Gaborik, Lucic, and left wingers Andy Andreoff and Tanner Pearson also scored for the Kings (24-11-2), who also beat the Canucks 5-0 in Vancouver on Monday and the Oilers 5-2 in Edmonton the next night for a successful trip through western Canada.
Flames defenseman Mark Giordano scored at 3:36 of the third period to spoil Quick's shut-out bid.
After reeling off 11 straight wins on home ice to set a franchise record, the Flames (17-18-2) have now lost two in a row on home ice.
Making his eighth straight start in net for the Flames, goalie Karri Ramo finished with 20 saves.
Gaborik put the Kings up 1-0 at 11:04 of the first when he cut into the slot before snapping a quick shot past Ramo, who was screened on the play.
The Kings poured on the pressure early in the second period and were rewarded with goals by Lucic and Andreoff. After Lucic shoveled a rebound past Ramo at 1:46, Andreoff converted a feed from left winger Michael Mersch 78 seconds later to give the Kings a 3-0 lead.
NOTES: The Kings were without C Jeff Carter for the second straight game because of an upper-body injury. Also scratched for the Kings were D Jamie McBain and C Jordan Weal. D Matt Greene (shoulder) and LW Kyle Clifford (upper body) are on injured reserve. ... Calgary's scratches were LW Mason Raymond, C Josh Jooris and D Ladislav Smid. RW Michael Frolik (upper body) is on injured reserve. ... The Flames have a 17-8-3 record in games played on Dec. 31, including a 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers last New Year's Eve at the Saddledome. ... Entering Thursday night, the Kings had a 6-3-1 record in their past 10 games against the Flames at the Saddledome, although they were 0-2-1 in their last three visits.
Top Game Performances
Los Angeles |
|
Calgary |
Marian Gaborik 2 |
Points |
Mark Giordano 1 |
Marian Gaborik 1 |
Goals |
Mark Giordano 1 |
Marian Gaborik 1 |
Assists |
Joe Colborne 1 |
Tanner Pearson 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Jonathan Quick .958 |
Save Percentage |
Karri Ramo .870 |
Jonathan Quick 23 |
Saves |
Karri Ramo 20 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Los Angeles
|
24 |
4 |
1-1 |
4-4 |
13 |
25 |
Calgary
|
24 |
1 |
0-4 |
0-1 |
7 |
30 |
Upcoming Games
-
Calgary will play their next game on the road against Colorado. The Flames have a W/L % of .529 after a win and .400 after a loss.
-
Los Angeles will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Kings have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .615 after a loss.