By The Associated Press’s Anthony Sanfilippo
The city of Philadelphia The Los Angeles Kings overcame the Philadelphia Flyers 7-3 on Thursday night thanks to two goals each from Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala.
In the last minute of the second period, Kopitar scored the game-winning goal. In the third period, he redirected a pass from Alex Turcotte to score an insurance goal. 23 saves were made by Darcy Kuemper.
It was Kopitar’s first game with multiple goals since he scored a hat trick on the first night of the season, but he now has at least one point in 19 of his last 24 games.
The Flyers have conceded 17 goals and suffered three consecutive losses.
The winner came 1:54 into the third period when Warren Foegele tipped Jordan Spence’s shot past Philadelphia goalkeeper Aleksei Kolosov.
Tanner Jeannot and Quinton Byfield both scored goals for the Kings, who won for the eighth time in their past eleven games, while Fiala scored the game’s opening and last goals.
Philadelphia suffered their third consecutive defeat, with Tyson Foerster scoring two goals and Noah Cates scoring one. Kolosov made 20 saves in the end.
On Thursday, December 19, 2024, in Philadelphia, Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings, on the right, celebrates after scoring a goal in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers. (Photo by Matt Slocum/AP)
Takeaways
Kings: Los Angeles gave up 26 shots to Philadelphia this season, and they have faced the fewest shots in the NHL. The Kings’ run of giving up three goals or fewer reached ten games.
Flyers: Defenseman Cam York was left out of Thursday’s game by coach John Tortorella. Prior to the match, Tortorella stated that York had been in neutral ever since he recovered from a shoulder injury.
Key moment
In the last minute of the second period, Kolosov failed to cover a loose puck, which gave Kopitar an easy tap-in goal. It altered the game’s momentum.
Key stat
The Flyers now have 137 points from players under 25 this season, which is third most in the NHL, thanks to Foerster’s three points, Cates’ goal, and Bobby Brink’s assist.
Up next
On Saturday, the Kings will play their seventh game away from home in Nashville. On Saturday, Philadelphia will host Columbus.
https://apnews.com/hub/nhl is the AP NHL.
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