Big second period leads Kings past the Canadiens
Joel Edmundson and Quinton Byfield each had a goal and an assist as the Kings scored three quick goals in the second period to beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 on Tuesday night.
Joel Armia and Kevin Fiala also scored for the Kings (8-5-4), who won their second consecutive game on the road and improved to 7-1-2 away from home this season. Warren Foegele added an empty-net goal and Darcy Kuemper stopped 21 shots.
The Kings won their ninth straight game against Montreal dating to the 2021-22 season. It’s their longest active run against one opponent.
Josh Anderson scored for the Canadiens (10-4-2). Lane Hutson, last season’s rookie of the year, added an assist in his 100th game and Sam Montembeault made 21 saves.
Trailing 1-0 after Anderson’s one-timer with 46 seconds left in the first period, the Kings scored three goals in a span of 4:05 in the second.
Edmundson’s slap shot from the point 1:17 into the period — the hardest shot this season at 96.75 mph, according to the NHL — beat Montembeault for his first of the season. Then, with a delayed penalty, Byfield finished off a lengthy six-on-five sequence by gathering a rebound and shoveling the puck into the top of the net at 4:17.
Fiala made it 3-1 only 65 seconds later, capitalizing on a gift from Montembeault, who pushed the puck directly onto his stick near the crease.
Armia chased down Hutson in the Montreal zone, stripped him of the puck and slotted a shot past Montembeault to give the Kings a three-goal lead with 8:52 remaining.
Outside of Anderson’s blistering shot, Montreal couldn’t solve Kuemper. The Kings’ netminder stopped Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky’s slot shots in the third period and showed stellar rebound control.
Armia, who joined the Kings last summer after seven seasons in Montreal, returned to a loud ovation during a first-period video tribute. Armia, Edmundson, Corey Perry and Phillip Danault of the Kings all played for the Canadiens in their run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.