The Kings five-game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday as they fell to the Washington Capitals 2-1 on home ice. Now 20 games into the season after the loss, the Kings hold a record of 13-4-3, good for a firm grip on third place in the Pacific Division.
In the midst of a 10-day span where the Kings play just three game, the second of those three games turned up a one-goal loss to the Eastern Conference’s Capitals. The low scoring affair saw just three total goals, a type of game the Kings are not used to playing. Despite being tied for first in the NHL in offense and averaging 4.00 goals per game, the Kings only found the back of the net once on Wednesday.
Arthur Kaliyev broke the ice with the game’s first goal 9:09 into the first period as the forward found a loose puck out front of the Capitals net after an Andreas Englund shot ricocheted off the endboards. The goal for Kaliyev was his fifth of the season and extends his active point streak to three games. The Capitals found an equalizer just three minutes later when Connor McMichael set up Anthony Mantha for a backdoor goal on a 2-on-1.
Tied 1-1 in the second period, the same duo for the Capitals teamed up to give the away team the eventual game-winning goal. With 1:30 remaining in the second period, a defensive zone turnover set Mantha up in alone on Cam Talbot. Despite making the first save on Mantha, it was McMichael who batted the rebound in out of the air for the lead.
An onslaught of Kings shots followed as the end count after 60 minutes favored the Kings 39-15 in that department, but no goals would come of it.
Cam Talbot made his return to the Kings net for just the second time in the last 10 days due the spread out schedule and stopped 13 Capitals shots. Talbot now holds a 10-4-1 record.
