Filppula has three points, Islanders score seven against Kings

LOS ANGELES -- Valtteri Filppula scored two goals and had an assist, and the New York Islanders defeated the Los Angeles Kings 7-2 at Staples Center on Thursday.

Robin Lehner made 28 saves for the Islanders but left the game with 7:04 remaining.
"He just took a puck a little bit high," coach Barry Trotz said. "I don't have an update right now. We'll see where he is tomorrow."
WATCH: [All Islanders vs. Kings highlights]
Thomas Greiss made the save on all five shots he faced in relief.
"It's always nice to get a couple goals, and I think all of our lines played really well," said Filppula, who had his first three-point game since Dec. 14, 2016, for the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Calgary Flames.
New York (3-3-0), which was coming off a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, had lost seven of its previous eight road games against Los Angeles.

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick played his first game since Oct. 5 but was pulled with 10:40 remaining in the third period after allowing six goals on 29 shots. Tyler Toffoli and Jeff Carter each scored a power-play goal for Los Angeles (2-4-1), which lost its third straight game (0-3-0).
The Islanders took a 2-1 lead on Josh Bailey's power-play goal at 3:43 of the second period, and Filppula made it 3-1 at 12:07.
Carter got the Kings to within 3-2 at 2:54 of the third on a 5-on-3 power play, but Filppula scored shorthanded on a 2-on-0 break to give the Islanders a 4-2 lead at 3:40.

"We did have the momentum," Los Angeles coach John Stevens said. "It was really disappointing. Totally, totally went to sleep, gave up a really easy shorthanded goal there and just stopped playing."
Matt Martin put New York ahead 5-2 at 4:40, and Leo Komarov made it 6-2 at 9:20 and ended Quick's first game after missing five because of a lower-body injury.
"We stuck with what we were doing, and it paid off in the end," said Islanders forward Andrew Ladd, who scored to make it 7-2 at 11:34.
Eight Islanders were plus-2 or better, led by defensemen Scott Mayfield, who had three assists, and Thomas Hickey at plus-5. Ladd had three points (one goal, two assists) and was plus-4.

Trotz said he liked that the Islanders were able to score seven without getting much production from their top line. Of the first line of Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Jordan Eberle, only Eberle had a point, an assist on Bailey's goal.
"Let's be a four-line team," Trotz said. "Everybody has to trust everybody can play. Everybody has to trust everybody can contribute. If our top guys start scoring 5-on-5, we're going to be in real good shape. Right now we've got to do it with a real good team approach."
Casey Cizikas gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 4:55 of the first period with his third goal in his past three games. The Kings tied it 1-1 at 14:56 on their first power-play goal of the season, with Toffoli ending their 0-for-22 drought to start the season.
Kings center Anze Kopitar did not play because he was ill, ending his streak of 126 consecutive games. He had not missed a game since Jan. 18, 2017.
"Especially with [Kopitar] and [forward Dustin Brown] out, we needed lots of guys to take charge tonight, because guys like that not there, you expect people to take advantage of an opportunity," Stevens said. "We're better than that."

They said it

"I'd like to have the chance to shoot it a little bit more, but today, with both those passes, can't get much closer than that." -- Islanders forward Valtteri Filppula, who has scored four goals on seven shots this season
"I think we've got some soul-searching to do. What happened there at the end was unacceptable. It's not one guy in particular. It's all of us. We've got to figure some things out." -- Kings defenseman Alec Martinez

Need to know

Islanders center Mathew Barzal had two assists, giving him six in six games. … Kings forward Sheldon Rempal had two shots on goal in 13:06 in his NHL debut. … Stevens said he expects Kopitar to play against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

What's next

Islanders: At the San Jose Sharks on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Kings: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET; SN1, FS-W, MSG-B, NHL.TV)