Carl Grundstrom netted the game-winning goal midway through the third period, and Cal Petersen made 23 saves, leading the Los Angeles Kings to a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night.
Alex Iafallo and Viktor Arvidsson also scored for the Kings, who ended a three-game losing streak at the start of their six-game road trip.
Jesper Bratt scored twice for the Devils, with Damon Severson contributing two assists. Fresh off his first win since 2018, Jon Gillies recorded 34 saves.
Grundstrom’s sixth goal of the season came at 11:05 of the third period, assisted by veteran forward Dustin Brown, who is in his 18th season with the Kings.
“It was a tough game. The key was to find a way to win,” Grundstrom said. “That’s been a struggle the last couple of games. It’s huge to start with a win on a long road trip like this.”
Bratt opened the scoring just 2:37 into the game, beating Petersen on a breakaway. Iafallo quickly responded, tying the game at 5:47 with his 12th goal of the season.
Bratt then scored on the power play, his team-leading 13th goal of the season, with 2:26 remaining in the first period to give New Jersey a 2-1 lead.
The 23-year-old Bratt, a sixth-round pick by the Devils in 2016, leads the team with a career-best 36 points. It was the fourth straight game the Devils notched a power-play goal.
“They played a smart game, and they’re a good team; they play tough,” Bratt said. I felt like we had a good push and some good chances, but it wasn’t really at the percentage we needed.”
Arvidsson tied it again with 4:01 left in the second period with his 10th goal of the season. Grundstrom scored the winning goal in the third period, where the Kings outshot the Devils 17-10.
Bratt praised Gillies, who played his second game in two nights. Gillies is the sixth goaltender to start a game for the Devils this season.
“It’s tough to come in and play back-to-back, and he’s been doing a great job for us,” Bratt said. He had a good game and made some good saves yesterday, too.”
The Kings will visit the Rangers on Monday and the Islanders on Thursday before continuing their long road trip to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Detroit before the All-Star break.
Kings coach Todd McLellan emphasized the importance of starting the trip with a win, especially after the team’s recent losing streak as the playoff races intensify.
“It doesn’t make the job any easier, but at least you have one in the bank. More importantly, we got to look back at the three losses we came in with, particularly how we lost them and the mistakes we were making,” he said. “We corrected a lot of those tonight. So that was a good first step.”
Game Notes
- Kings D Drew Doughty played his 998th career game.
- The Kings won this season’s previous meeting, 3-2 in overtime in Los Angeles on Nov. 5.
- The Devils last hosted the Kings on Feb. 8, 2020, a 3-0 New Jersey win.
- The Devils scratched D Mason Geertsen, F Jesper Boqvist, and F Marian Studenic.
- The Kings scratched F Rasmus Kupari and D Austin Strand.
- The Devils are 4-10-2 against the Western Conference and 1-4-2 in the second game of back-to-backs.
UP NEXT
- Devils: Host Dallas on Tuesday night.
- Kings: At the New York Rangers on Monday night.
