Arizona Coyotes vs Los Angeles Kings Match Player Stats On Mar 03, 2021

Second-period goals 13 seconds apart by Nick Schmaltz and Johan Larsson broke a deadlock and the visiting Arizona Coyotes held on for a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night.

Antti Raanta made 40 saves for the Coyotes, who stopped a two-game skid. Raanta especially stood tall while stopping 17 shots in a one-sided third period dominated by the hosts.

After a scoreless first period, the teams trade power-play goals on both sides of the midway point of the second frame. Arizona's Clayton Keller opened the scoring with his second goal in as many games, when he received a cross-ice pass from Jordan Oesterle and rang a shot off the near post and into the net at 9:26 of the period.

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty replied with a man-advantage marker 93 seconds later. Adrian Kempe set him up for the shot and Doughty one-timed a rocket from the top of the right circle for his sixth goal of the season.

That set the stage for the Coyotes to pull away with a pair of quick goals. Schmaltz restored Arizona's lead when he gained the puck at the right point, moved into the circle and ripped a top-shelf offering at 12:40 of the middle frame.

Before that goal could even be announced, Larsson posted his third goal of the season to make it a 3-1 affair. Kings defenseman Olli Maatta coughed up the puck to Larsson in the slot, and Larsson immediately slipped a shot past Jonathan Quick.

The Kings, a strong third-period team, pulled within a goal thanks to Gabriel Vilardi's deflection tally with 6:13 remaining on the clock, shortly after Quick made a clutch save on Conor Garland. However, Los Angeles couldn't find the equalizer.

Quick stopped 20 shots for the Kings, who have now lost three straight (0-2-1) after cobbling together a six-game winning streak.

--Field Level Media