The Los Angeles Kings (19-9-4) continued their excellent run this season with a 7-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers (14-15-4) on Dec. 19. Captain Anze Kopitar scored two goals in the high-scoring victory.
Game Recap
Kevin Fiala struck first for the Kings on a breakaway feed from Phillip Danault. It seemed like an innocent play, but Los Angeles took advantage—Fiala got past a Flyers defense that was in the offensive zone just seconds earlier.
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The Flyers responded less than four minutes later with a goal of their own. Noah Cates buried one off a great pass from Bobby Brink that gave him time alone in front of the net. Tyson Foerster got the secondary assist.
Early in the second, the Kings continued the back-and-forth with a Tanner Jeannot goal. Warren Foegele and Jordan Spence put up the helpers. Foegele, a newcomer to the Kings, got his 16th point of the season on that one—he has been a nice fit in Los Angeles.
Foerster notched his second point of the game on a goal to tie it 2-2. Scott Laughton’s assist put him up to six points in his previous four games (although his four-goal night on Dec. 12 is doing some heavy lifting).
As a rather uneventful power play expired, the Flyers made the Kings sweat out the final push. Foerster got his second goal and third point of the game courtesy of a behind-the-net pass from Morgan Frost. Owen Tippett’s secondary helper was his first assist since Nov. 25.
Very late in the second period, the Kings tied the game up at 3-3. Kopitar got his impressive 36th point in his age-37 campaign—he is one of six players ever to put up at least 1.10 points per game at that age. Alex Laferriere and Vladislav Gavrikov put up assists, their 11th and 12th of the season respectively.
THAT'S OUR CAPTAIN pic.twitter.com/j4IILUCD3w
— LA Kings (@LAKings) December 20, 2024
Foegele got his 17th point on a goal to open the scoring in the third period. Spence and Jacob Moverare got the assists. For Moverare, that’s his first NHL assist since April 27, 2022.
Kopitar added to his ageless season with another goal, this one his 10th. Alex Turcotte and Gavrikov notched the assists to put their captain’s point total up to 37 in 32 contests. Quinton Byfield got the insurance marker on the empty net to make it 6-3, but that wasn’t it. Fiala put up a late tally with a goalie in the net to make it 7-3, with assists from Laferriere and Brandt Clarke.
Between the pipes, Darcy Kuemper gave the Kings all they needed to cruise to victory. He stopped 23 of 26 shots. For the Flyers, rookie Aleksei Kolosov had 20 saves on 26 shots.
What’s Next for the Kings and Flyers?
Next up, the Kings will take on the Nashville Predators on the road to try and get their 20th win of the campaign on Dec. 21. The Flyers, meanwhile, will attempt to return to .500 with a home-ice victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on the same date.
