CHICAGO (AP) — Norman Powell scored 21 points, Bam Adebayo had 20 points and 12 rebounds and the Miami Heat held on for a 116-113 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
Ayo Dosunmu had 23 points to lead the Bulls, who trailed by 13 in the fourth quarter and were down 104-92 with 8:02 remaining before outscoring the Heat 21-12 the rest of the way to make it close.
With Chicago trailing 110-100, Dosunmu made two layups and a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 3 with 2:05 left. After a layup by Powell, Nikola Vucevic's turnaround hook shot made it 112-109 with 54 seconds remaining.
Dosunmu and Powell each made two free throws and after being fouled by Pelle Larsson, Coby White hit both of his foul shots to make it a one-point game with 7 seconds left. Larsson dunked 2 seconds later to give Miami a three-point lead and White missed a 3-point attempt to seal the win for the Heat.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Chicago. Larsson had 15 points.
Vucevic had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Matas Buzelis finished with 16 points, Kevin Huerter had 15 and White 14 for the Bulls.
Up next
The teams play the second of three straight matchups, next in Miami on Saturday night.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 30: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks the ball during the game against the Washington Wizards on January 30, 2025 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Kenny Giarla/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Washington Wizards play the Los Angeles Lakers tomorrow. Let’s preview this.
Game info
When: Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
How to watch: Monumental Sports Network, League Pass
Injuries: For the Wizards, Bilal Coulibaly (back), Tristan Vukcevic (hamstring), Marvin Bagley (back), Trae Young (knee, quad) and Cam Whitmore (shoulder) are out. Tre Johnson is day-to-day.
For the Lakers, Austin Reaves (calf) and Adou Thiero (knee) are out. Luka Doncic is day-to-day due to an ankle injury.
What to watch for
So, this winter storm has forced many to miss school for an entire week here in the DMV. Kids are happy. Teachers are happier. Parents who aren’t teachers are wondering when the temperatures hit 32 degrees Fahrenheit again. Either way, I hope you are all enjoying the days off if you had the chance to do that.
Anyway, let’s talk about the Lakers, who are in the middle of a long road trip, and are coming off a 129-99 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James’ previous team … twice over. Still, LA is 28-18 and will be the overwhelming favorites tomorrow whether James and Doncic play together or not. That said, didn’t the Wizards beat the Milwaukee Bucks just under a couple hours ago as of the time this post got published? You never know guys!
Calls for Australia to parachute champion cricketer Steve Smith into the T20 World Cup squad have grown in volume after the national side’s inexperienced batting line-up was spun out during Thursday’s first T20 against Pakistan in Lahore.
Twenty-four hours after the Islanders handed their honorary player of the game award, an Iron Man mask, to Ondrej Palat, it went to their other new acquisition, Carson Soucy.
For the defenseman who became the first player to cross the Rangers-Islanders divide via trade since Jyri Niemi did so in 2010, that capped what had to have been a pretty good 48 hours.
Soucy went from a team circling the drain to one in the midst of a playoff race, beat his old club twice and scored a goal against them at Madison Square Garden. Plus, he didn’t even need to find new living arrangements.
“Obviously, when you’re going against someone in your division, let alone your in-state rival, it’s nice to be on the winning side for the last two,” Soucy said after the Islanders capped a season-series sweep of the Rangers with a 2-1 victory. “Losing to these guys those first couple games kind of hurt.”
New York Islanders defenseman Carson Soucy is greeted by his teammates on the bench after he scores a goal during the second period on Jan. 29, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Soucy said Wednesday morning he didn’t know any players on the Islanders roster, just a couple of the athletic trainers who were in Vancouver and Minnesota with him. No matter, by Thursday night, the rest of the Islanders were talking about him as if he’d been with them the whole season.
“Soucy got us pretty fired up — just him getting traded from the Rangers, coming in, being a great guy on and off the ice,” Matthew Schaefer said. “So fun to meet him and ‘Latter. For him to get a goal, I think it’s kind of payback in a way: Once he gets traded and then he gets to score against this team, so it’s pretty cool.”
The Iron Man mask, which mostly functions as a good bit for social media, worked over the last two days as a good way for the Islanders to make their newest players feel like part of the team as well.
Will Cuylle of the New York Rangers skates against Carson Soucy of the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden on January 29, 2026. NHLI via Getty Images
“It’s great,” Soucy said. “Obviously, we just want to keep this going, but they’ve done a great job welcoming both of us in. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s always interesting meeting a bunch of new teammates all at once, but they’ve welcomed us in really well.”
Max Shabanov drew back into the lineup with Casey Cizikas out due to illness. Kyle MacLean centered the fourth line in Cizikas’ absence, with Shabanov playing on the left wing.
The absence ended a streak of 161 consecutive games played for Cizikas, making Anders Lee the team’s current iron man with 136 in a row.
Cal Ritchie remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Ilya Sorokin started in net 24 hours after David Rittich took the front end of the back-to-back, finishing the night with 20 saves.
The Florida Panthers lost a frustrating game on Thursday night in St Louis.
A late power play goal by the Blues after a questionable call on Niko Mikkola sent the home team to a last-second 5-4 victory over the Panthers.
Florida actually got things started early in the Blues Barn, and it was the Cats’ fourth line that once again provided a spark.
Sandis Vilmanis and Luke Kunin dug the puck free below the goal line and found A.J. Greer in front of the net.
Greer’s 11th tally of the season gave Florida a 1-0 lead at the 3:12 mark of the opening frame.
It didn’t take long for the Blues to take their first lead of the game, as Jake Neighbours and Jordan Kyrou scoring a pair of quick goals just 3:05 apart.
A Sam Reinhart power play goal tied the game about 90 seconds later, but goals by Jonatan Berggen and Oskar Sundqvist late in the first and early in the second gave St. Louis a two-goal edge.
Hometown boy Matthew Tkachuk then took it upon himself to bring the Panthers back into the game, scoring his first two goals of the season less than two minutes apart to send the game to the third period tied at four.
That’s how the score would remain until the game’s final seconds.
With the teams already playing at 4-on-4, Mikkola was called for goalie interference on a play where he appeared to be pushed into Blue goalie Joel Hofer by Berggen.
Florida held strong as long as they could, but Jimmy Snuggerud scored on a one-timer with just 8.4 seconds on the clock.
Photo caption: Jan 29, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Florida Panthers goaltender Daniil Tarasov (40) defends the net against St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk (72) and left wing Pavel Buchnevich (89) during the second period at Enterprise Center. (Jeff Curry-Imagn Images)
MONTREAL, CANADA - JANUARY 29: Ivan Demidov #93 of the Montréal Canadiens defends against Valeri Nichushkin #13 of the Colorado Avalanche during the first period at the Bell Centre. Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After a disappointing showing last night against the Ottawa Senators, in which Colorado lost by a final score of 5-2, the Avs came out flat once again on the second leg of a back-to-back. A 7-3 loss against the Montreal Canadiens was tonight’s result. This was the third time in the month of January in which Colorado has lost by a final score of 7-3.
Let’s take a look at the action from tonight.
First Period
The Canadiens would get on the board first not even a minute into the game, as the Avs had a miscommunication on defense off a face-off, and Noah Dobson was left all alone to rip it past Scott Wedgewood on a sharp angle.
Fortunately for Colorado, Brock Nelson would tie it up for Colorado after that, though, as he made a great move to stick-handle into the offensive zone, and put a great shot past Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobes.
Nick Suzuki would quickly give the Canadiens a 2-1 lead after that on the power play, as he wasn’t picked up in front of the Colorado net, and managed to bury a rebound past Wedgewood.
Colorado would then allow a short-handed goal while on the power play, as Suzuki managed to get into the Avs’ zone all alone behind the defense, and made no mistake. The Avalanche now lead the NHL with nine shorthanded goals against. It really punctuates how futile this power play truly is for Colorado.
Second Period
It was a fairly quiet second period until Jake Evans would make it 4-1 Montreal, as Wedgewood would misplay a puck behind his own net, resulting in essentially an empty net goal for Evans.
Kirby Dach would then get maybe a bit of a lucky one, as he tries to go for a wrap-around attempt, and the puck would bang off of Josh Manson’s skate, and into the back of the net. It really wasn’t Scott Wedgewood’s night.
Joel Kiviranta would manage to stop the bleeding for a moment after that, as he managed to get one back and make it 5-2. Were there signs of live for Colorado at this point with a period left to go?
Third Period
Ross Colton would make things interesting early on in the third period, as Val Nichushkin was able to find him right in front of the Montreal net, and Colton was able to put the puck past Dobes. It was Colton’s first goal scored since November.
Almost immediately after that, the Avs would give that goal right back, as Alexandre Carrier would finish a 2-on-1 play to make it 6-3 for Montreal. This goal was really the back breaker as it ended any sort of come back momentum Colorado had.
Another defensive breakdown would lead to Juraj Slafkovsky being left alone in front of the Avs’ net once again, and he deposited the puck into the back of an empty net, for your final score of 7-3.
Takeaways
It’s very clear that this team is ready for the break and just trying not to get hurt leading up to the Olympics, but that doesn’t mean this brand of hockey is any fun to watch, still. Similar to last night, nothing went right for Colorado. Passes weren’t connecting, you had a handful of bad defensive breakdowns that resulted in goals, you lost the special teams battle, and you lost it badly at that by giving up a shorthanded goal. On top of that, when you got even the slightest bit of life in the third period, you almost immediately gave it back, as I said, not a fun brand of hockey to watch whatsoever, especially when you know how good this team is. Hopefully, they can find something against Detroit and San Jose in their last three games before the NHL Olympic break.
Upcoming
Colorado wraps up their road trip against the Detroit Red Wings to begin a home-and-home on Saturday, January 31. Puck drop will be at 11 a.m. MT nationally televised on ABC.
Kane became the highest-scoring United States-born player in NHL history, passing Mike Modano with an assist for his 1,375th point on an assist Thursday night for the Detroit Red Wings against the Washington Capitals.
“It’s nice to have it over with in some ways and worry about the rest of the season,” Kane said after Washington’s 4-3 shootout win.
Patrick Kane salutes the fans after his 1,375 career point, most by an American born player, on an assist on Ben Chiarot during the second period of the Red Wings’ 4-3 shootout loss to the Capitals at Little Caesars Arena on Jan. 29, 2026 in Detroit. NHLI via Getty Images
Kane passed the puck from the boards to Alex DeBrincat in the left circle, and DeBrincat set up Ben Chiarot for a tying goal from the point midway through the second period.
Kane flashed a grin and hugged Chiarot.
He was surrounded by teammates, including those who emptied the bench to join a brief celebration. As Kane skated away, the spotlight was put on him and he raised his stick to acknowledge the crowd while appearing to be on the verge of tears.
His likeness was shown on the videoboards at Little Caesars Arena with an American flag in the background and the number 1,375.
Modano held the mark for 18-plus years. Kane reached the milestone a couple of months after turning 37, while Modano was 40 when he scored a goal to register point No. 1,374, passing Phil Housley.
“I knew at an early age in your career you would be the one chasing this number down and here we are,” Modano said in a prerecorded message played on the videoboards. “Continue on and make this number harder for the next guy.”
Kane has been one of the faces of American hockey since getting taken with the first pick in the 2007 draft by Chicago. He helped the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup three times from 2010-15 as a co-headliner of one of the most successful runs since the league’s salary cap era began in ’05.
“When you think of USA Hockey, he’s one of the first players that comes to mind, if not the first player,” fellow American Jack Eichel said. “Such a great representation of USA Hockey and us Americans — something for a lot of the guys that came after him to strive to be, myself included.”
Detroit right wing Patrick Kane (88) is surrounded by teammates after recording his 1,375th point to pass Mike Modano and break the NHL record for points by a player born in the United States. AP
U.S.-born defenseman Charlie McAvoy recalled watching Kane on those long runs “do stuff that at the time people didn’t do.”
“His type of player just transcends now, when back then there wasn’t anybody that was really doing that,” U.S.-born defenseman Charlie McAvoy said. “He changed the game of hockey. He’s an absolute legend. And it’s great that he’s an American.”
Earlier this month, Kane became the 50th player and fifth American to score 500 goals, following Keith Tkachuk, Jeremy Roenick and Joe Mullen. Brett Hull, a dual citizen who was born in Canada and played internationally for the U.S., had 741 goals and 1,391 points.
“He’s well on his way to being the best USA player of all time,” countryman Jack Hughes said.
Kane won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in ’07-08, the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2013 and the Hart Trophy as regular-season MVP in 2015-16, when he also led the league in scoring.
“Such an iconic player, just played with such passion,” said Tage Thompson, who’s a first-time U.S. Olympian this year. “Very enthusiastic, loved scoring goals, loved making plays.”
Kane’s slick hands more than made up for him being on the smaller side at 5-foot-10 and under 180 pounds.
“He’s maybe got the best highlight reel of all time,” Hughes said. “Just as a kid, you watch all of his videos and everything, and you’re like, that’s the guy you want to be just because of how skilled he is.”
Mar 13, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) drives to the basket against Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) in the third quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
It was only a matter of time before the Lakers were linked to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
This week, the Greek Freak kind of, sort of demanded a trade, a perfect punctuation on what has been a mess of a Bucks season. Whatever words he wants to use to describe it is a debate for another day, but the end result is that Milwaukee is now fielding offers for him.
Right now, the Lakers don’t have much of a chance at Giannis. If the Bucks’ goal is to make a deal over the next week before the deadline, the Lakers can’t offer more than one first round pick, one second round pick and salaries. Austin Reaves could be included in the deal, but his ability to opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent this summer makes him unappealing to Milwaukee.
However, if things drag out to the summer, then the Lakers can be much more of a factor. And that gets more intriguing with the latest reporting tidbit from The Ringer’s Howard Beck.
“I was told recently that the Lakers were a team to keep an eye from Giannis’ standpoint just as another team of interest. But, again, there’s a difficulty there in terms of trade assets. They’re another team where, once the summer comes, they got more on the draft capital side of things and they got more clarity once they figure out where LeBron is or isn’t and where Austin Reaves is because he’s a free agent.”
Unfortunately, this likely doesn’t change a lot for the Lakers. Unless the Bucks really want to do a solid for Giannis and send him somewhere he wants to go, the Lakers still likely lack the draft picks and young players to make a competitive offer.
Even if Giannis says he won’t sign an extension with a team that trades for him, he still has a whole other season on his contract. The earliest he could be a free agent is the summer of 2027. It would be similar to the situation with Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors, as an example.
The other aspect that needs to happen is Giannis trying to force his way to LA. And given how much he hasn’t wanted to be the bad guy in Milwaukee so far, that feels unlikely to happen either.
The biggest thing the Lakers can offer Milwaukee is tax relief, which other teams might not be able to. With a huge amount of projected cap space, the Lakers could help the Bucks save a lot of money, which is something few other teams making offers will be able to do.
Is a package of lesser picks but more money saved enticing to the Bucks? It depends on what the ownership is looking for in the next deal.
But if Giannis is intrigued by the Lakers, then that at least opens the door.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Toby Fournier scored 23 points, Taina Mair added 18 and No. 20 Duke won on the road 74-58 against Miami for its 12th straight win on Thursday night.
Fournier also had 11 rebounds for her fifth double double of the season. She shot 10 of 16 from the floor, 1 of 2 from 3-point range, and 2 of 8 from the free throw line before fouling out.
Jordan Wood scored 12 points for Duke.
Ra Shaya Kyle led Miami with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and added nine rebounds before fouling out. Gal Raviv added 16 points.
The Blue Devils (15-6, 10-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) went into halftime up 39-23. Miami (12-9, 4-6) clawed back from being down by 19 to only down five, 55-50, starting the final quarter. The Hurricanes came within three with 9:47 to go in the game, before Duke responded with a 12-0 run to cruise the rest of the way. Miami was held scoreless for over seven minutes before a layup by Candace Kpetikou with 2:06 to play ended the drought.
ATLANTA (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 31 points and the Houston Rockets beat short-handed Atlanta 104-86 on Thursday night, ending the Hawks' four-game winning streak.
The Rockets dominated the second half after leading only 43-42 at halftime. Jabari Smith had 14 points and Reed Sheppard added 13. Sheppard's 3-pointer gave the Rockets their first 20-point lead, 90-70.
The Hawks held out two frontline starters with injuries. Center Onyeka Okongwu suffered a dental fracture when he was elbowed in the mouth in Atlanta's 117-106 win at Boston on Wednesday night. Forward Jalen Johnson was ruled out with left calf tightness.
The Hawks said Okongwu had a successful dental procedure on Thursday and also will miss Saturday's game at Indiana.
The Hawks already were missing center Kristaps Porzingis (left Achilles tendinitis) and forward Zaccharie Risacher (left knee, bone contusion). Two-way rookie Asa Newell was recalled from G League College Park before the game. Center Christian Koloko, who signed with Atlanta on Jan. 17, made his first start in his fifth game with the Hawks.
CJ McCollum led Atlanta with 23 points. Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 20 and Corey Kispert added 17.
Rockets center Alperen Sengun (right ankle sprain) had nine points and 13 rebounds after being listed as questionable.
Houston outscored Atlanta 35-24 in the third period and continued to stretch the lead in the final period.
Houston center Clint Capela scored 10 points in his first return to Atlanta since he was traded to the Rockets on July 6, 2025. Capela held up both hands in a wave to the fans after he was honored with a video tribute during a first-quarter timeout.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams each scored 17 points and No. 6 LSU beat Arkansas 92-70 on Thursday night for its sixth straight Southeastern Conference win.
The Tigers (20-2, 6-2) led by just three points at halftime against the Razorbacks (11-11, 0-7), who have lost all their league games by double-digit margins.
Johnson, Williams and reserve Kate Koval helped LSU pull away after halftime. Koval had 12 points and a season-high 15 rebounds for her sixth-double-double of the season.
Grace Knox and Jada Richard each contributed 12 points for the Tigers, and ZaKiyah Johnson had 11.
Taleyah Jones led the Razorbacks with 23 points. Jenna Lawrence added 12 points, and Bonnie Deas and Maria Anais Rodriguez had 11 each.
Arkansas gave LSU all it could handle in the first half.
The Razorbacks hit six of their first nine shots, including 3 of 5 3-pointers, for a 15-8 lead with 5:43 left in the first quarter.
Seconds later, LSU coach Kim Mulkey yanked all of her starters. The Tigers’ second unit, led by ZaKiyah Johnson and Koval — who combined for 12 points in a 14-7 run — evened the score at 22-22 after the first quarter.
LSU inserted four of its starters just two minutes into the second quarter. Sparked by Williams’ eight points on an array of mid-range jumpers, the Tigers built an eight-point lead with two minutes left.
Arkansas got back within 36-33 at halftime.
After misfiring on 15 of 22 layups in the first half, LSU opened the third quarter with an 18-3 run in the first 4 1/2 minutes. The Tigers made six of their first eight shots, including all three 3-pointers, for a 54-36 lead.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Nico Hischier scored 42 seconds into overtime to give the Devils a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night after New Jersey’s Jack Hughes left the game in the first period and didn’t return.
Hischier’s slap shot from just beyond the left faceoff circle beat Nashville’s Justus Annunen high to the glove side for the winner. Dawson Mercer picked up the assist on Hischier’s eighth career overtime goal. Hischier leads the Devils with 18 goals and 23 assists in 54 games.
New Jersey’s Jesper Bratt tied the game at 2 midway through the third. Dougie Hamilton also scored for the Devils, who snapped a two-game skid. Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves.
Hughes left the game after three shifts in the first period. The team did not announce any injury status for the 24-year-old center.
Hughes’ latest absence comes two weeks before the U.S. is set to play its first game at the Milan Cortina Olympics. Hughes, along with brother Quinn, is a first-time Olympian. The U.S. has two sets of brothers, with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk also on the team.
Michael McCarron and Filip Forsberg scored for Nashville, which lost its third straight. Annunen made 32 saves.
McCarron staked Nashville to an early lead with a goal five minutes into the first period. Hamilton tied it at 1 midway through the second, extending his points streak to nine games.
Forsberg gave the Predators the lead 1:34 into the third period. With the goal, Forsberg moves into sixth place for career NHL goals by a Swedish player with 338 scores in 833 games. He trails Mats Sundin (564), Daniel Alfredsson (444), Markus Nasland (395), Tomas Sandstrom (394), Daniel Sedin (393).
Bratt’s 13 goal of the season came on a Predators turnover, flipping a shot over Annunen to tie the game.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JANUARY 29: Amen Thompson #1 of the Houston Rockets steals the ball from CJ McCollum #3 of the Atlanta Hawks during the second quarter at State Farm Arena on January 29, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Atlanta Hawks were at home Thursday evening to take on the Houston Rockets. The Hawks were coming off a big win against the Boston Celtics the night before and riding a four-game winning streak. As for the Rockets, they were coming off a loss to the San Antonio Spurs last night, and looking to get back in the win column.
By no surprise, the Hawks were without Onyeka Okongwu after going through dental surgery earlier in the day. Jalen Johnson was also ruled out hours before the game because of calf tightness.
Just like against Celtics, the Hawks got off to a fast start in the first quarter with a 7-0 lead.
The Rockets started to settle in just a little and made a run to get even. The Hawks were able to still keep the lead, as CJ McCollum came in and was instant offense.
Both teams were cold for most of the quarter and were shooting around 30% from the field. The score going into the second showed it, as both teams had 23.
The poor shooting continued through the second quarter, and the Hawks tried to find easy buckets wherever they could. That’s how they got on the board with this connection from McCollum to Christian Koloko.
The Hawks never let the Rockets go off on a big run, and they had to rely on their defense when the shots weren’t falling. That wasn’t new to Daniels, as he got this steal that led to a McCollum three.
Going into halftime, the Hawks trailed the Rockets 43-42.
The Rockets started to pull away in the third quarter after a few missed shots and not being able to secure defensive rebounds. It was a ten-point lead for the Rockets at midway through the third, but the Hawks were able to go on a run of their own to cut deficit to three.
Going into the fourth quarter, the Hawks trailed 78-66.
Things didn’t get better for the Hawks when the fourth quarter started, as the Rockets built a 20-point advantage. The Hawks did their best to chip away at their deficit, but it was hard for them to get consistent stops on the other end.
With not enough scoring power on offense, the Hawks ultimately couldn’t string together enough buckets to cut their deficit, and Quin Snyder pulled the plug with about two minutes left after Kevin Durant hit a three-pointer to seal the deal for the Rockets.
McCollum finished with 23 points, Alexander-Walker finished with 20 points, and Corey Kispert finished with 17 points.
The Hawks will be back in action on Saturday against the Indiana Pacers.
The Los Angeles Kings (22-17-13) outshot the Buffalo Sabres (31-17-5) and had a lot of chances to make this a closer game, but a pair of unlucky calls against them and a strong night from Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon and forward Alex Tuch proved too much to overcome.
Despite playing a much better second period after a poor first, LA was unable to dig itself out of the hole at KeyBank Center, falling 4-1 in Buffalo.
Once again, struggling early on in regulation and falling in a 2-0 hole, doomed the Kings to make any run against the home team.
Buffalo struck first in the opening period. A pass from Ryan McLeod intended for Alex Tuch deflected off the Kings and slid past Darcy Kuemper for a fluky goal, giving the Sabres the early 1-0 lead.
The Sabres added to that lead a few minutes later after a faceoff win. Matttias Samuelsson stepped from the point and beat Kuemper's glove, extending the lead 2-0 despite LA holding the edge in shots made through the first 20 minutes of regulation.
Los Angeles had a lot of chances late in the period to score, but the defense from Lyon was excellent, with him on the crease for Buffalo, turning aside several chances the Kings had.
Second Period: Controversial Call
The Kings appeared to get on board early in the second period when Alex Laferriere knocked off the puck past Lyon, cutting the deficit to one, but the goal was overturned after an extended review due to goalie interference between Corey Perry and Lyon.
It was a big call: looking back on the play, it seemed the goalie had enough time to recover, but the call was upheld, and instead of 2-1, the score remained 2-0, and gave the Sabres a chance to extend it further in the second period.
Laferriere has the puck in net for the Kings.
It's ruled a goal, but the officials huddle for an extended time and call it no goal for goalie interference after contact between Perry and Lyon.
Moments later, Tuch finished from the slot off a point shot to extend the score 3-0 just like that, after the overturned goal from the Kings.
Near the end of the second period, Los Angeles finally broke through on the power play when Kevin Fiala fed Adrian Kempe off the high deflection on the power play to score, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
Down two entering the third, the Kings were desperate for a big play to get back in the game, but they never made it, as the Sabres' defense and goaltender made it tough for Los Angeles.
The dagger came when Tuch converted on the empty-net goal, finishing with three goals on the night and torching the Kings' defense, winning 4-1.
The Kings finished with a 38-32 advantage in shots and a 30-9 advantage in hits, but Buffalo made most of its opportunities on the Kings' 20 giveaways, which led to extended zone time for the Sabres to convert on offense.
It was nice to see Kuemper play well tonight after missing the last game against the Detroit Red Wings, finishing with 28 saves despite giving up three goals.
The biggest play was obviously the overturned goal at a critical moment on Laferriere's shot, who would've made it 2-1 in the second period, but instead it was 3-0 after two periods, and Los Angeles was never able to recover from then on.
The Los Angeles Kings drop their first game in this six-game road trip and will look to clean up this loss on Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers at 9:30 P.M. PT
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