Worldwide Sports News

Los Angeles, CA — The Los Angeles Kings (41-23-9) defeated the San Jose Sharks (20-44-9) in an 8-1 victory at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, March 30. 

This victory was a bounce-back from the previous two losses against some of the tougher competition in the Stanley Cup playoffs—the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Colorado Avalanche. It also helped the Kings regain their top home-ice record.

Among the standout players during this match were LA Kings right wing Adrian Kempe and left wing Warren Foegele, who scored goals during a power play and again in the Kings' offensive onslaught in the second period. 

In the first period, Los Angeles drew first blood when center Phillip Danault hit a slap shot from the left side of the San Jose net to score the first goal, 1-0. The Sharks' offense was later given two power plays off of penalties by the Kings — slashing and sticking —but could not utilize their advantages. 
Meanwhile, the Sharks also gave up penalties. During the second power play, which the Kings received after a hooking penalty, Kempe hit a snapshot to the hockey net to score another goal for the Kings, 2-0. 

As the second period skated by, San Jose scored their only goal of the night by center Cam Lund, 2-1. They could not hold back the offensive prowess of Los Angeles. 

Kings left wing Trevor Moore took advantage of a defensive miscalculation by the Sharks—too many players on one person—and hit a wrist shot to the net, scoring for Los Angeles, 3-1. The Sharks gave up three penalties to the Kings, and on the second power play of the period, Foegele was able to muscle the puck into the San Jose net with a deflected shot from their goaltender, making it 4-1.

Towards the end of the second period, Foegele scored again for the LA Kings, only this time he tipped in a shot from defenseman Mikey Anderson to blow up the lead, 5-1. Even as the period was coming to a close, as the puck was being passed along nicely by Los Angeles, Kempe struck again with a slap shot from the left side of the Sharks net for a goal, 6-1.

The third period came around for the LA Kings, but San Jose's offense skipped town despite the penalties the Kings took—roughing and cross-checking by Mikey Anderson, both in the same play. 

As the latter half of the third period came, as did left-wing Andrei Kuzmenko when he shot the puck right by the neutral zone with an impressive wrister, ballooning the lead to 7-1. Los Angeles center Trevor Lewis chimed in with insurance goals near the end, nailing a wrist shot to the Sharks net, making it 8-1 and marking the end of the offensive rampage by the LA Kings with a win.

Despite the offensive magic, the Kings will face perhaps one of the biggest challenges yet in the Winnipeg Jets, considered one of the favorites to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Flyers win 3rd straight as Michkov, Konecny put up multi-point games originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers matched their season-best winning streak of three games with a 2-1 decision Monday night over the Predators at the Wells Fargo Center.

Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale provided the Flyers’ markers. Poehling has seven goals in the last 10 games.

Matvei Michkov and Travis Konecny had two assists apiece. Konecny is one helper away from 50.

Ivan Fedotov did the job in net.

The Flyers (31-36-9) are 3-0-0 under Brad Shaw. They’ve scored 15 goals over his three games as interim head coach.

It’s the fifth time the Flyers have won three straight this season. They haven’t won more than three straight since Feb. 6-12 of last season, when they won four in a row.

The Flyers swept the two-game regular-season series from the Predators (27-39-8). They picked up a 3-2 overtime win in Nashville, Tennessee on the eve of Thanksgiving. Two of the Flyers’ three goal scorers that night were not in the lineup for the rematch because of trades.

• Michkov’s surge continued.

The 20-year-old rookie played an excellent two-man game with Konecny to set up Poehling’s game-opening goal in the second period. Thirty-four seconds after the Predators tied it up, Michkov and Konecny assisted Drysdale’s go-ahead goal.

Over the last 21 games, Michkov has put up 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists). He’s on a six-game point streak in which he has recorded 11 points (four goals, seven assists). He’s two points away from 60 on the season and leads all NHL rookies with 24 goals.

• Fedotov converted 28 saves on 29 shots to pick up his first win since March 1.

The 28-year-old made some big stops in the third period.

“I thought he battled,” Shaw said. “Coming off a couple of tough ones for him, I thought he worked to see the puck.”

Poehling had a big blocked shot with 21 seconds left in the game as the Flyers had a gritty finish to nail down the one-goal lead.

“I think that just shows the group we have here,” Konecny said. “No matter what we’re facing as far as the standings and where we’re at, guys just can’t help themselves. They want to win games and that’s why we love this group.”

Nashville backup Justus Annunen stopped 16 of the Flyers’ 18 shots.

• The Flyers’ top defensive pair of Travis Sanheim and Nick Seeler was real solid for a second straight game.

Seeler was great defensively in the final minutes.

“I think there’s a chemistry that has to be built with a pair,” Shaw said. “I like how hard they compete. Seels, there’s never a question on how hard he works. Sanny, I thought for a guy who has played a ton of minutes the last month, I thought he was fantastic tonight. I thought it was one of the better games I’ve seen him play in the month of March and that’s not an easy thing to do with what we’ve asked from him and everything’s done this year already.”

• Garnet Hathaway returned from an upper-body injury to notch his 600th career NHL game.

The 33-year-old winger had missed almost all of March after taking a blindsided hit at the end of February. More on Hathaway and Rasmus Ristolainen’s status here.

• Karsen Dorwart, who the Flyers signed out of Michigan State, is expected to join the team for practice Wednesday. Shaw said the 22-year-old center will probably be in the lineup for the Flyers’ next game Saturday.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder will wear No. 23 when he makes his NHL debut.

“We need depth at center,” Shaw said, “and hopefully he can be one of those solutions for us.”

The club has six games left.

“Hopefully he can get in the majority of them and get his feet wet,” Shaw said. “Then when training camp comes around, he has got a way better idea of what this league is all about.”

• The Flyers now have four days before their next game Saturday when they visit the Canadiens (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

They’re scheduled to practice Wednesday and Friday at 11 a.m. ET in Voorhees, New Jersey.

Flyers win 3rd straight as Michkov, Konecny put up multi-point games originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers matched their season-best winning streak of three games with a 2-1 decision Monday night over the Predators at the Wells Fargo Center.

Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale provided the Flyers’ markers. Poehling has seven goals in the last 10 games.

Matvei Michkov and Travis Konecny had two assists apiece. Konecny is one helper away from 50.

“They’re certainly looking for one another,” Brad Shaw said. “I think they are feeding off one another’s success.”

Ivan Fedotov did the job in net.

“Great win for us,” Fedotov said. “Everybody played well, stayed with the structure.”

The Flyers (31-36-9) are 3-0-0 under Shaw. They’ve scored 15 goals over his three games as interim head coach.

It’s the fifth time the Flyers have won three straight this season. They haven’t won more than three straight since Feb. 6-12 of last season, when they won four in a row.

The Flyers swept the two-game regular-season series from the Predators (27-39-8). They picked up a 3-2 overtime win in Nashville, Tennessee on the eve of Thanksgiving. Two of the Flyers’ three goal scorers that night were not in the lineup for the rematch because of trades.

• Michkov’s surge continued.

The 20-year-old rookie played an excellent two-man game with Konecny to set up Poehling’s game-opening goal in the second period.

“Those are two guys that have so much offensive skill and you saw them showcase it there,” Poehling said. “For me, it was weird, it came off a backcheck, I was just trying to get in an open spot and T.K. made a great play.”

Thirty-four seconds after the Predators tied it up, Michkov and Konecny assisted Drysdale’s go-ahead goal.

Over the last 21 games, Michkov has put up 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists). He’s on a six-game point streak in which he has recorded 11 points (four goals, seven assists). He’s two points away from 60 on the season and leads all NHL rookies with 24 goals.

“It’s the end of a season and there’s a long, long break,” Michkov said through translator Slava Kuznetsov, a Flyers consultant. “I’m trying to get every single moment, seize every single moment on the ice.”

• Fedotov converted 28 saves on 29 shots to pick up his first win since March 1.

The 28-year-old made some big stops in the third period.

“I thought he battled,” Shaw said. “Coming off a couple of tough ones for him, I thought he worked to see the puck.”

Poehling had a big blocked shot with 21 seconds left in the game as the Flyers had a gritty finish to nail down the one-goal lead.

“I think that just shows the group we have here,” Konecny said. “No matter what we’re facing as far as the standings and where we’re at, guys just can’t help themselves. They want to win games and that’s why we love this group.”

Nashville backup Justus Annunen stopped 16 of the Flyers’ 18 shots.

• The Flyers’ top defensive pair of Travis Sanheim and Nick Seeler was real solid for a second straight game.

Seeler was great defensively in the final minutes.

“I think there’s a chemistry that has to be built with a pair,” Shaw said. “I like how hard they compete. Seels, there’s never a question on how hard he works. Sanny, I thought for a guy who has played a ton of minutes the last month, I thought he was fantastic tonight. I thought it was one of the better games I’ve seen him play in the month of March and that’s not an easy thing to do with what we’ve asked from him and everything he has done this year already.”

• Garnet Hathaway returned from an upper-body injury to notch his 600th career NHL game.

The 33-year-old winger had missed almost all of March after taking a blindsided hit at the end of February. More on Hathaway and Rasmus Ristolainen’s status here.

• Karsen Dorwart, who the Flyers signed out of Michigan State, is expected to join the team for practice Wednesday. Shaw said the 22-year-old center will probably be in the lineup for the Flyers’ next game Saturday.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder will wear No. 23 when he makes his NHL debut.

“We need depth at center,” Shaw said after morning skate, “and hopefully he can be one of those solutions for us.”

The club has six games left.

“Hopefully he can get in the majority of them and get his feet wet,” Shaw said. “Then when training camp comes around, he has got a way better idea of what this league is all about.”

• The Flyers now have four days before their next game Saturday when they visit the Canadiens (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

They’re scheduled to practice Wednesday and Friday at 11 a.m. ET in Voorhees, New Jersey.

While speaking to reporters, including NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jordan Hall, Philadelphia Flyers interim head coach Brad Shaw shared that former Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is unlikely to play again this season. 

Ristolainen, 30, has not played for the Flyers since their March 11 matchup against the Ottawa Senators. In 63 games this season, the 6-foot-4 defenseman has recorded four goals, 19 points, 94 blocks, 97 hits, and a plus-3 rating. This is after he had one goal, three assists, and a minus-6 rating in 31 games last season for Philadelphia. 

Ristolainen was selected by the Sabres with the eighth-overall pick of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. In eight seasons with Buffalo, he had 46 goals, 199 assists, 245 points, 848 blocks, 1,355 hits, and a minus-179 rating. The right-shot blueliner also had four seasons with at least 32 assists and 41 points during his time with the Sabres. 

Ristolainen's time with the Sabres ended when he was traded to the Flyers during the 2021 NHL off-season. 

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