Recap: Canes' Streak Snapped By Kings

LOS ANGELES - The Carolina Hurricanes came in hot but fell behind quickly on Saturday en route to a 7-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena.

GAME SUMMARY | BOX SCORE | UPCOMING HOME GAMES

A frustrating first period put the Canes behind the eight-ball early as the Kings took a 3-0 lead despite Carolina carrying a 13-6 shot advantage.

LA tacked on another trio of tallies in just 2:43 to double their lead through the first half of the second stanza but Dmitry Orlov broke David Rittich's shutout bid with a slap shot from range that snuck through Logan Stankoven's netfront presence.

The two teams skated in scoreless hockey for much of the third period before trading goals just eight seconds apart in the final minutes. Mark Jankowski netted Carolina's second strike, notching his fifth goal in six games with the Canes.

Pyotr Kochetkov suffered his first loss in six outings, turning aside 18 shots in LA on Saturday.

Stats & Standouts

• The Canes went into battle today without two lineup mainstays, missing Jordan Staal (lower-body injury) and Shayne Gostisbehere (illness). For the Captain, it was his first absence of the season.
• Scott Morrow returned to the Carolina lineup with an assist, three shots and two blocks, and ranked second among Canes blueliners with a season-high 21:16 of ice time. The 22-year-old has now posted a point in each of his last three games and in four of his last five.
• Up front, Juha Jaaska re-joined the crew after being recalled from Chicago on Friday. Jaaska saw 12 minutes of ice time on Saturday - the most in his now 18-game career - and doled out three hits.
• Mark Jankowski's perfect shooting percentage streak may be over, but he stayed hot on Saturday with his fifth goal in six games with the Canes, tying him for fifth-most in the NHL since the March 7 trade deadline.
• Saturday's loss marked just the second time Carolina has allowed six goals through two periods since Rod Brind'Amour became head coach of the club in 2018-19.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour giving his assessment of the defeat...

"The first two periods, I didn't mind. It's crazy to say in a 6-1 game. The third period was trash. Sometimes that happens in hockey. They made some nice plays and made some great shots on their chances early and then the game gets out of hand. I didn't really mind the first two periods, but obviously, we've got to be better."

Sebastian Aho summarizing the loss...

"We gave up too many scoring chances for them. They made us pay. It didn't feel like we were down three after the first. I thought right off the start we were okay and obviously the game is over there. 3-0 is tough to come back from. We gave up too much."

Rod Brind'Amour on moving on from today...

"You have to turn the page. There's areas where we want to keep getting better at. There's reasons they scored as many goals as they did. We gave up too much. We created enough offense. It's turning the page and making sure we don't let the bad vibes out of this game leak into the next one."

Sebastian Aho looking at the benefit of getting right back into action tomorrow...

"That's the beauty of this league. You get a next chance real quick. We'll regroup and get ready for tomorrow."

What's Next?

The Canes will travel to Anaheim post-game. They'll then complete their three-game swing through California on Sunday night in Anaheim.

Next Game: Sunday, March 23 at Anaheim | 8 p.m. ET

Next Home Game: Tuesday, March 25 vs. Nashville | 7:00 p.m. | Tickets | Parking | Upcoming Theme Nights