Byfield makes NHL debut for Kings in loss to Ducks

LOS ANGELES -- Cam Fowler scored with 1:01 remaining in the third period and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 at Staples Center on Wednesday to end a five-game losing streak.

Quinton Byfield, the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, made his NHL debut for the Kings. The 18-year-old center had four shots on goal and won 8-of-12 face-offs in 17:21 of ice time.
"I knew I had a lot of support behind me tonight, just wanted to go into the game with confidence," Byfield said. "You try to step up your game and bury all your chances. It was a lot of fun having fans in there and when you make a play or do something, make a good play or make a good pass, get a shot, the fans, you could hear them and it definitely gave me confidence out there."
Kings coach Todd McLellan said, "Overall, definitely a passing grade for him. He was probably one of our better players. We had some guys that we certainly count on night in and night out that didn't have very good nights tonight so it's something they need to fix."
The Ducks (15-28-7) were eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoffs contention when the St. Louis Blues defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Wednesday. John Gibson made 28 saves.
Cal Petersen made 19 saves for the Kings (18-23-6), who have not won consecutive games since a six-game winning streak Feb. 11-24.
Los Angeles is seventh in the eight-team Honda West Division, eight points behind the fourth-place St. Louis Blues for the final Stanley Cup Playoff berth. The Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild have qualified from the division.
The teams continue their four-game set in Anaheim on Friday.
Fowler cut around Andreas Athanasiou with a toe-drag and scored on a wrist shot from the slot at 18:59.
"I mean, that's not a move that I would be doing, but he can pull that off so that was a nice move by him," said Ducks defenseman Simon Benoit, who made his NHL debut.
Gabriel Vilardi put the Kings up 1-0 at 4:50 of the second period on the power play. Adrian Kempe's shot from the point was saved by Gibson, but Trevor Moore kept the rebound alive to set up Vilardi with a shot into an open net from outside the crease.

Kempe made it 2-0 with a shorthanded goal at 11:01. There was miscommunication between Gibson and Fowler as they each went to play the puck, allowing Kempe to shoot it into an empty net for his 14th goal.
"When things go against you, you have to understand the sky's not falling," Eakins said. "Both players are very important to our team. 'Gibby' was excellent in the net tonight, and Cam comes up with a massive, massive goal late in the game. It's always interesting how these games end up and who ends up being big pieces of the win, but both guys certainly had good games."
Sam Carrick got the Ducks back within 2-1 at 12:53 by beating Petersen five-hole before barreling into the goalie.

Sam Steel made it 2-2 at 16:35 when he scored his sixth goal on a wrist shot from the high slot.
"We compete for each other, we work for each other," Fowler said. "You go down a couple goals in the situation that we're in, it would be easy to feel sorry for ourselves, but we have a young group, guys that are trying to get experience in this League. And it's up to us guys that have been around to show them what's it's like to continue to fight and work, and that's what we did tonight so I'm proud of our guys."
NOTES: Benoit was plus-1 in 15:46. … Trevor Zegras played center for the Ducks for the first time after being recalled from San Diego of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. Zegras, the No. 9 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, had one shot and won 5-of-8 face-offs in 14:37. … Kempe got his sixth multipoint game this season and has three points (one goal, two assists) in his past two games. … Byfield (18 years, 252 days) is the sixth-youngest forward and ninth-youngest player to play for the Kings. Byfield scored 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 30 games for Ontario of the AHL this season.