Kings clinch 3rd in Pacific with OT win against Blackhawks

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Kings clinched third in the Pacific Division with a 5-4 overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.

The Kings finished one point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights, who lost 4-1 to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, and will play the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference First Round for the third straight season.

Los Angeles gave up three straight goals in the third period before Viktor Arvidsson tied it 4-4 at 18:39 with a one-timer from the right circle on the power play with Cam Talbot pulled for an extra attacker.

Adrian Kempe won it with a wrist shot from the right circle six seconds into overtime.

“It’s hard not to think about the whole picture, I guess,” Kings captain Anze Kopitar said. “I guess we kind of knew what the score was going out for the third period and all that stuff. Didn’t plan on going down one goal, but I guess we got the job done in the end, and we’re going back to Edmonton.”

Arvidsson had two goals and an assist, and Phillip Danault had three assists for the Kings (44-27-11), who have won nine of 10 at home. Talbot made nine saves.

“It’s always nice to end on a high note,” Kopitar said. “Sometimes you do have the ups and the downs within the game, not just within the season, so bounced back pretty well and got this one out of the way. And now it’s looking ahead and getting ready for a good series.”

Ryan Donato had a goal and an assist, and Arvid Soderblom made 30 saves for the Blackhawks (23-53-6), who lost six straight games to end the season (0-5-1).

“We have to change,” Chicago forward Nick Foligno said. “I want to change. We can’t go through this again. And I certainly won’t, and won’t allow it. Either the mindset changes from the group, or the personnel changes. That’s just the way it is in the NHL."

Tyler Johnson cut the lead to 3-2 at 1:28 of the third on a power play with a wrist shot from the right circle.

Joey Anderson tied it 3-3 at 3:42. He took a pass in the right circle, drove to the net, shifted the puck forehand to backhand around Talbot and stuffed it in at the left post.

Donato put the Blackhawks ahead 4-3 at 6:28 when he redirected in MacKenzie Entwistle’s shot from the right point past Talbot.  

“I’m proud of the guys in the third period,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. “They really played well, and we talked about that going into the third period. We really got our legs moving and threw pucks at the net.”

Lukas Reichel gave Chicago a 1-0 lead at 15:39 of the first period. He chipped the puck ahead as he entered the offensive zone, deked around Talbot and finished off a breakaway with a backhand in the crease.

Arvidsson tied it 1-1 at 4:37 of the second period with a one-timer from the left circle off a pass from Danault.

Quinton Byfield put the Kings ahead 2-1 at 16:04 with a power-play goal when he put in a cross-crease pass from Danault at the right post. It was his 20th goal of the season, becoming the youngest Los Angeles player to reach the mark since Kopitar in 2008-09.

“If he plays like he did tonight, he’s [going to] have a say in the series for sure,” Kopitar said of Byfield. “He’s been good all season. Yes, he’s had some down time the last few games, but he knows it. He knows what it takes. He’s been in a hard series last year, played a lot of minutes seeing the top matchups, and he knows. And I think this was a good indicator for him to see how he needs to play.”

Trevor Moore made it 3-1 at 17:24. Danault won the puck from Jarred Tinordi behind the net and fed Arvidsson below the left circle, who found Moore with a touch pass for a tap in at the right post.

“You’re always playoff ready,” Kopitar said. “It’s the best time of the year. We’re going in, it’s a blank page, and we start writing on it.”

NOTES: Kempe’s overtime goal was tied for the fastest in NHL history. He finished the season with 75 points (28 goals, 47 assists), becoming the first player other than Kopitar to lead the Kings in points since Jeff Carter in 2016-17. … The Blackhawks finished with 52 points, their fewest in a season where at least 70 games were played since getting 50 points in 1955-56.