Vilardi's late goal helps Kings edge Panthers

LOS ANGELES --Gabriel Vilardi scored with 3:18 left in the third period to help the Los Angeles Kings to a 5-4 win against the Florida Panthers at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.

Vilardi scored his ninth of the season from a sharp angle after Alexander Edler's initial shot caromed to him off the end boards.
"It went wide and I kind of read that it was going wide, and I got a lucky bounce," Vilardi said. "It kind of came out just on the other side of the goal line. It ended up going in."
Viktor Arvidsson and Trevor Moore each had a goal and an assist, and Anze Kopitar had two assists for the Kings (7-6-1), who had lost two straight. Jonathan Quick made 34 saves.
"We have a lot of young guys that are growing and getting that confidence, and we're getting good depth. I mean, we have four lines who can score now, so when you have four lines that can score, it kind of rolls over and you can get more sustained O-zone," Moore said.

Carter Verhaeghe scored twice, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 34 saves in his 600th NHL game for the Panthers (6-5-1), who are 2-4-0 in their past six games.
"There's defensive breakdowns that happened," Florida coach Paul Maurice said. "I'm not going to pick on anybody for tonight. We gave up five, and that's too big a number."
Ryan Lomberg gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 11:00 of the first period when he scored on a wrist shot from the top of the right circle during a delayed penalty.
Rasmus Kupari tied it 1-1 at 9:27 of the second period with his first goal of the season.
Verhaeghe responded 18 seconds later to put the Panthers back in front 2-1 when his centering pass deflected in off the skate of Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson.
Moore answered back at 10:19 with a deflection of Arvidsson's shot to tie it 2-2.
Matthew Tkachuk appeared to give the Panthers the lead at 17:39, but the referees waved offf the goal for goaltender interference.
Following an unsuccessful challenge by Maurice that resulted in a delay of game penalty, Arvidsson put Los Angeles ahead 3-2 at 19:34 with a power-play goal. The Kings had numbers following Quick's stretch pass, and Arvidsson finished off a backdoor pass from Kopitar at the right post.
"Lots of highs and lows throughout the night, change of momentum," Kings coach Todd McLellan said. "Open, and then tight checking. It had a little bit of everything."

Eetu Luostarinen tied it 3-3 at 1:18 of the third, scoring with a shot under Quick's right arm.
"We battled good, but I think we just have to be better in the third periods," Luostarinen said. "It's been slipping lately, so we just have to be a little better at the end of games."
Blake Lizotte restored the Kings to a 4-3 lead at 2:40, putting in his own rebound after Bobrovsky saved his initial shot on a breakaway.
"I think we have an attacking mindset with the puck, which is good," said Kings defenseman Matt Roy, who found Lizotte with a stretch pass. "I think guys want to score more, and I think we're trying to find more ways to score."
Verhaeghe tied it at 4-4 at 5:04 when he shot into an open net after getting Quick to commit.
"It's a tough one to swallow," Verhaeghe said. "We came back and battled back quite a bit there, and just seems like they got the last [break] there."

NOTES:Panthers forward Anton Lundell was shaken up after blocking a shot by Drew Doughty in the third period but was able to return. Maurice said Lundell felt fine after the game. … Vilardi's nine goals are one shy of his NHL career high. He scored 10 goals in 54 games in 2020-21.