Kings hold off Islanders to win 6th straight game

ELMONT, N.Y. – The Los Angeles Kings pushed their winning streak to six games with a 3-1 win against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Tuesday.

Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist, and Kevin Fiala and Mikey Anderson scored for the Kings (17-8-3), who played the first of seven straight on the road. Darcy Kuemper made 19 saves.

“You are not sure how you are going to come out after flying all the way out here,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “And [that first period] was probably one of our better periods of the year. It’s disappointing that we couldn’t sustain it. In the second period, we started turning it over, and we got a little too active with our defense. I thought in the second half of the period, we got it back on track. In the end, what a period.”

Anders Lee scored for the Islanders (11-12-7), who have lost six of their last nine games (3-4-2). Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves.

“We didn't have a good first period,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “We had a mix of turnovers, battle losses, but the thing I liked is we didn't dig ourselves too big of a hole. It was a one-goal game. We didn't start very well the first 10 minutes of that second period as well, but we scored a goal that put us back in the game. And from there, I thought we played better. We were better in our battles. We hit two posts in the third. We had our chances. Our goalie was outstanding, again.”

Kempe gave the Kings a 1-0 lead at 13:51 of the first. After Trevor Moore won a puck battle in the left corner, he fed Anze Kopitar behind the net, finding Kempe at the top of the crease for a one-time finish past Sorokin’s blocker.

“The last few games [our line] has been going pretty good,” Kings captain Kopitar said. “It always takes a few games to get adjusted, with Trevor [Moore] coming in on the line and Adrian [Kempe] and me making sure we know where he’s going to be. Right now, it seems like the plays are clicking.”

The Kings outshot the Islanders 12-3 in the first period despite the Islanders having two power-play opportunities. Of the Islanders' three shots, only one of them came at 5-on-5.

Fiala extended the Kings’ lead to 2-0 at 3:09 of the second period. After Joel Edmundson fed Fiala at the left point, he made a move to evade Islanders forward Oliver Wahlstrom before his wrist shot from the high slot beat Sorokin high glove side through a screen.

“I was just the third-guy high,” Fiala said. “Moore came behind me, and the guy cheated. I saw it. I made a move inside, and I saw Sammy [Helenius] in the front of the net. He’s a big guy, so I used him as a screen.”

Lee cut the Islanders’ deficit to 2-1 at 9:47. After Kyle Palmieri’s point shot got slowed down on its way toward the goal, Lee settled the puck before sending a quick turnaround shot through Kuemper’s legs from the slot.

It looked like Phillip Danault was going to give the Kings a 3-1 lead at 8:29 of the third with Sorokin on his back at the top of his crease after making a save, but Islanders forward Maxim Tsyplakov blocked Danault’s shot at the blocker-side post from inside the crease.

Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson’s point shot beat a screened Kuemper but hit the post at the 12:35 mark of the third period.

Sorokin slid over to stop a Danault rush chance at 14:03 of the third.

Islanders forward Bo Horvat hit the post in the final five minutes on a semi-breakaway.

Anderson scored an empty-net goal with 14 seconds to play for the 3-1 final.

“It was a game that was right there,” Islanders captain Lee said. “We couldn't get the extra one tonight. Kuemper made some good saves at the same time. Ilya [Sorokin] gave us a chance all night. But yeah, when we play that simple hockey game, that's who we are.”

NOTES: Lee passed John Tavares to sit eighth all-time in franchise history with 273 goals. ... Scott Mayfield, a defenseman, missed the game due to illness. ... The Kings ran 11 forwards and seven defensemen. ... Kopitar extended his point streak to four games (five points, one goal, four assists). ... Kempe has goals in back-to-back games.