Kings defeat Golden Knights, end three-game losing streak

LAS VEGAS -- Cal Petersen made 40 saves for the Los Angeles Kings when they defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.

Petersen won for the third time in his past four starts and is 2-1-0 against the Golden Knights this season. He made 41 saves on March 21, a 3-1 win against Vegas at Staples Center.
"Every night is important," Kings coach Todd McLellan said. "It's important for the evolution of our organization, but it's important pointwise for us to put ourselves in a position to play later than the regular schedule."
Andreas Athanasiou had a goal and an assist for Los Angeles (14-14-6), which ended a three-game losing streak. The Golden Knights defeated the Kings 4-1 here Monday.

Shea Theodore had a goal and an assist for Vegas (24-9-1), which had its six-game home winning streak end. Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves.
"It was one of those nights," Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. "You have to give them credit. They played with desperation that we didn't match.
Athanasiou scored his first goal in nine games at 1:58 of the first period to give the Kings a 1-0 lead. The Golden Knights allowed a goal in the first two minutes for a third consecutive game.
"We emphasize a good start every night," Vegas captain Mark Stone said. "The last three haven't been good, but at the same time, there's points in a game where we can get back into it. Tonight, we fell a little too far"
Lias Andersson, playing his first NHL game since Feb. 16, made it 2-0 at 17:23 of the first.
"Every game is huge at this point," Andersson said. "It's a tight league and a lot of good teams. We treat every game as a playoff game now. [We] don't get too stressed about the standings, just trying to take it one game at a time."

William Karlsson got Vegas within 2-1 at 9:41 of the second period.
Jaret Anderson-Dolan made it 3-1 at 12:21 when Fleury lost Athanasiou's attempt in his pads and Anderson-Dolan scored on the rebound.
Alex Iafallo made it 4-1 at 16:12 after evading Fleury's poke check.
Fleury has allowed 18 goals in his past five starts after allowing 18 in his previous nine.
"I don't think it's fatigue," DeBoer said of Fleury, who started 17 of 18 games from Feb. 9-March 17. "Since [goalie] Robin [Lehner's] come back, we've tried to give him some good rest. It's not all on him. He's had a lack of support in those instances from our group."
Theodore scored at 3:36 of the third period for the 4-2 final.
NOTES: Vegas played the third period with 10 forwards. Ryan Reaves was a late scratch due to a lower-body injury, and Chandler Stephenson was given a game misconduct at 18:14 of the second period for elbowing Tobias Bjornfot. There was no update on Reaves after the game. … Petersen is 3-1-0 in against Vegas with a .941 save percentage and a 2.15 goals-against average. He's made at least 40 saves in each victory (43 saves on March 1, 2020). … After allowing their first power-play goal in nine games Monday, the Kings were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. … Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was minus-2 in 22:49 in his first game since March 6. He missed 12 with an upper-body injury. … Fleury is one win from tying Ed Belfour (484) for fourth in NHL history.