Rittich Cracks Shutout Support Kings Snap Islanders 6-game Winning Streak…

David Rittich shutout helps Los Angeles Kings snap New York Islanders six-game  winning streak | TSN

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — David Rittich stopped 26 shots for his sixth career shutout, Adrian Kempe reached the 20-goal mark for the third straight season and the Los Angeles Kings beat New York 3-0 on Monday night to snap the Islanders’ six-game winning streak.

It was the Kings’ fifth shutout this season and the second for Rittich. The Czech-born goalie made 26 saves in a 4-0 victory over Edmonton on Feb. 10, which was Jim Hiller’s first game as interim coach.

Trevor Moore had a goal and an assist and Phillip Danault also scored for the Kings, who went 3-1-1 during their five-game homestand. Los Angeles is third in the Pacific Division with 77 points.

The Islanders didn’t convert on any of their five power-play opportunities and were blanked for the fifth time. They are tied with Detroit for the Eastern Conference’s second wild card with 72 points. Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves.

Kempe returned to the lineup on Saturday after missing five games due to an arm injury. He admitted to playing it a little bit safe in the 4-1 loss to Dallas, but showed more of a burst in his second game back.

Jordan Spence passed to Kempe, who fired a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle that went over Sirokin’s glove and into the short side of the net 7:14 into the second period.

It was also the sixth time this season Kempe has scored the game-opening goal.

Danault put in the rebound at 6:07 of the third period after Sirokin made a stick save on Trevor Moore’ shot. It was Danault’s 15th of the season and first since he had a hat trick on March 3 against New Jersey.

Moore added an empty-net goal, his team-leading 25th of the season, with 2:22 remaining.

 

READ MORE:

 

David Rittich makes most of rare start, shuts out Islanders

David Rittich, making his first appearance since Feb. 26, stopped all 26 shots he faced Monday night for the host Los Angeles Kings, who cooled off the New York Islanders 3-0.

Rittich, who sat the previous six games behind Cam Talbot, notched his second shutout of the season. He also made 26 saves in a 4-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 10.

Adrian Kempe, Philip Danault and Trevor Moore scored for the Kings, who took over sole possession of third place in the Pacific Division, two points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Ilya Sorokin recorded 22 saves for the Islanders, whose six-game winning streak was snapped. The winning streak was the longest for New York since a nine-game run from Feb. 28 through Mar. 14, 2021.

The Islanders, who would have moved into third place in the Metropolitan Division with a win, instead sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. New York is tied for the second wild card with the Detroit Red Wings, who have the tiebreaker by virtue of a 23-21 edge in regulation wins.

The Islanders outshot the Kings 7-5 in a scoreless first before Rittich turned back a shot by Hudson Fasching to begin the end-to-end sequence that ended with Kempe’s goal 7:14 into the second.

Jordan Spence fed Kempe with a pass as Kempe neared the Islanders zone before Kempe shuffled the puck and fired a shot that glanced off the stick of New York defenseman Mike Reilly and fluttered over Sorokin’s glove hand.

Danault had an angled shot turned back by Sorokin seconds before he doubled the lead early in the third. The Kings retained possession and Danault, stationed in front of Sorokin, got his stick on a rebound of another angled shot by Moore at the 6:07 mark.

The Islanders pulled Sorokin with less than three minutes to go but recorded just one shot before Moore scored an empty-netter with 2:22 left.

By admin

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *