Kevin Fiala lifts Kings over Senators in overtime

Field Level Media|published: Fri 8th March, 01:34 2024

Mar 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings right wing Quinton Byfield (55, center) celebrates a goal with center Anze Kopitar (11) and center Blake Lizotte (46) during the second period against the Ottawa Senators at Crypto.com Arena. credits: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Fiala scored the overtime winner and Jacob Moverare netted his first NHL goal as the host Los Angeles Kings claimed a clutch 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

Quinton Byfield and Pierre-Luc Dubois also scored goals, Anze Kopitar collected two assists and goaltender Cam Talbot made 28 saves for the Kings.

Drake Batherson had a goal and an assist and Dominik Kubalik and Brady Tkachuk also tallied and Shane Pinto had two assists for the Senators, who took their sixth loss in a row (0-5-1). Goalie Joonas Korpisalo stopped 31 shots as his team collected its first road point against a Western Conference squad (0-12-1).

On the winning tally, Fiala grabbed a loose puck in the slot, spun and lifted a backhanded offering for his 20th goal of the season and fourth in five games.

Thanks to a 3-0-1 run, the Kings solidified their hold on third place in the Pacific Division, but it took a strong finish in a back-and-forth affair.

Kubalik's power-play goal at 7:33 of the first period opened the scoring for the struggling Senators, a deflection for his 10th goal of the season.

Byfield put the Kings on the board at 13:24 of the second period with his 19th of the campaign. Off the faceoff right after Talbot made a sprawling save on Tim Stutzle to keep it a one-goal deficit, Byfield was sprung on a breakaway and converted to tie the clash.

Tkachuk restored Ottawa's edge 15 seconds later. Upon gaining the puck behind the net, the Senators captain worked to the front of the net and while falling swept the puck past Talbot for his 27th of the season.

Dubois tied the clash a second time at 10:24 of the third period. During a delayed penalty and while the Kings had the extra attacker, Kopitar fired a pass to Dubois at the far post, and he converted the redirect for his 14th of the season.

Moverare, who signed a two-year contract extension on Wednesday, netted his milestone marker 82 seconds later when his point shot ricocheted off a defender. The 25-year-old Swede was playing in his 11th game of the season and the 32nd of his NHL career.

Batherson evened the score again with 4:23 remaining in regulation, his 22nd goal of the campaign, by blasting a one-timer set up by Artem Zub after a Kings turnover.

—Field Level Media