Grundstrom’s goal caps Kings’ rally for 4-3 win over Coyotes

LOS ANGELES – Carl Grundstrom tipped home the tiebreaking goal with 6:05 to play and the Los Angeles Kings overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-3 on Wednesday night.

Adrian Kempe and Jeff Carter scored early in the third period to even it for the Kings, who snapped their three-game skid with the comeback. Grundstrom and Trevor Moore both redirected Drew Doughty’s hard shot through traffic, with Grundstrom getting credit for his fifth goal of the season.

Jonathan Quick made 24 saves and Jaret Anderson-Dolan scored an early goal for the Kings. Doughty, Moore and Kale Clague had two assists apiece.

Ilya Lyubushkin scored his first NHL goal and Lawson Crouse had a goal and an assist for the Coyotes, who lost for only the second time in eight games after playing well in the first two periods at Staples Center, where they won 5-2 on Monday.

Johan Larsson also scored, and Adin Hill stopped 26 shots in his eighth consecutive start for Arizona.

After Crouse opened the scoring with his first goal on the road this season, Lyubushkin finally got his first goal in his 118th NHL game. The 27-year-old Russian defenceman who joined the Coyotes in 2018 hammered home a long rebound off Crouse’s shot.

Anderson-Dolan trimmed the lead when his partially blocked shot fluttered past a screened Hill late in the first, but Larsson redirected Jakob Chychrun’s shot in front early in the second to extend Arizona’s lead.

Kempe converted a slick give-and-go with Clague moments after a Kings penalty expired early in the third period. Carter then ended his seven-game goal drought, redirecting Doughty’s shot and tying it with 15:43 to play.

VILARDI OUT, LEMIEUX IN

Slumping forward Gabriel Vilardi was a healthy scratch for the Kings after playing in all of their previous 37 games. Vilardi hasn’t scored a goal in 16 consecutive games since March 3, and coach Todd McLellan said he hoped the break would give him a fresh start.

Brendan Lemieux made his debut for Los Angeles, which acquired him in a trade with the Rangers on March 27.

KOPI’S MILESTONE

Los Angeles captain Anze Kopitar played in his 1,111th game for the Kings, matching Dave Taylor for the second-most in franchise history.

Only teammate Dustin Brown has suited up more times for the Kings than Kopitar, the two-time Selke Trophy winner and two-time Stanley Cup champion.

Taylor drafted Kopitar as the Kings’ general manager in 2005, and he was coincidentally in Staples Center to witness the milestone as a scout for St. Louis.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: At Vegas on Friday and Sunday.