Sabres spoil Kings Halloween with 3-2 victory; Chromiak makes NHL debut
Sabrina McClain
Host · Writer
LOS ANGELES — Two goals scored by Tage Thompson led the Buffalo Sabres to 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings Saturday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena.
Kings goalie Anton Forsberg finished with 28 saves and blocked 19 shots while Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen saved 27 shots with 30 blocked shots.
“I thought our guys showed up and competed hard,” Kings coach Peter Laviolette said in postgame interviews. “I thought we generated a lot of offense. We put a lot of pucks at their net, I think we put 80 pucks at their net and (were) unable to get that next goal … I thought we had chances to win the game. We didn’t get it done so – frustrated again.”
Martin Chromiak made his NHL debut today and he was all smiles during interviews.
Laviolette said Chromiak brought speed and thought his line did a good job getting shots at the net.
Ironically, Chromiak said one of the biggest differences between the AHL and NHL was the speed – along with the passing and every other aspect of the game.
“It’s a dream come true for me,” Chromiak said. “Obviously not happy with the result but I’m happy to get the first one (NHL game).”
LA played from behind practically all game.
After 6:35 had passed in the opening period, Zach Benson and Rasmus Dahlin assisted Jack Quinn in scoring a power-play goal, giving the Sabres the lead.
A lead that Buffalo wouldn't let LA have for the remainder of the game.
Thompson found the back of the net 15 minutes into the second period, giving Buffalo a 2-0 lead. Benson earned his second assist of the game and Mattias Samuelsson earned his first.
After 37 minutes of cardio, shooting and missing for the Kings, Corey Perry’s first goal of the season was almost spoiled by the officials.
Assists from Trevor Moore and Brandt Clark led Perry to deflect the puck into the net during a power play, but officials called the goal no good due to interference.
A challenge by LA reversed the call, giving Perry his goal and the Kings some momentum going into the final period.
Down by one with 20 minutes remaining is nothing in hockey, right?
Andre Lee found the back of the net for the first time this season, scoring the game-tying goal thanks to assists from Scott Laughton and Joel Armia.
But after 13:40 in the third period, Mikey Anderson was called for a tripping penalty, which led to a power-play, game-winning goal from Thompson, handing the Sabres (7-4-3; 17 points) their third straight win.
The Kings had two power play opportunities in the last four minutes of the game but couldn’t come up with a goal.
When asked about the missed advantages, Laviolette said:
“I felt like we needed to make little plays, little passes and we couldn’t get that done. They (Buffalo) pressured pretty good in those areas. But you’re right, that’s an opportunity to make a difference, get back in the game, possibly push it to overtime. We didn’t get it done.”
The Kings (4-7-2; 10 points) host the San Jose Sharks (7-6-1; 15 points) Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena at 7 p.m.
