Kings win fifth in a row with a shutout of the Canadiens
Trevor Moore scored two goals, Pheonix Copley made 18 saves in his third career shutout, and the Kings beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 Saturday at Crypto.com Arena for their fifth consecutive victory.
Carl Grundstrom and Trevor Lewis also scored for the Kings, who have won nine of 11 overall in their impressive 13-3-3 start to the season.
It was the first time the Kings have shut out the Canadiens on L.A.’s home ice.
The Kings thoroughly dominated Montreal, giving up only one shot on goal in the first period and largely throttling any significant scoring chances in another strong defensive effort.
Copley was sharp in only his sixth appearance and first shutout of the season for the Kings, who have largely relied on Cam Talbot in net. The 31-year-old Copley played in nearly half of the Kings’ games last season in his most significant stretch of NHL action.
Moore took over the Kings’ goals lead at 11 with his second multigoal performance in three games.
Jake Allen stopped 26 shots for the Canadiens, who were shut out for the first time this season. Montreal had won on the first two stops of its California trip after losing eight of its previous 10.
Kevin Fiala asked his longtime skills coach Andreas Larsson to help lift him out of a rut. Fiala’s improved play is now bolstering the surging Kings.
About four minutes after Montreal got its only shot on goal in the first period, the Kings went ahead on a one-timer from the top of the left faceoff circle by Grundstrom for his seventh goal.
Moore scored midway through the second period by slipping a wraparound past Allen for his 10th goal of the season.
Jaret Anderson-Dolan then forced a turnover by Johnathan Kovacevic deep in the Canadiens’ end early in the third period, feeding Lewis for the two-time Stanley Cup champion’s third goal since his return to the Kings.
Moore beat Allen with a short-side backhand that should have been stopped with 6:32 to play.
The teams meet again in Montreal on Dec. 7. If the Kings win in Columbus two days before that game, they will be playing to set an NHL record with 11 straight road victories to start a season.
