Byfield scores twice as Kings halt hot Flames 5-3
By Dan Greenspan, The Associated Press on December 23, 2023.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Quinton Byfield scored twice, Trevor Moore got his team-leading 16th goal, and the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Calgary Flames 5-3 on Saturday night. Alex Laferriere and Pierre-Luc Dubois also scored, Cam Talbot made 29 saves, and the Kings avoided their first three-game losing streak on home ice. Blake Coleman had two goals and Rasmus Andersson also scored for the Flames, who had won three straight and picked up a point in five straight. Jacob Markstrom allowed four goals on 33 shots. Los Angeles took charge in the second period on goals by Laferriere and Moore, which characterized a return to aggressive and direct offence after a poor run with four losses in six games. Laferriere put in Drew Doughty’s pass off his skate for a 3-2 lead at 6:28 of the second, and Moore beat Markstrom over the goalie’s right shoulder midway through the period for a two-goal lead. Those scores came after Coleman tied it up short-handed off the rush. He had poke checked the puck away from defenceman Jordan Spence in the neutral zone to set up his 11th goal. Talbot was barrelled over by Coleman during the play, had his helmet knocked off and neck torqued back, but stayed in the game after he was examined on the ice by a trainer. Coleman had a power-play goal midway through the third period to cut Calgary’s deficit to 4-3, firing in the rebound after Talbot stopped Adam Ruzicka’s try. Coleman is the first Flames player to have power-play and short-handed goals in a game since Noah Hanifin did it against Arizona on Nov. 25, 2018. Byfield beat Hanifin in a foot race to add an empty-netter with one minute remaining. UP NEXT Flames: Host the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday. Kings: Host the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday. — AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL 16-15
