Golden Knights end regular season with loss
LOS ANGELES — The Golden Knights were hoping for a bounce-back performance in the final regular-season game to go into the playoffs with confidence after playing one of their worst games Thursday.
Instead, the sloppy play lingered, as two first-period turnovers by Valentin Zykov wound up in the back of the net, and the Knights’ comeback fell short in a 5-2 loss to the Kings at Staples Center in a game during which coach Gerard Gallant rested several regular starters.
“I’m happy it’s over with,” Gallant said of the regular season. “Get these games going and get ready for Wednesday or Thursday night.”
The Knights lost seven of their final eight games. They have been locked into a playoff series starting on the road against San Jose for a week.
“It’s a little frustrating for sure,” wing Max Pacioretty said of the team’s slide, “but at the same time we’ve known where we’ve stood here for a little bit. It’s about conserving that energy, but making sure we feel good at the same time.
“You’re never going to be able to play like the season was on the line, but at the same time there were opportunities there to create chemistry and create some plays. We were able to do it a little bit, but we definitely need more of it.”
There was at least something to build on in the second period. Brandon Pirri and Zykov scored 2:18 apart after the Knights fell behind behind 3-0.
Pirri fired a shot past Jonathan Quick for his second goal since Feb. 16.
“We had some moments,” Pirri said. “But I think we’re looking forward to San Jose. The next one matters, right?”
Zykov’s second goal of the season might have been one of the easiest of his life. He tapped the puck in from the side of the net off a great feed from Jimmy Schuldt, who was making his NHL debut for the Knights (43-32-7).
Schuldt isn’t eligible to play in the postseason, but the Knights will have Marc-Andre Fleury after the star goaltender played in his second tuneup game after missing almost three weeks with a lower-body injury.
Gallant said the hope was to get Fleury the chance to make a few plays and find his timing but avoid being as busy as he was when he faced 41 shots against Arizona on Thursday.
The Knights did that, limiting Los Angeles to 31 shots, but Fleury gave up four goals for the second consecutive time.
“Fleury got to play a couple games here, and he feels real good,” Gallant said. “We’re happy about that.”
His teammates again let him down on multiple occasions.
It was a particularly difficult first period for Zykov, who had his pocket picked by Ilya Kovalchuk on the Kings’ first goal. Kovalchuk turned it into a breakaway and gave Los Angeles (31-42-9) an early lead.
Zykov then gave up the puck along the boards in the defensive zone two minutes later, and Kyle Clifford fluttered a puck on net. Fleury stopped it, but Jeff Carter banged in the rebound to extend the lead.
Matt Roy’s blast from the blue line beat Fleury glove side midway through the second period, but Pirri answered 16 seconds later.
The Kings’ Anze Kopitar, who was honored before the game for eclipsing 1,000 career games this month, pounced on a rebound for his first power-play goal of the season in the third period.
Kovalchuk added an empty-netter.
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Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.
Three takeaways
1. Take a seat. Nate Schmidt, Shea Theodore, Reilly Smith and Mark Stone were healthy scratches as the Knights wrapped up the season. Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson were the only two players to appear in all 82 games this season, a feat Karlsson also pulled off last season, making him the only player to take the ice in every game in Knights history.
2. Missed it by that much. Smith's night off kept him from one last chance at a 20-goal season, as he ended the year stuck on 19 after scoring 22 last season. The Knights had five players reach that mark this year, but nobody scored more than Marchessault's 25. Smith had surpassed 20 goals in three of the past five seasons.
3. Dominate the division. The Knights won the Pacific last season largely on the strength of their dominance of the division. That didn't change much despite slipping to third in the standings. Last season, Vegas went 20-6-3 against the Pacific Division and 33-13-4 against Western Conference opponents. Saturday's loss concluded the season with a 18-8-3 record in the Pacific and 28-19-3 in the conference.
