Brandt Clarke scored 2:43 into overtime to lift the Los Angeles Kings to a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night at UBS Arena.
The Kings built an early lead during the first period on two goals from Artemi Panarin. Panarin opened the scoring at 5:51 with an even-strength wrist shot, assisted by Alex Laferriere and Clarke. Panarin struck again unassisted at 16:37 with a snap shot to push the Los Angeles advantage to 2-0.
New York cut into the deficit late in the second period when Victor Eklund converted a slap shot on the power play at 14:06, assisted by Tony DeAngelo and Emil Heineman. Matthew Schaefer then tied the contest 2-2 at 7:06 of the third period with an even-strength wrist shot for his first goal of the season, set up by Logan Stanley and Brayden Schenn. The game stayed level until Clarke ended it in the extra period with a snap shot, assisted by Adrian Kempe and goaltender Darcy Kuemper.
Kuemper earned the win in net for Los Angeles, stopping 41 of the 43 shots he faced as the Islanders held a 43-27 edge in shots on goal. Semyon Varlamov took the overtime loss for New York with 24 saves on 27 shots. The Islanders converted 1 of 2 opportunities on the power play, while the Kings finished 0 for 2 with the man advantage.
With the victory, the Kings won their second straight game and improved their regular-season record to 2-4-2. The Islanders moved to 5-3-2 following the overtime defeat.
Los Angeles continues on the road to visit the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at 3:30 PM ET. The Islanders travel next to face the Dallas Stars on Sunday at 6:00 PM ET.
