Late comeback attempt falls short as Kings lose in OT to Hurricanes

A couple of late goals from Samuel Helenius and Quinton Byfield helped the Los Angeles Kings force overtime, where they ultimately fell short in a 3-2 defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon. The Kings finished 3-1-1 across their five games on the road, getting swept in the season series by the ‘Canes in the finale.

Both losses at the hands of Carolina this year came in overtime, with the first coming in a 4-3 defeat at Crypto.com Arena back on Oct. 10. Los Angeles has now played in 23 games this season requiring extra time, which is the most in the NHL.

The Kings had fallen behind 2-0 through the first 53:21 of the afternoon with little momentum on their side. However, Helenius delivered just his third score of the year at the 13:21 mark of the third to provide some life.

Quinton Byfield then came through with his second big score in just as many days to bring his squad back even at two. It was the 11th of the season for the 23-year-old, who in Saturday’s victory became one of nine skaters in franchise history to have five overtime goals.

With a crafty dish to Byfield on the play, Adrian Kempe secured his 25th helper of the season, extending his road and overall point streak to seven games. This ties the longest road point streak of his career so far.

Despite the sudden shift in energy for Los Angeles, the comeback efforts were cut short by Sebastian Aho’s game-winning score less than 90 seconds into the overtime period. Aho was all over the ice for Carolina on Sunday, adding to his team-leading point total of 54.

A power play goal from Jordan Staal helped get the Hurricanes on the board in the first period, and neither side would add another score until the action-packed final 20 minutes of the game. Alexander Nikishin’s seventh score of the season, with just over seven minutes remaining in the game, seemed to put things out of reach for a Kings’ squad that had significantly fewer scoring opportunities.

It was a valiant effort put forth by Anton Forsberg, who saved 31 shots as a relentless Carolina attack consistently fired the puck his way all afternoon. The Kings mustered only 13 shots, 11 of which were saved by ‘Canes goaltender Brandon Bussi. 

The rookie has been instrumental to Carolina’s success this season, winning 21 of his first 25 starts after being claimed on waivers four days before the season began. He is now 21-3-1.

Los Angeles will head home for the first time since Jan. 20 when they host the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday, Feb. 4. The Kraken (26-19-9) have claimed both duels between the sides so far by a score of 3-2 and lead the Kings by a single point in the Pacific Division.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT.