Kyle Palmieri scores twice to help NJ Devils defeat Kings, end losing streak

LOS ANGELES — A lot needed to be proved by the Devils coming into California for a three-game swing. They took a step in the right direction Thursday night by defeating the league-worst Los Angeles Kings 6-3 at Staples Center. 

Keith Kinkaid remains undefeated against the team that beat the Devils in the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, moving to 4-0-0 with a 29-save performance. It was far from a perfect performance from Kinkaid and the Devils but they were resilient, coming back from a tie game twice and shutting the Kings down in the third period. 

“It’s great that we got the win,” coach John Hynes said. “But I think it was more the way and the fashion that we got it in, we can try and build off it.” 

It was a pair of former Anaheim Ducks teammates that aided greatly in the undoing of their former Pacific Division foe. Kyle Palmieri scored twice for his fourth two-goal game of the season and his first since the third game of the season and Sami Vatanen had the primary assist on Nico Hischier’s third-period goal. 

Palmieri made it, 1-0, 13:49 into play, snapping the Devils’ eight-game road power play drought. Taylor Hall slid a perfect cross-ice feed to him at the right circle and he beat Jonathan Quick high. His second goal came at 10:57 in the second period to break a 2-2 tie. 

The New Jersey forward now has a team-high 14 goals and 22 points on the season. 

The Devils were ahead 4-2 after Will Butcher’s shot from off the side boards was deflected by Dion Phaneuf at 12:28 in the second but Kyle Clifford trimmed it to 4-3 late with 2:23 left in the frame. Kinkaid poke-checked a clearing attempt right to Clifford, who cashed in from the doorstep. 

But Hischier redirected Vatanen’s point shot at the 11:06 mark of the third period, giving New Jersey a 5-3 lead. 

Blake Coleman scored an empty-net goal with 7.3 seconds left to play to put the game on ice and halt the Devils’ six-game losing streak.

“We didn’t have the start we wanted but we found our legs as the game went on,” Devils’ captain Andy Greene said. “We bared down when we had to and it was good to close out with a win.”

The win was just the Devils’ third on the road. They’re confident one win can spark more if they do the right things. They have two more games on this trip, Anaheim and San Jose, to try. 

“You’ve got to keep building on it,” Butcher said. “You can’t sit here and be satisfied with one win. We have to go into the next game with the mindset of understanding what gave us success in this game.” 

Adrian Kempe tied the game at 2-all 6:59 into the second off a feed from Drew Doughty, giving the 2015-16 Norris Trophy winner 324 assists for his career, surpassing Los Angeles general manager Rob Blake for the franchise high. 

Kempe’s score came less than seven minutes after Travis Zajac scored in much the same fashion as Clifford. Just 25 seconds into the second, Zajac jumped on a puck that was poked right to him by Quick to make it 2-1. 

Brendan Leipsic, who was claimed off waivers earlier this week, tied the game at 1-1 just two minutes after Palmieri’s opening goal with a knuckle-puck from the right circle that sailed over Kinkaid’s right pad. 

Jonathan Quick, the 2012 Conn Smythe Award winner who was so dominant against the Devils of old, looked like a mere mortal stopping 29 of 34 shots and struggling to handle the puck. 

In order to prove they’re not a cellar-dweller, the Devils needed to beat the moribund Kings. The pressure isn’t off New Jersey yet, but for now, they can rest easy knowing they’re not in the same realm as Los Angeles. 

“We did what we wanted to do today,” Kinkaid said. “We talked about shooting pucks and getting pucks to the net from any angle and creating rebounds instead of passing up shots. We did a good job there.” 

Notes

Hall had three assists for his 40th career three-point game. … The Devils improved their road record to 3-10-1. … Before Palmieri’s goal, the last road power play goal came Nov. 5 at Pittsburgh. … The Devils scratched Steven Santini, Mirco Mueller and Drew Stafford. … The team will practice in Anaheim this weekend ahead of their Sunday afternoon tilt against the Ducks.