Los Angeles’ Quinton Byfield, the second overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, scored his first career goal Thursday night as the Kings edged the New York Islanders 3-2 in Elmont, N.Y.
The 19-year-old Byfield, who played in his 10th NHL game Thursday, became the youngest player to score for the Kings since Drew Doughty, who played in his 1,000th game Thursday, in March 2009.
Andreas Athanasiou scored in the waning seconds of the middle period while Adrian Kempe’s empty-netter with 35.5 seconds left turned out to be the game-winning goal for the Kings, who won for the second time in six games (2-3-1) and improved to 2-0-1 on a season-high, six-game road trip.
Goalie Cal Petersen carried a shutout deep into the third period and finished with 23 saves.
Mathew Barzal ended Petersen’s shutout hopes by scoring with 2:04 left and Casey Cizikas scored with 19.3 seconds remaining for the Islanders, who fell to 2-11-3 against teams currently occupying a playoff spot. Goalie Semyon Varlamov recorded 27 saves.
A lengthy battle for the puck at center ice led to Byfield’s milestone goal in the first period. The Islanders’ Anders Lee and Josh Bailey each briefly had control before Athanasiou shoveled the puck to Byfield, who fired a shot over the stick of New York’s Andy Greene and past the glove of Varlamov with 2:55 left.
The Kings doubled the lead with just 5.5 seconds left in the second, when Athanasiou, who had Greene in front of him, fired a wrister from the top of the left faceoff circle that clanged off the far post and into the net.
It was the second last-second goal surrendered in the last three games by Varlamov, who gave up a goal to Pierre Engvall at 19:59 of the first period of a 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
A screen from Lee allowed Barzal’s shot from just beyond the faceoff circle to snake past Petersen, but Kempe added the empty-netter to make it a two-goal game again before Cizikas’ tally.
–Field Level Media
