Late goals from Gabe Vilardi and Anze Kopitar lift Kings above Canadiens

Gabe Vilardi and Anze Kopitar scored in the third period as the Kings defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Thursday-evening.

Alex Iafallo also scored and Phoenix Copley made 19 saves to help the Kings win their fourth home game in a row.

“They want to build that confidence at home,” said Kings defender Sean Walker. “We are actually home for the whole month of March, so that will be important to us. We have to win a lot of games here.”

Josh Anderson had a power play goal for Montreal. Denis Gurianov also scored and Jake Allen made 30 saves.

Goals from Vilardi and Kopitar in the third game, 1:03 apart, marked the difference in the Kings’ first game since Jonathan Quick, the most successful goaltender in franchise history, was substituted.

Vilardi gave Los Angeles a 2–1 lead at 7:27 of game three, firing into the over net with Allen on one knee. Kopitar made it 3-1 1:03 later with a wrist shot from the slot, continuing his hot streak after scoring four goals in Winnipeg on Tuesday.

“It wasn’t pretty, but I was happy that our guys stuck with it and found a way to win,” said Kings coach Todd McLellan.

Vilardi reached 20 goals for the first time in the NHL, a key milestone for the 2017 first round, which appeared to derail his career with a lingering back injury.

“He had the skill to do it,” McLellan said. “We thought if we could get a healthy year out of him, we thought he could score.”

Despite Gurianov going 10-21 to 3-2 and scoring his first goal in two games since being traded by Dallas, Montreal failed to equalize and can now concentrate on Friday’s close.

Canadiens defenseman Joel Edmundson is a moveable player after the first game since he suffered a lower body injury on January 26.

“If you’re one of the bottom teams, nobody’s really safe,” he said. “It’s going to be a long day, but we’ll be focused on tomorrow night’s game and whatever happens, happens.”

Next for the kings: Host for the St. Louis Blues Saturday night.