The goalie and the defenseman, both acquired from Columbus in the Jonathan Quick trade, have been positive additions on and off the ice and they’re helping limit Edmonton’s high-powered offense.…
LOS ANGELES — As the Kings forged ahead without not only offensive dynamo Kevin Fiala on the wing but also heart-and-soul center Blake Lizotte, their roster remained buoyed in part by a duo that arrived from Columbus, goalie Joonas Korpisalo and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.
Gavrikov was superb defensively in Game 1 and contributed an assist in Game 2, all while forming a shutdown pair with Matt Roy that has allowed the Kings to deploy either of their top two pairings liberally against elite weapons Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Gavrikov and Roy have done the heavy lifting, with the preponderance of their starts coming in the defensive zone and shot suppression being their top priority.
“He’s come in, same with Korpi, they’ve added a lot of positive energy and momentum to the locker room,” defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “They fit right in with the group and they’ve made their stamp on who they are as people. I think that almost goes further than what they do on the ice, but we’re very happy that we’ve got them right now.”
For Korpisalo’s part, all he managed to do on the ice was halt a goalie carousel that had spun at a nauseating velocity most of the season for General Manager Rob Blake, Coach Todd McLellan and Goalie Consultant Bill Ranford. Korpisalo became the Kings’ fourth goalie to appear in 10 or more matches for the Kings this season, but he’s been the only man between the pipes for the first three games of the playoffs.
“Korpi has been great, I can’t say enough about all the good things about him,” defenseman Drew Doughty said ahead of Game 3. “He kept us in both games, gave us a chance to win both games, made big saves on their big players. He’s playing great and he deserves a better performance in front of him.”
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