Korpisalo solid in debut, helps Kings beat Blues 4-2
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joonas Korpisalo made 24 saves in his Kings debut and Gabe Vilardi had a power-play goal to help Los Angeles to a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.
Kevin Fiala, Adrian Kempe and Carl Grundstrom also had goals, and the Kings won their third straight game. Los Angeles has won five in a row at home.
Kasperi Kapanen had a short-handed goal, Robert Thomas also scored and Jordan Binnington made 33 saves, but the Blues failed to earn a point for the fourth time in five games.
Korpisalo was acquired from Columbus on Wednesday to give the Kings a viable option if Pheonix Copley, the 31-year-old journeyman who has unexpectedly posted a 19-4-2 record, fades down the stretch or in the playoffs.
Their first look at Korpisalo was mostly a promising one, although a better showing on Kapanen’s breakaway that tied it at 2 with 7:49 remaining in the third could have helped soothe how fans felt about trading away franchise icon Jonathan Quick.
The mood turned positive again after Vilardi faked out Binnington with some nasty puck-handling to score the go-ahead goal with 3:03 remaining. Fiala added an empty-netter with 1:56 to go.
NOTES: Blues F Jakub Vrana, acquired from Detroit in a trade Friday, was delayed in joining his new team after weather delayed his flight. … Thomas played in his 300th career game. … Kings D Drew Doughty played in his 1,077th career game to tie Luc Robitaille for fourth-most in team history.
UP NEXT
Blues: At Arizona on Tuesday night.
Kings: Host Washington on Monday night. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports