Los Angeles had four straight games without a win and only two wins in eight games in December when they visited Tampa Bay on Friday night.
The Florida team has not had a successful December either, and both teams are currently barely clinging to a playoff spot.
“On instinct”
Adrian Kempe hasn't been showered with goals in the last month, but in tonight's meeting the Swede was the hottest on the ice.
The 29-year-old's first goal came just over five minutes into the second period when he tied it 1–1 with a wrist shot right in front of Andrey Vasilievskij in Tampa's goal.
"It's instinctive. I know it's hard for goalies when you do that, that's what I was aiming for," Kempe said of the goal, according to nhl.com .
The second came when he stole the puck himself in the defensive zone and countered the last goal of the match to make it 2–1.
"I was fresh, I felt good, my legs felt good. I was just trying to get them on the defensive," Kempe said.
Kempe has been selected for the Tre kronor Olympic squad for the games in Milan and Cortina in February.
“Running well”
Joel Eriksson Ek played one of the main roles as Minnesota beat Columbus 5–2. The forward scored the important 3–2 goal for his team midway through the third period, which was later followed up with two Minnesota goals in an empty net late in the game as Columbus chased an equalizer.
It was the sixth consecutive victory for Minnesota, a period in which Eriksson Ek contributed a whopping ten points.
Yes, things are going well now. We had a pretty tough start to the season, but towards the end we've put together a really good series of matches and managed to win, despite a lot of injuries. It's been incredibly fun, says Joel Eriksson Ek to Aftonbladet .
