Blake Lizotte, Christian Wolanin and Adrian Kempe scored to help the visiting Los Angeles Kings rally for a 3-2 win against the Washington Capitals on Sunday night.
Garret Sparks made 32 saves in his debut with the Kings, who trailed 2-0 late in the second period, a night after a 5-1 road loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Connor McMichael and Justin Schultz scored and Vitek Vanecek made 21 saves for the Capitals, who entered with points in six of their previous seven games (4-1-2).
Kempe got loose on a breakaway and scored for a 3-2 lead at 9:36 of the third period.
The Kings had fallen behind 2-0 after spending a big chunk of the second period on the penalty kill. Lizotte was called for hooking at 9:46 of the second period and was given an extra two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Schultz scored one second after the second minor penalty expired to stretch the lead to 2-0 at 13:47.
The Capitals were back on the power play three minutes later, but Lizotte broke free after coming over the wall and scored short-handed to cut the lead to 2-1 at 17:04 of the second period.
Wolanin scored on a rebound during four-on-four play to tie it 2-2 at 2:50 of the third period. Wolanin was playing in his fourth game with Los Angeles since he was claimed off waivers from the Buffalo Sabres.
McMichael scored off a give-and-go with Joe Snively to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 7:58 of the first period. Snively was making his NHL debut.
Sparks was recalled from the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League because Jonathan Quick played Saturday night and Cal Petersen was placed in COVID-19 protocol on Saturday morning.
Sparks last played in the NHL on Oct. 25, 2019, as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Kings placed forward Phillip Danault in COVID-19 protocol on Sunday.
The Capitals had four players in COVID-19 protocol: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, and Michael Sgarbossa.
–Field Level Media
