Clayton Keller collected a goal and an assist to lift the Arizona Coyotes to a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday at the 2023 NHL Global Series in Melbourne, Australia.
Played in front of a sold-out crowd of 13,097 at Rod Laver Arena, Saturday’s preseason game marked the first time an NHL contest was played in the Southern Hemisphere. The Western Conference rivals will meet again on Sunday in Melbourne.
Saturday’s game did not go off without a hitch, however. Reports and photos circulated on social media of puddles and uneven coloring of the painted lines on the ice.
Previous preseason and regular-season NHL games have been played in Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Japan.
Logan Cooley, Matias Maccelli, Lawson Crouse and Barrett Hayton each scored a goal and Connor Ingram made 33 saves for Arizona.
Viktor Arvidsson recorded a goal and an assist and Trevor Moore and Adrian Kempe also tallied for the Kings. Pheonix Copley yielded four goals on 16 shots before being replaced by David Rittich, who made three saves in the third period.
–Field Level Media