Arizona Coyotes spoiled the Los Angeles Kings debut of Canadian star Pierre-Luc Dubois in Melbourne on Saturday with a 5-3 pre-season victory in the National Hockey League’s first foray into the Southern Hemisphere.
A new-look Coyotes, who have never won the Stanley Cup and failed to reach last season’s playoffs, sealed the result in the dying stages when Barrett Hayton scored from close range.
There was much focus on dynamic forward Dubois, who was recently traded from Winnipeg Jets and signed an eight-year, US$68-million contract with the Kings.
Dubois did not hit the scoreboard, but was aggressive in his debut for the Kings, who are desperate to rebound from a first round playoff exit last season.
While popular in North America and parts of Europe, ice hockey is a niche sport in Australia as the NHL attempts to expand its global footprint.
The pre-season event was nearly a decade in the making and attracted a near capacity 13,000 crowd at Rod Laver Arena.
“The crowd was loud and energetic. They got to see a lot of goals, it’s fun to do this,” said forward Nick Bjugstad, who has returned to the Coyotes after a short stint at Edmonton.
It was a stalemate early with both teams dusting off the cobwebs. The contest sparked to life when Josh Brown and Jacob Doty came to blows, energising the rowdy fans.
The Kings took control only to be continually denied by goalie Connor Ingram, as the first period ended scoreless.
After the interval, a rejuvenated Coyotes drew first blood when Clayton Keller scored from close range and then Matias Maccelli fired home a bullet.
The Kings hit back through Adrian Kempe on an assist from Jordan Spence, who is the first Australian-born NHL player.
The contest’s tempo lifted in a goal frenzy with the Coyotes holding a 4-3 lead after the second period.
Both teams started tiring as the goals dried up before Hayton stepped up late.
The Melbourne tour marks the fifth edition of the NHL’s Global Series, where games are staged outside of North America, but first to be held beyond Europe.
It was the first time that Rod Laver Arena, famously the venue for the Australian Open tennis grand slam, hosted an ice hockey match with the NHL shipping out equipment well ahead of the event.
There had reportedly been some concern over the quality of the ice, but the fixture remained unaffected.
The teams play again on Sunday at the same venue to wrap up their Australian tour.
The NHL’s regular season starts on October 10.
tl/sco