Fiala scores twice, Kings keeps rolling in 6-3 win over Canadiens

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin Fiala had two goals, Warren Foegele scored on a penalty shot, and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-3 on Wednesday night.

Vladislav Gavrikov, Brandt Clarke and Trevor Moore also scored for the Kings, who have won 11 of their past 12 home games. Darcy Kuemper made 18 saves.

Building on a 4-2 win at Carolina on Saturday, Los Angeles won the opener of a six-game homestand that bookends the upcoming 4 Nations Face-off international tournament.

Mike Matheson and Alexandre Carrier also scored for the Canadiens, who have lost six of seven. Jakub Dobes made 32 saves.

Both of Fiala's goals came on one-timers from the right circle in the third period, with the second restoring a two-goal lead 35 seconds after Logan Mailloux cut it to 4-3 with less than 7 minutes remaining.

Canadiens: Patrik Laine has totaled 12 goals and six assists in his first 20 games following a preseason knee injury, but he doesn’t have a point in the past six games.

Kings: After scoring two goals or fewer in seven straight games, including consecutive shutout defeats to Florida and Tampa Bay, Los Angeles has seemingly regained its scoring touch.

Clarke picked up his first goal and point in two games since being a healthy scratch for two contests when he buried a slap shot 15 seconds into the third period to give Los Angeles a 3-1 lead.

Fiala has four goals in his past two games, reaching the 20-goal mark for the sixth straight season.

Canadiens host New Jersey on Saturday, and Kings host Dallas on Friday.

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Montreal Canadiens center Kirby Dach, left, passes the puck to defenseman Lane Hutson, right, as Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty dives between them during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj, right moves the puck as Los Angeles Kings left wing Warren Foegele reaches in during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper, right, makes a glove save as Montreal Canadiens center Jake Evans tries to redirect during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes, left, stops a shot as Los Angeles Kings left wing Warren Foegele, right, falls after being taken down by defenseman Logan Mailloux which resulted in a penalty shot with Foegele scoring during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Kings left wing Warren Foegele, left, scores on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes during a penalty shot in the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Wall Street bounced between small gains and losses in meek trading early Wednesday ahead of the new retail sales numbers this week and any hints from Federal Reserve officials about the U.S. central bank's future interest rate decisions.

Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.2% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat. Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.4%.

There's still some relief in markets after the U.S. and China agreed Monday to a 90-day pause in their trade war to allow for negotiations. How that pause will influence the Fed's next interest rate decision remains cloudy.

In light of Tuesday's data showing that inflation cooled for third straight month in April, Fed officials would have likely been leaning toward restarting interest rate cuts in the absence of tariffs. The fed cut its benchmark rate three times last year but has since frozen rates while it awaits further evidence of how the tariffs and other policy changes — such as immigration restrictions and potential tax cuts — affect the economy.

Investors and economists will be paying close attention to a public appearances by two Fed officials Wednesday, Fed governor Christopher Waller and Philip Jefferson, the Fed’s vice chair and a top lieutenant to Jerome Powell, followed by a speech by Powell himself at a conference in Washington on Thursday.

Also Thursday, the government reports its latest data on retail sales in the U.S. and Walmart, the world's biggest retailer, reports quarterly earnings. Investors may be more interested in the retail giant's forecast than its results as many companies withdraw their financial guidance for 2025 due to uncertainty over President Donald Trump's tariffs.

American Eagle Outfitters became the latest retailer to do so late Tuesday, which sent its shares tumbling more than 14% before the opening bell Wednesday. The retailer said it would write down $75 million in spring and summer merchandise and that it expects first-quarter revenue to slide 5%, or more than $1 billion.

In Asian trading, Chinese markets rallied on expectations of another rush in export orders during the 90-day grace period for China-U.S. tariffs.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.3% to 23,640.65, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.9% to 3,403.95.

Chinese tech companies made big gains, with games and entertainment giant Tencent Holdings up 3%, search engine company Baidu up 4% and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings advancing 3.4%.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.1% to finish at 38,128.13. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% to 8,279.60.

South Korea's Kospi surged 1.2% to 2,640.57.

The relief over the trade truce between the U.S. and China is tepid among global businesses and investors given uncertainty over how long it might last and where tariffs might go in the months ahead.

The hope is that Trump will ease his stiff tariffs on trading partners worldwide before they create a recession and send inflation spiking higher.

In Europe at midday, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.5%, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.4%. Britain’s FTSE 100 was essentially unchanged.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 77 cents to $62.90 a barrel following a four-day rally. Brent crude, the international standard, declined 75 cents to $65.88 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar edged down to 146.02 Japanese yen from 147.21 yen. The euro cost $1.1225, up from $1.1188.

Options trader Chris Dattollo works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Options trader Chris Dattollo, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)