What Happened
The Los Angeles Kings picked up their first victory of the season on Tuesday night, erasing a 2-0 first-period deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 5-2. Adrian Kempe scored twice, while Artemi Panarin, Erik Gustafsson and Scott Laughton also found the net. Former Capitals goaltender Darcy Kuemper stopped 30 shots. Washington led 2-0 on goals by Ryan Leonard and Cole Hutson but did not score over the final 41:25.
Key Details
- Kings improve to 1-4-2 with their first win of the season.
- Kempe scored twice; Panarin, Gustafsson and Laughton added goals.
- Kuemper, who played for Washington from 2022-24, made 30 saves.
- Quinton Byfield left in the first period with an upper-body injury after 2:44 of ice time.
- Logan Thompson stopped 21 shots for Washington.
- Capitals were without injured centers Pierre-Luc Dubois and Justin Sourdif.
What It Means
The Kings entered having scored just four goals in their previous four games and 12 through six games, so the five-goal output marked their highest-scoring game of the season. Losing Byfield to an upper-body injury thins a forward group that had been struggling to produce. Washington, already missing Dubois and Sourdif down the middle, could not solve Kuemper after building its early lead.
What's Next
The Kings visit the New York Islanders on Thursday night. Byfield's status will be worth monitoring after he played just 2:44 in the first period.