Adrian Kempe scored a goal and added an assist, leading the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night. This marks the Kings’ fourth consecutive win and their seventh straight road victory to start the season, making them only the eighth team in NHL history to achieve this feat. The Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils in 2009 were the last teams to do so.
The Golden Knights, who had opened the season with points in their first 12 games, suffered their second straight regulation loss. Vegas hadn’t lost consecutive games in regulation since January of last season against Dallas and Detroit.
Trevor Moore, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Anze Kopitar also scored for the Kings. Cam Talbot made 37 saves, tying him for the league lead with seven wins.
William Karlsson scored the lone goal for the Golden Knights, while Adin Hill stopped 29 shots.
The Kings broke the deadlock midway through the second period. Jordan Spence’s shot from the blue line created a rebound that Kempe pounced on, scoring from the right side of the net to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead.
“It was the game we thought it would be,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “Early on, it was like a boxing match, with both teams taking jabs and waiting for an opening. Scoring first was crucial against this team.”
The Kings quickly doubled their lead as Moore redirected Spence’s shot from the point into the net from the slot.
Early in the third period, Dubois extended the lead to 3-0 with a power-play goal, tapping home a rebound from the left side of the goal.
Karlsson gave the announced crowd of 18,330 some hope when he cut the deficit to two goals, but the Kings maintained their momentum.
“I think we’ve kind of run out of gas a little bit,” Vegas captain Mark Stone said. “We played well for most of the game, but we didn’t have our legs in the third period. Adversity makes you stronger, and we’ll be ready for San Jose on Friday night.”
Kopitar, who also had an assist earlier, scored his 400th career goal with an empty-netter, sealing the 4-1 victory.
Since Vegas joined the NHL in the 2017-18 season, no player has scored more points against them than Kopitar, who has 13 goals and 21 assists.
“Obviously, it’s a good feeling. I didn’t think it would happen tonight,” Kopitar said. “I figured I’d give it a go at an empty net. Memories like this are better when you win. I thought we played a solid game tonight, and it feels great to get the two points.”
UP NEXT
- Kings: Host Pittsburgh on Thursday.
- Golden Knights: Host San Jose on Friday.
