Adrian Kempe scored two goals and Artemi Panarin collected a goal and two assists, fueling the visiting Los Angeles Kings to their first win of the season with a 5-2 decision over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.
Defenseman Erik Gustafsson scored the go-ahead goal at 7:28 of the third period after a nifty end-to-end rush.
With his team on the power play, Gustafsson split a pair of defenders before chipping the puck past Logan Thompson to give Los Angeles a 3-2 lead. The goal was Gustafsson’s first in the NHL since Jan. 12, 2025, while playing for the Detroit Red Wings.
Kempe capped his multi-goal performance just over four minutes later by converting Panarin’s feed in front of the net.
Scott Laughton completed the scoring with an empty-net goal for the Kings, who mustered just four goals in their previous four games.
Alex Laferriere notched two assists and Darcy Kuemper made 30 saves against his former team.
Ryan Leonard and defenseman Cole Hutson each scored in the first period for the Capitals, who fell to 2-1-0 on their five-game homestand. Thompson turned aside 21 shots in the loss.
Leonard skated from along the top of the left circle and into the high slot before wiring a shot past both a moving screen and Kuemper to open the scoring at 9:25 of the first period. The goal was Leonard’s fourth of the season and second in as many games.
Hutson stickhandled into the offensive zone and used Kings defenseman Drew Doughty as a screen before beating Kuemper inside the near post to double the advantage with 1:25 remaining in the first period.
Kempe scored under the crossbar to halve the deficit with 33 seconds left in the first period.
A pinch by Mikey Anderson forced a turnover by defenseman Vincent Desharnais, and Panarin buried a sharp-angle shot to forge a 2-2 tie with two seconds remaining in the first period.
