Forsberg makes 29 saves, Kings shut out Flames

Anton Forsberg made 29 saves for his second shutout of the season, and the Los Angeles Kings snapped a five-game losing streak with a 2-0 win against the Calgary Flames at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Saturday.

“I think at this point everybody knows that every game going forward is critical, we need every point we can get, and tonight, I thought we battled really hard,” Forsberg said. “We had some injuries last game, there was a bunch of guys stepping up, and we grinded one out here. That’s how we’re going to keep playing, that’s how we’re going to get points.” 

Forsberg got his 10th career shutout in 215 NHL appearances. He is the ninth Swedish goaltender with at least 10 shutouts, joining Henrik Lundqvist (64), Tommy Salo (37), Jacob Markstrom (24), Johan Hedberg (22), Robin Lehner (17), Filip Gustavsson (14), Linus Ullmark (13), and Tommy Soderstrom (10).

Alex Laferriere and Adrian Kempe scored for the Kings (24-21-14), who won for the second time in their past eight games (2-5-1).

“Sometimes when losses pile up like that, you feel like you can’t get out of it,” Laferriere said. “I mean, there’s so many games in a year, you know you’re going to get a win eventually, but it’s just about fighting through and getting that first one. I think that was huge for our group, and we’re definitely going to try and build on it.

“We needed that a lot. Top to bottom, everybody played really well tonight.” 

Los Angeles had allowed 22 goals in its past four games (0-4-0) and was coming off its worst loss of the season, an 8-1 defeat to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

“We’re professional athletes. Nobody wants to lose, and no one wants to lose big like we did the other night. But losing big or losing small, it doesn’t mater, it’s still two points,” Forsberg said. “Everybody looked themselves in the mirror, came in with a better attitude tonight, and we got two points out of it.”

Dustin Wolf made 35 saves for the Flames (24-28-6), who were playing the first game of a back to back and are at the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

“I thought we were fine, but when you’re in close games, you’ve got to find another level,” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said. “That’s, to me, what it looked like from the bench. You have a chance to grab a game when it’s close, whether that’s scoring a goal or making a better decision with the puck that led to their goal 5-on-5, those are the little things that I think were the difference in the game tonight.” 

The Flames were shut out for the fourth time this season (4-0 to the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 7, 2-0 at the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 9, 1-0 in overtime at the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 30).

Laferriere put the Kings up 1-0 at 15:36 of the second period with his 14th goal of the season. Quinton Byfield was in the trapezoid to set up Laferriere for a one-timer in the slot, which was saved by Wolf, but Trevor Moore kept the puck alive and allowed Laferriere to put it in.

It was Laferriere’s first point and goal in six games in February. He had not scored since Jan. 24 in a 5-4 shootout win at the St. Louis Blues, and it was Laferriere’s second goal in the past 15 games.  

“I think all three of us are really good forecheckers, being able to get pucks back and work in the O-zone, and I think that showed a lot tonight,” said Laferriere, who moved back to the wing with Byfield and Moore as Los Angeles had to shuffle its lines because of the absences of forward Joel Armia (upper body) and Andrei Kuzmenko (meniscus).

Kempe scored an empty-netter at 19:22 of the third period for the 2-0 final.

Artemi Panarin had the assist, his third in three games with the Kings since being acquired in a trade from the New York Rangers on Feb. 4.

“I think we had a lot of chances to win this game. Unfortunately, we didn’t find a way to score, so that’s the difference,” Calgary forward Adam Klapka said.

NOTES: There were no penalties called against either team, marking the first NHL game without a power play since the Washington Capitals won 4-1 against the Detroit Red Wings on March 18, 2025. …  The Kings had lost their previous four games against the Flames dating back to last season and had been held to one goal in each of those defeats. … Kings defenseman Drew Doughty did not play because of a lower-body injury. … Byfield reached the 20-assist mark for the third straight season.