The Kings got off to an inauspicious start with the Capitals grabbing a 2-0 lead on Ryan Leonard’s even-strength rush goal at 9:25 of the first period and Cole Hutson’s power-play goal at 18:35.
Considering the Kings were limited to only one goal in each of their previous four games, the 2-0 deficit could’ve appeared insurmountable.
Los Angeles’ fortunes changed in the final minute of the first period, though, with Kempe and Artemi Panarin scoring 31 seconds apart to tie the score at 2-2 heading into the intermission.
First, Panarin fed Kempe on a 2-on-1 rush for a shot from the left circle that beat Capitals goalie Logan Thompson to the short side to pull the Kings within 2-1 at 19:27. Later in the same shift, Panarin whipped a shot from the bottom of the left circle in past Thompson to tie the score at 19:58.
“It's a big shift,” Kempe said. “Obviously, you're down 2-0 and you score two in 20, 30 seconds or whatever it was. So obviously, that can shift momentum a lot. I think coming into the locker room after that, everybody kind of felt that now we go and now we’ve got to step up, and everybody’s got to play better because now we're back to even.”
With second-line center Quinton Byfield leaving after only four shifts because of an upper-body injury, that left it to Los Angeles’ top line of Panarin, Alex Laferriere and Kempe to carry the offense. They answered the call with Kempe scoring twice, Panarin getting a goal and two assists and Laferriere getting two assists.
The winning goal came from unlikely source, though. After spending most of last season in the American Hockey League with Grand Rapids, defenseman Erik Gustafsson hadn’t scored an NHL goal since Jan. 12, 2025, when he was with the Detroit Red Wings.
The 34-year-old surprised the Capitals with a stunning end-to-end rush on the power play that he capped by flipping the puck in off Thompson’s glove to snap a 2-2 tie at 7:28 of the third period.
“That's a highlight type play,” Kings coach Peter Laviolette said. “It's kind of old school. You go back and wheel it out of your own end and split everything up the middle and get behind. Then to finish off, he was running out of real estate, so it was nice to see the finish on it as well. But obviously a big goal at the time.”
Then, after Kempe produced a turnover on the forecheck, Panarin set him up in front for another goal that made it 4-2 at 11:35. Scott Laughton’s empty-net goal at 18:15 sealed Los Angeles’ first win under Laviolette, who was hired on June 9.
