Kings win 7th straight road game with 4-1 win in Vegas
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) commits a hooking penalty on Los Angeles Kings center Adrian Kempe (9) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Las Vegas.
Los Angeles Kings goaltender Cam Talbot (39) stops the puck beside Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) and Los Angeles Kings center Phillip Danault (24) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Las Vegas.
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) vies for the puck with Los Angeles Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov (84) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Las Vegas.
Los Angeles Kings defenseman Matt Roy (3) knocks the puck up the ice against Vegas Golden Knights right wing Jonathan Marchessault (81) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Las Vegas.
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) blocks a shot by Los Angeles Kings center Blake Lizotte during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Las Vegas.
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) blocks a shot beside Los Angeles Kings right wing Carl Grundstrom (91) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS (AP) 鈥� Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and the Los Angeles Kings won their fourth in a row with a 4-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night.
The Kings became just the eighth team in league history to win each of their first seven road games to start a season, and the first to accomplish the feat since the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils did it in 2009.
After opening the season with points in their first 12 games, the Golden Knights lost for the second straight time in regulation. Vegas hadn鈥檛 lost consecutive games in regulation since Jan. 16 and 19 of last season, to Dallas and Detroit, respectively.
Trevor Moore, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Anze Kopitar also scored for the Kings. Cam Talbot made 37 saves and is now tied with two others with a league-leading seven wins.
William Karlsson scored for the Golden Knights and Adin Hill stopped 29 shots.
The Kings broke through first, opening the scoring midway through the second period.
Hemmed into the offensive zone, defenseman Jordan Spence blasted a shot from the blue line and Kempe was there for the clean up on the right side of the net, slamming home the rebound for a 1-0 lead.
鈥淚t was the game we thought it would be,鈥� Kings coach Todd McLellan said. 鈥淚 thought early it was a boxing match. Everybody was just taking jabs and waiting for something to give. Fortunate to score first, and I think that鈥檚 always an advantage against this team.鈥�
It wouldn鈥檛 take long for the Kings to extend their lead, as it was Spence once again with a blistering shot from the top, only this time Moore with a redirect from the slot.
With another power-play opportunity, Dubois beat Hill from the left side of the goal when he tapped home a rebound to push Los Angeles鈥� lead to 3-0 early in the third.
Karlsson brought life to an announced crowd of 18,330 in attendance when he cut Los Angeles鈥� lead to two goals, but it wasn鈥檛 enough to overcome the Kings鈥� momentum.
鈥淚 think we鈥檝e kind of run out of gas a little bit,鈥� Vegas captain Mark Stone said. 鈥淎nd I thought we played pretty well for a majority of the game. Third period just kind of shut it down a little bit, didn鈥檛 really have our legs. But adversity doesn鈥檛 kill you, it makes you stronger. We鈥檒l be ready for San Jose on Friday night.鈥�
Kopitar, who also had an assist earlier, notched the 400th goal of his career with an empty-netter to provide the final margin.
Since Vegas joined the NHL ahead of the 2017-18 season, no skater has more points against the Golden Knights than Kopitar (13 goals, 21 assists).
鈥淥bviously, it鈥檚 a good feeling. I didn鈥檛 think it was going to happen tonight,鈥� Kopitar said. 鈥淚 figured I鈥檇 give it a go (at an empty net). Memories like this, you want to be on the winning side of this. I thought we played a solid, solid game tonight. It鈥檚 obviously a good feeling to get the two points.鈥�
UP NEXT
Kings: Host Pittsburgh on Thursday.
Golden Knights: Host San Jose on Friday.
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