The Kings lose to Golden Knights story from Saturday night is one of margins. The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in overtime at T-Mobile Arena, with Mitch Marner scoring on a power play 2:40 into the extra period. Artemi Panarin scored the Kings’ lone goal, and Darcy Kuemper made 30 saves. The Kings are 0-2-2, still looking for their first win, but they have two points and nothing about this game was lopsided.
It is also the answer to a question we left open in our game-day report: the goalies. Kuemper started, not Anton Forsberg, whom we had projected earlier in the week, and Forsberg dressed as the backup.
Kings Lose to Golden Knights: How It Unfolded
Neither team scored in the first period. Vegas took the lead on its first power play, at 2:37 of the second, when Trevor Connelly scored at the back post on a cross-ice feed from Mark Stone, with Marner also credited with an assist. The Kings answered on their next chance. At 6:21, Adrian Kempe fed Panarin in the slot, and Panarin’s wrist shot went off the left post and in. Brandt Clarke had the second assist.
The third period was scoreless, and overtime ended when Scott Laughton took a tripping penalty at 2:34. Six seconds into the power play, Marner took a pass from Stone after an offensive-zone faceoff win, glided into the high slot and shot glove side. “Just effort off the draw. It came back up to me,” Marner said. “Saw a gap going downhill, took the ice up ahead and got the shot off.”
Connelly’s goal timing is listed as 2:28 in the NHL.com recap and 2:37 in the official game summary. We used the game summary, which is the league’s official record. The AP lists Marner’s winner at 2:41, while the game summary and the NHL.com recap say 2:40.
The Numbers: Even Play, Special Teams Decided It
These figures come from the official NHL game summary and match the Kings’ postgame notes:
- Shots on goal: Vegas 32, Kings 27. By period, the Kings had 10, 3, 11 and 3 in overtime, and Vegas had 9, 14, 8 and 1.
- Goalies: Kuemper stopped 30 of 32 shots. Carter Hart stopped 26 of 27.
- Power plays: Vegas went 2-for-3. The Kings went 1-for-3.
- Faceoffs: Vegas won 34 of 58 (58.6%) and the Kings 24 (41.4%), per the Kings’ postgame notes.
The second period stands out. The Kings managed three shots on goal in it, and Kuemper faced 14. Laviolette said, “That drop off in the second, I’m not happy with, but the response in the third I am.” The official summary also lists a fight at 9:07 of the second between Laughton and Vegas forward Nic Dowd, with matching roughing minors for Clarke and Rasmus Andersson.
The 5-on-3 Again
We wrote about a failed 5-on-3 in the home opener against Florida, and it came up again. The Kings had 1:31 of 5-on-3 time late in the first period, per NHL.com, and managed three shots on goal. The official summary shows the Kings 0-for-1 on the two-man advantage.
Kempe was blunt after the game. “5-on-4 was good, 5-on-3 not good enough, unacceptable in my opinion. Second time we had a 5-on-3 this season. We’ve got to dial it in, move the puck more and get some shots on net.” Peter Laviolette agreed: “We needed quicker movement, more of a shot mentality in that 5-on-3.”
Kuemper, Panarin and Kempe
Kuemper was the reason the game stayed tied. Laviolette’s summary: “He played well, so you need that. We’re not scoring by the bunches right now. I think we will eventually get some goals here, but they’ve been hard to come by and it’s good to get the saves.” Kuemper said the group has to turn its frustration into something useful: “We’re competitors in here. We hate losing, and we want to win.”
Panarin has scored in all three of the Kings’ road games, the second Kings player in the past 25 years to do that, joining Gabriel Vilardi in 2022-23, per NHL.com. It was his third goal of the season. LA Kings Insider reports he now has a six-game point streak against Vegas and 22 points in 15 games against the Golden Knights. Kempe’s assist was his 22nd career against Vegas, which ties Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon for third most in NHL history, behind Connor McDavid (25) and Anze Kopitar (28).
Jared Wright’s Debut and the Injured Reserve Moves
Jared Wright played his first game of the season for the Kings, recording three shots on goal in 10:24. He signed a two-year contract Saturday morning, and Laviolette said it was “well deserved and well earned.” Andre Lee returned after two games as a healthy scratch and played 10:47.
The Kings also placed forwards Mats Zuccarello and Alex Turcotte on injured reserve on Saturday. NHL.com lists Zuccarello’s injury as upper body and Turcotte’s as undisclosed. That is the first specific reason we have found for Zuccarello’s absence; before this the Kings had said only “week-to-week.” Quinton Byfield was in the lineup, according to the official roster.
The Kings’ postgame media session, with Kempe, Kuemper and Laviolette, is on the LA Kings YouTube channel:
Vegas: Anniversary Night and a Fast Start
The Golden Knights (5-1-0) have won four in a row and paid tribute to their past on Anniversary Night, according to the AP. Connelly had a goal and an assist for his first multipoint game in the NHL. Marner had a goal and an assist, and Stone had two assists. Jack Eichel’s season-opening point streak ended at five games.
Two milestones on the Kings’ side: Drew Doughty played his 1,283rd career regular-season game, tying Ken Daneyko for 23rd most by an NHL defenseman, and Laviolette coached his 1,598th game, tying Ken Hitchcock for eighth most in league history.
What’s Next for the Kings
The Kings practice Sunday at noon at the Toyota Sports Performance Center. They host the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, October 13, at 7:30 p.m. PT and the Boston Bruins on Saturday, October 17, at 6 p.m. PT, both at Crypto.com Arena.
Unconfirmed
- The timeline for Zuccarello and Turcotte beyond “injured reserve.” Turcotte’s injury has not been named.
- Who starts in goal Tuesday against Edmonton.
Our recap of the home opener has the earlier 5-on-3 and the first one-goal loss.
Want the pressers and postgame reports first? Subscribe to Infanity TV on YouTube.
