It took the Los Angeles Kings seven tries to win their first game of the 2026-27 NHL season, but they've rebounded since the campaign-opening slump, triumphing in five of their last eight.
That includes Wednesday night's 7-2 shellacking of the San Jose Sharks at Crypto.com Arena, led by an Adrian Kempe hat trick.
It was the Swedish sniper's 37th career multigoal game, which moved him into ninth in Kings history, breaking a tie with former teammate and two-time Stanley Cup champion Dustin Brown, per NHL.com's Dan Greenspan.
It was also Kempe's fifth career hat trick, which tied Jimmy Carson and Charlie Simmer for ninth place on LA's all-time list.
“It’s amazing, you know, the skill the speed, the shot,” linemate and center Quinton Byfield, who scored twice in the rout, said of Kempe. “Like when he’s going, he’s one of the best players in the League. And to have him on our team, it’s so exciting to watch.”
Although Kempe started the season relatively slowly, he's up to 12 points in 13 games after Wednesday's four-point outburst. He has also formed excellent chemistry on the top line with Artemi Panarin, who leads the team with eight goals and 17 points in 14 games.
Kempe and Panarin, who registered four assists, became the fourth pair of Kings teammates in the past 10 years to each record four points in the same game.
“The others: Jan. 1, 2022 (Viktor Arvidsson & Trevor Moore), Oct. 14, 2021 (Anze Kopitar & Drew Doughty) and Oct. 18, 2017 (Michael Cammalleri & Kempe),” according to NHL.com.
Article Continues Below“Tonight, it just seemed like it was on point,” Kings head coach Peter Laviolette said of the convincing victory. “I thought it was two really good days of practice, and then they just took it right into the game tonight and just were on the attack. I thought we were pretty good defensively, and it was just a really good team effort, I think.”
Now 5-7-2, the Kings will look to continue climbing the Pacific Division standings on Saturday night when the Pittsburgh Penguins visit Crypto.com Arena.
It's the fourth game of a seven-game homestand that also welcomes the Nashville Predators, New York Islanders and Calgary Flames to Los Angeles between now and Nov. 14.