LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings hadn’t lost a game that recently retired winger Dustin Brown attended all season, and they were certainly not about to snap that streak Saturday when his number ascended among those of his hallowed predecessors before the Kings eviscerated the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-0 at Crypto.com Arena.
Winger Adrian Kempe extended his team-leading goal total to 26 by way of a natural hat trick and his first ever four-goal game. Wingers Alex Iafallo and Jaret Anderson-Dolan also found the net for the Kings. Forward Rasmus Kupari, winger Kevin Fiala and defenseman Drew Doughty contributed two assists apiece, while center Anze Kopitar had three. Pheonix Copley earned his 16th victory and first shutout of the season.
Wingers Trevor Moore and Arthur Kaliyev also returned to action, emerging from the all-star break having recovered from injuries.
Pittsburgh’s Casey DeSmith started for the second straight night in lieu of the injured Tristan Jarry. His followed a 6-3 victory over the Ducks Friday with a disastrous night in net during a game that was academic by its halfway point, not unlike the Kings’ clinching game of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final.
Kempe piled out another marker during a two-man advantage off a one-timer from the right circle with 4:51 to play, his second power-play goal of the night.
While the Kings are busy working the phones ahead of the trade deadline – Arizona defenseman Jakob Chychrun was scratched for trade protection reasons Saturday and the Kings remained among the frontrunners to land his services – they already made one favorable swap midway through the third period. Defenseman Mikey Anderson cross-checked franchise center Sidney Crosby, who in turn earned a game misconduct penalty, ending his evening.
With 5:33 left in the second period, Kempe completed the first natural hat trick of his career, his third hat trick of any kind and his first three-goal game since March 8, 2021. During a power play, Kopitar connected on a pass from the right slot to the left post for Fiala, who slipped the puck across the crease to Kempe to send the fans’ fedoras flying. Kempe is now on pace for 38 goals, which would signify a career-best total for a second straight season.
He had struck twice earlier in the frame between the 1:58 and 5:18 marks. Anderson’s blocked shot cued a pulchritudinous rush where Kempe and Kopitar exchanged three cross-ice passes across three zones, culminating in a far-side goal for Kempe.
His previous goal also received a primary assist from Kopitar, who dropped a short pass to the inside of the left faceoff dot to facilitate Kempe’s roofted wrist shot to make it 3–0.
The Kings had hauled a 2-0 lead from the first intermission.
With slightly more than two minutes remaining in the first period, some dogged work along the boards by the Kings turned into an offensive opportunity when Fiala won the puck, twirled purposefully and whipped a pass to Kupari for a one-timer. Although the attempt banged off DeSmith’s blocker, Kupari recovered the puck and got it to Iafallo, who stuffed a shot short side for his eighth goal of the campaign.
Anderson-Dolan opened the scoring 2:28 into the match. A hectic sequence concluded with Anderson-Dolan tipping defenseman Alex Edler’s shot past DeSmith, the first of several lumps for the Pens’ netminder Saturday.
