The Los Angeles Kings faced off against the New York Islanders on Thursday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The Kings fired head coach Jim Hiller on March 1, and assistant coach D.J. Smith assumed the role of interim head coach.
The Kings attacked Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin early, with left winger Artemi Panarin scoring his first goal as a King just three minutes into the game. The Kings outshot the Islanders 19-5 in the first period.
After a pair of remarkable Sorokin saves, Kings forward Samuel Helenius scored L.A.’s second goal with just under six minutes remaining in the second period.
Less than two minutes later, Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson scored a goal of his own to make the score 3-0.
With one second remaining in the second period, Islanders centre Bo Horvat scored an incredible goal immediately after the face-off to cut the lead to 3-1. The puck crossed the goal line with 0.3 seconds on the clock.
Kings right winger Alex Laferriere scored on a power play two and a half minutes into the third period. Two minutes later, with the Kings on another power play, Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech scored a shorthanded goal to make the score 4-2.
Kings right-winger Adrian Kempe sealed the victory with a goal at the 11:30 mark, prompting the Islanders to pull Sorokin for the remainder of the game in favor of an extra skater. Islanders forward Emil Heineman scored with two minutes remaining, but the game would end in a 5-3 victory for Los Angeles.
Kings goalie Darcey Kuemper saved 31 of 34 shots, while Sorokin saved 30 of 35. The win was D.J. Smith’s first as interim head coach.
The contest also marked longtime captain Anze Kopitar’s 1,500th career NHL game, making him the 25th player in history to reach that milestone. Kopitar, who is retiring at the end of this season, has spent his entire 20-year career with the Kings.
The Kings’ record improves to 25-22-14, placing them 6th in the Pacific Division, while the Islanders remain in third place in the Metropolitan Division, with a 25-23-5 record.