The NHL's only winless team entering Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Kings broke out offensively, producing a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals to improve to 1-6-2. Through their first six games, Los Angeles had scored a league-worst 12 goals, but the offense made a late push at the end of the first period.
Los Angeles was down 2-0 early, but tied the game in a span of 31 seconds on goals by Adrian Kempe and Artemi Panarin. Erik Gustafsson made it 3-2 in the third period, and Kempe gave L.A. a two-goal advantage with his second of the game. Scott Laughton added a late empty-net goal. The Kings had scored only four goals over their previous four games, so the offensive outburst was a welcome change.
Goaltender Darcy Kuemper made 30 saves and said the pressure of the winless start had been building. "Going into the third in the tie game, we just talked amongst ourselves and said, 'Everyone's going to dig down, we're going to get this job done,'" he said. "So it was a big win for us."
The victory came with a cost. Center Quinton Byfield left in the first period with an upper-body injury, and coach Peter Laviolette said he would be evaluated Wednesday. It was Laviolette's first win in his seventh stint as an NHL head coach. Kuemper said the team now hopes to settle into the season and build on the result.
Source: ESPN NHL · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing