Kings left wing Trevor Moore, left, celebrates with center Anze Kopitar after scoring during the first period of their game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. Moore scored two goals in the 5-2 win. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Vegas Golden Knights left wing Brandon Saad (20) controls the puck with pressure from Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, left, and Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) defending during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) makes a stop against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings defenseman Jacob Moverare, left, and Vegas Golden Knights left wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) vie for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) stops a shot by Vegas Golden Knights center Raphael Lavoie (36) with Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (8) defending during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Vegas Golden Knights left wing Pavel Dorofeyev controls the puck with Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) and defenseman Drew Doughty defending during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings left wing Trevor Moore (12) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper, bottom right, stops a shot by Vegas Golden Knights center Nicolas Roy, center, with Lings right wing Quinton Byfield (55) defending during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb (3) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Kings during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings left wing Kevin Fiala (22) misses the deflected puck with Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) defending during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) stops a shot against the Kings during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings right wing Quinton Byfield (55) reaches for the puck with Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague (14) and goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) defending during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Kings during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings left wing Kevin Fiala (22) skates to the puck with Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) defending during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings left wing Kevin Fiala (22) shoots wide of Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings left wing Warren Foegele, left, celebrates with defenseman Jordan Spence after scoring the go-ahead goal during the third period of their game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. The Kings scored four goals in the third to rally for a 5-2 win. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Vegas Golden Knights left wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) controls the puck with pressure from Kings left wing Trevor Moore (12) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings left wing Kevin Fiala (22) and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov (84) vie for the puck with Vegas Golden Knights right wing Victor Olofsson (95) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings left wing Warren Foegele (37) takes the puck away from Vegas Golden Knights center Nicolas Roy (10) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings center Phillip Danault (24) takes the puck away from Vegas Golden Knights left wing Tanner Pearson (70) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings left wing Kevin Fiala (22) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, left, celebrates with goaltender Darcy Kuemper after the Kings defeat the Vegas Golden Knights in an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Kings center Anze Kopitar, left, celebrates with goaltender Darcy Kuemper after the Kings defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
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Kings left wing Trevor Moore, left, celebrates with center Anze Kopitar after scoring during the first period of their game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. Moore scored two goals in the 5-2 win. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
LOS ANGELES — The Kings entered the third period trailing on Monday night, but they exploded for four unanswered goals to topple the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights, 5-2, continuing their dominance at Crypto.com Arena.
Trevor Moore scored two goals before Warren Foegele (who also had an assist), Kevin Fiala and Joel Edmundson tacked on three more that made the difference as the Kings improved to 14-1-1 in their past 16 home games. Quinton Byfield’s four assists gave him a single-game career high in points and Foegele added an assist as well. Darcy Kuemper made 21 saves to win his fourth consecutive decision, adding to his team’s NHL-best home points percentage (.833, 19-3-2).
Former King Brayden McNabb and captain Mark Stone each deposited a goal for Vegas, which had its three-game winning streak snapped. Ilya Samsonov halted just 14 of 19 shots. In two visits to Los Angeles this season, Samsonov stopped 35 of 46 pucks for an acrid .761 save percentage.
The Kings have now taken two of three meetings with Vegas this season, having lost 6-1 on Oct. 22 and won 6-3 on Oct. 30. Not surprisingly, the host team has won each game between two of the NHL’s best teams on home ice.
With the victory, the Kings not only won a four-point game against Pacific-topping Vegas, which now held a five-point lead over the Kings, but inched within three points of second-place Edmonton, which was idle.
“(Vegas) took us to the schoolyard a little bit [in the second period], they were faster, stronger and more competitive,” Coach Jim Hiller said. “So, we had to decide, were we just going to let them take it from us? And, clearly, the guys had a great response in the third.”
Edmundson’s slap shot with 4:32 remaining (his fifth goal this season) and Fiala’s backhand with 2:19 to play (his 23rd of the campaign) provided reassurance. Fiala now has seven goals and nine points in his last six outings.
“Coach came in and he said, ‘that’s a top-three team over there, a potential playoff opponent, too,’ so we just had to step up, and everybody did that,” said Byfield, adding of Fiala that “he’s hot, he’s scoring, we’re just trying to get him the puck.”
A backhanded connection between Byfield and Foegele nine seconds after a power play expired gave the Kings the lead for good, 8:31 into the third period. Byfield protected the puck and dragged two defenders with him before whipping a backhand pass against the grain for Foegele. He was met at the near post by a lunging Samsonov, only to head to the far post and slip the puck home off his backhand.
“The backhand pass to (Foegele) was about as good as you could make it,” Hiller said.
The Kings made it a new game a mere 42 seconds into the closing frame. Kuemper’s long clearing attempt eluded a pinching Alex Pietrangelo along the wall. The puck leaked into the neutral zone, where it was settled by Foegele for Moore, who darted ahead to deliver a short-side snipe. That marked the second goal of the game and 10th of the season for the Thousand Oaks native, who had 31 last year.
“I think he had 10 to 12 [goals] coming down the wing [last year], we just haven’t seen that from him this year, and it was just great to see,” Hiller said. “It was his second [goal of the game], and hopefully that spurs him on.”
In the second period, Vegas struck twice consecutively to hold a 2-1 lead at the intermission via goals at the 10:26 and 16:41 marks. In between tallies, Vegas defenseman Noah Hanifin also saved a score by swiping the puck off the goal line.
The visitors earned their first edge of the evening when Hanifin’s high shot was tipped underneath and through Kuemper by Stone.
The Golden Knights knotted the score when Tomáš Hertl walked off the left-wing wall and into the slot, drawing a crowd that included Byfield. He had neglected the trailing McNabb, to whom Hertl silkily slipped a pass into the high slot. McNabb’s perfectly placed shot beat Kuemper for the equalizer.
That goal gave Vegas momentum, but the Kings would quell it in the final 20 minutes, playing sharp, opportunistic hockey while the Golden Knights’ collective posture slouched.
“We shot ourselves in the foot. Soft plays, not getting pucks out, all of the above. We gave them those goals. It’s on us, it’s a bad loss by us and a bad period,” McNabb said.
The early going was all Kings as they outshot Vegas 8-2 initially, in part because they had earned the game’s first two power plays, the second of which produced the game’s first goal, 10:30 into the contest.
Byfield, who later took two penalties that the Kings killed, hammered a shot from the left circle that Moore deflected past Samsonov after grinding for position.
That goal was the difference in a period where Vegas made a late push that Kuemper beat back, channeling his inner Jonathan Quick on both sides of the Kings’ second short-handed stretch, tracking the puck expertly and dominating with his pad work.
“I could say [we were soft on our sticks] for stretches of the game, there’s no question, and Darcy was there when we were,” Hiller said.
The Kings will seek their 20th home win of the season when they close out their homestand against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.
