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Panthers fold in the third, drop 2-1 decision to Kings

Jan 22, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Kings right wing Adrian Kempe (9) celebrates after a goal against the Florida Panthers in the third period at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

After putting up a total of eight goals in consecutive games against the Anaheim Ducks, the Florida Panthers saw its offense dry up again in a frustrating 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena.

With goaltenders Spencer Knight and Darcy Kuemper fully in control of the proceedings, it took 27:27 of game play for the red light to get lit.

Evan Rodrigues staked the Cats to the lead when he converted a no-look pass from Anton Lundell from in-close with Phillip Danault off for hooking. Rookie Mackie Sasmokevich drew the secondary assist on Florida’s only goal of the night.

Samuel Helenius notched his first NHL goal at 6:41 of the third to knot the score. Helenius cleaned up in front after the puck came to Jordan Spence back at the right point. Spence’s shot struck Uvis Balinskis and Tanner Jeannot knocked it free to Helenius, who was able to lift the puck over a fallen Knight.

Adrian Kempe then scored for the fourth straight game when he got a piece of Kevin Fiala’s one-timer with 6:48 left in regulation to put the Kings ahead. Brandt Clarke made a good pass to Fiala to collect the secondary helper on the game-winner.

The tired Panthers made a late push, but could not solve Kuemper, who lowered his GAA to 2.00, a second time and failed to add on to the back-to-back wins over the Ducks.

Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk combined for five shots on goal, but neither star could end their scoring woes as Florida failed to take advantage of Toronto’s surprising loss to Columbus. The Panthers will get a much-needed two days off before taking on the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday.

Baubles & Bits

  • The ham-fisted Panthers wasted another quality start from Spencer Knight, who made 26 stops. Despite take the loss, Knight lowered his GAA to 2.43 and upped his save percentage to .907.
  • Adrian Kempe registered his 30th career game-winning goal, passing Rob Blake for eighth in Kings history. He finished the tilt with a game-high five shots on goal.
  • The Panthers went 1-for-2 on the power play with Evan Rodrigues getting his third PPG of the campaign. They had been 0-for-9 over their previous four games.
  • Free agent signing Darcy Kuemper continues to pay dividends for Los Angeles. Kuemper is now 14-4-5 with a miniscule 2.06 GAA which is second-lowest in the league among goaltenders for have played 16 or more games.
  • Sam Bennett led the Panthers with four shots on goal and dished out a game-high five hits.

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