RALEIGH, N.C. — The Los Angeles Kings secured a 4-2 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night, ending their four-game losing streak. Kevin Fiala was a standout player, netting two goals, while Phillip Danault contributed one goal and one assist. Trevor Moore also found the back of the net, and Quinton Byfield tallied two assists. Darcy Kuemper was solid in goal, making 26 saves for the Kings, marking their first win since January 22.
For the Hurricanes, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Eric Robinson each scored, with Frederik Andersen stopping 22 shots. This loss marked Carolina’s first defeat in regulation since January 15 against Buffalo, following a streak of six games with either wins or overtime losses.
The game began with Carolina taking an early lead at 4:38 of the first period when Kotkaniemi redirected a shot from Sean Walker. However, Danault equalized with just 2:03 left in the period, intercepting a clearing attempt by Hurricanes defenseman Dmitry Orlov and scoring past Andersen.
The Kings took control in the second period, with Moore scoring just over a minute in, followed by Fiala’s goal with 2:03 remaining, putting them up 3-1. The Hurricanes attempted a comeback in the third period when Robinson found the net at 5:44, assisted by Brent Burns, reducing the deficit to 3-2. Notably, Burns achieved his 900th career point, becoming the first defenseman to reach this milestone since Nicklas Lidstrom in the 2007-08 season.
Fiala sealed the Kings’ win with his second goal of the night at 8:20 left in the game.
Key takeaways from the match include the impressive performance of Kuemper since returning from a lower-body injury on December 7, where he compiled an 11-4-3 record along with the NHL’s second-best save percentage. On the other hand, the Hurricanes faced challenges with injuries and illnesses. Although Sebastian Aho and Taylor Hall returned from their ailments, they failed to score, while fourth-leading scorer Andrei Svechnikov missed his first game of the season due to an upper-body injury.
A pivotal moment of the game occurred during the second period when the Hurricanes, down 2-1, missed a prime opportunity on a power play after Aho hit the crossbar at 12:19. Shortly after, the Kings extended their lead with their third goal.
An interesting statistic was the performance of Carolina’s forward Seth Jarvis, who was kept off the scoresheet after amassing nine points in his previous seven games.
Looking ahead, the Kings are set to face the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, marking the start of a three-game homestand, while the Hurricanes will travel to Winnipeg on Tuesday to begin a two-game road trip.
