LOS ANGELES — With the last quarter of the regular season in front of them, the Kings earned a third straight victory on Tuesday night, stifling the New York Islanders, 4-1, at Crypto.com Arena.
The Kings took eight penalties, but it was all for naught as the Islanders failed to convert. The hosts scored twice in short-handed situations and connected on a pair of even-strength goals to move within one point of second-place Edmonton in the Pacific Division race.
Two of the least effective power-play teams in the NHL both had chances come and go in the opening 10 minutes.
At 15:33, though, the Kings helped themselves before a man advantage materialized on a delayed penalty when Islanders defenseman Tony DeAngelo slashed Warren Foegele in the visitors’ defensive zone.
Cycling the puck around for 40 seconds, the Kings patiently worked through the Islanders, firing a pair of shots at goaltender Ilya Sorokin prior to defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov ripping a one-time slap shot (assists to Jordan Spence and Anze Kopitar plus a screen in front of the net by Phillip Danault) to beat the Russian above his left shoulder.
Action ramped up on both ends during the second period.
Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper stopped a pair of early breakaways, denying forward Casey Cizikas and Pierre Engvall, before the New Yorkers found the net at 8:37 when Anders Lee scored his 25th of the season to finish a length-of-the-ice sequence.
The Kings (34-20-9, 77 points) jumped ahead again 37 seconds later when Danault scored his sixth goal of 2025 on a wrist shot from the top of the left circle. The play was made by Foegele, who dumped and chased the puck, sparking a turnover along the boards with the help of Trevor Moore.
The first of three second-period penalties against the Kings, a high-sticking call on Alex Turcotte at 9:39, appeared to produce a rare conversion for the Islanders. But a coach’s challenge confirmed that Anthony Duclair’s doorstep finish was aided by goaltender interference when Simon Holstrom’s skate snared Kuemper.
Kuemper’s strong performance closed with 33 saves.
Turcotte nearly made it 3-1 as he burst out of the penalty box and had a free run at Sorokin. It was denied, but moments later, as the Islanders attempted another power play, Kings forward Quinton Byfield provided his team a two-goal advantage at the 14-minute mark, roofing a short-handed, unassisted laser.
With Gavrikov serving a 2-minute minor for holding, the Islanders (29-28-7, 65 points) seemed to immediately capitalize when Lee, who was camped out in front of Kuemper, shoveled a backhand past Kuemper. Kings head coach Jim Hiller challenged once more and was rewarded with the second goaltender interference call of the evening to keep their 3-1 edge.
Drew Doughty’s second goal of the season made it 4-1 at 18:43, when the Canadian defenseman’s short-handed shot found an empty net.
Four additional penalties against the Kings came and went in the final period. The hosts totaled 16 minutes in the box compared to two for New York, which was swept in the season series for the 13th time.
More to come on this story.