Kempe scores three as Kings beat Sharks 7-2
Los Angeles improved to 5-3-0 since a slow start, while San Jose fell to 1-5-0 in its last six contests.
By Justin Brooks ·
Adrian Kempe scored three times to lead the Los Angeles Kings to a 7-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.
The win marks the fifth hat trick of Kempe's NHL career. He also recorded an assist in the game, extending his productive streak for a team that has gone 5-3-0 since opening the season with a 0-4-2 record.
Quinton Byfield contributed two of the Kings' three power-play goals. Artemi Panarin added four assists, while Erik Haula and Joel Armia each scored once. Darcy Kuemper stopped 30 shots for Los Angeles.
Macklin Celebrini and Ivar Stenberg scored on the power play for the Sharks. Dmitry Orlov and Michael Misa each recorded two assists. Yaroslav Askarov made 20 saves as San Jose dropped to 1-5-0 in its last six games.
In other Wednesday action, Sandis Vilmanis scored two goals and added two assists for his first career multi-point game. The Florida Panthers defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 in Sunrise, Fla., improving to four wins in their last five games. Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for Florida.
Frank Nazar scored twice for the Blackhawks, who have now lost four straight games. Connor Bedard recorded two assists, and Spencer Knight made 25 saves. Knight is now 0-4-0 against his former team.
Matty Beniers scored on a breakaway 55 seconds into overtime to give the Seattle Kraken a 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames. Berkly Catton added the other goal for Seattle, which had lost 6-2 to Calgary on Friday. Yegor Sharangovich scored for Calgary, which is 7-3-1 since its 0-5-0 start.
