Adrian Kempe scores 2 goals and Kings beat Capitals 5-2 for first win of season
Los Angeles Kings right wing Adrian Kempe (9) celebrates his goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, in Washington. Credit: AP/Nick Wass
WASHINGTON — Adrian Kempe scored twice and the Los Angeles Kings got their first win of the season, rallying from an early deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Tuesday night.
Artemi Panarin, Erik Gustafsson and Scott Laughton also scored for Los Angeles (1-4-2), and former Capitals goalie Darcy Kuemper made 30 saves.
Ryan Leonard and Cole Hutson scored for the Capitals, who took a 2-0 lead in the first period but were held scoreless for the final 41:25. Washington's Logan Thompson stopped 21 shots.
The Kings, who came in having scored just four goals over their previous four games and 12 goals through six games, lost second-line center Quinton Byfield to an upper-body injury in the first period. He played just 2:44.
Hutson put the Capitals ahead 2-0 on the power play with 1:25 left in the first, but Kempe found the net less than a minute later and Panarin scored 2 seconds before the intermission.
Gustafsson put the Kings ahead at 7:28 of the third on the power play. Kempe scored his second goal midway through the third, and Laughton added an empty-netter that gave the Kings their highest-scoring game of the season.
Absent the injured Pierre Luc-Dubois and Justin Sourdif down the middle of their forward ranks, the Capitals were unable to beat Kuemper, who played for Washington from 2022-24.
Los Angeles Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) deflects the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, in Washington. Credit: AP/Nick Wass
Up next
Kings: Visit the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
Capitals: Host Buffalo on Saturday night.
