Adrian Kempe leads Kings to defeat by Flames

Drew Doughty and Viktor Arvidsson scored four goals in Los Angeles’ first half, Adrian Kempe had two goals and an assist, and the Kings tied 8–2 with the Calgary Flames for first place in the Pacific Division. Monday night

Carl Grundstrom had two goals and Gabriel Vilardi and Mikey Anderson also scored for the Kings, who led the division with Vegas and extended their hitting streak to 10 games (8-0-2) with their second eight-goal burst of the season extended.

Phoenix Copley made 15 shots for Los Angeles, while captain Anze Kopitar, Quinton Byfield and Rasmus Kupari each had two assists. The Kings scored a point in every game in March and were the only contenders for the Second Division title for a franchise’s two Stanley Cup championships.

Tyler Toffoli scored against his former team for the Flames, who were unable to catch up after conceding four goals in a first period for the first time since November 2017. Coach Darryl Sutter’s teams have not conceded four goals in a first half since October 2014. , when he was still behind the king’s bench.

Jacob Markstrom stopped 20 shots and conceded six goals in the first two periods of his 10th consecutive start before Dan Vladar pulled the Flames back in the third. Markstrom also allowed six goals in Calgary’s overtime loss to Dallas two days earlier to start the team’s worst two-game defensive run of the season.

Noah Hanifin also scored for the Flames, who lost four of six to end their playoff hopes.

The Kings were prolific offensively, even as leading scorer Kevin Fiala missed his fifth straight game with a lower body injury.

Grundstrom gave Los Angeles an early lead as he got around Markstrom to score in his third straight game. Doughty then scored his third goal in four games with a long shot through traffic, with Vilardi scoring 57 seconds later.

Arvidsson added a power play goal on a cross-ice pass from Kempe to secure his fifth career 20-goal goal, including his two years with Los Angeles.

Toffoli scored his 29th goal on a power play in 34 seconds into the second half, bringing his total points to 62. The goal was Toffoli’s third in seven career games against the Kings, who had it in 2010 and won a Stanley Cup. with him in 2014, before they traded him in 2020.

But Kempe prepared his 33rd goal in the middle of the second minute after an unusually long pass from Alexander Edler and scored again 4 1/2 minutes later. Anderson scored his first career power play goal in the third.

Milan Lucic was a healthy scratch for the second game in a row. The veteran Calgary striker, who played one season for the Kings, has scored just one goal in his last 27 games since January 10.