LOS ANGELES — If the Kings’ New Year’s resolution was improving their last-ranked power play, they got 2026 off on the right foot.
If it was to win more games at home, and overall, then they fell very, very flat.
They converted twice with the extra man for the first time all season en route to a 5-3 defeat by the Tampa Bay Lightning at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday evening.
They led 3-2 with 3:20 to play, but ceded two goals in 98 seconds off Lightning players storming their net and then an empty-net goal.
“It was a very frustrating way to end the game. We played well throughout the whole game, and then we just gave it away there at the end,” defenseman Cody Ceci said.
The Kings have won just twice in their past 10 games, while the Bolts have prevailed in six straight contests.
Corey Perry assisted on goals by Jeff Malott, Andrei Kuzmenko and Kevin Fiala, with Fiala and Kuzmenko each adding an assist. Goalie Darcy Kuemper played for the first time since Dec. 15 in Dallas (upper-body), making 19 of 23 saves.
Brayden Point tallied twice for Tampa Bay with Nikita Kucherov tacking on a goal and two assists. Anthony Cirelli and Gage Goncalves also scored. Brandon Hagel, Jake Guentzel and Darren Raddysh each contributed two assists. While the Kings had their main man back in net, Tampa played backup Jonas Johansson, who repelled 17 pucks, a day after Andrei Vasilevskiy beat the Ducks 4-3 in overtime.
A power play 58 seconds into the third period bore fruit for the Kings, as a man-advantage marker gave them the lead for the second time on Thursday.
Kuzmenko broke up an exit pass in the neutral zone, finding Perry at the right point. His seam pass to an open Fiala allowed him to snipe one to the short side at 1:37. It was the newly formed unit’s fourth goal in three games.
“We’re finding our spots, we’re moving and guys are shooting pucks in the back of the net, that’s the biggest thing, those feel good,” Perry said.
Yet from there, the effort unraveled as Tampa scored with 3:19 left to tie the game, with 1:41 to go to take the lead and into the vacated cage 45 seconds before the final horn to cement the result.
“Whatever leads up to it, leads up to it, and then there’s two scrambles at our netfront, and it finds a way to go in twice … sometimes, stuff goes in,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said.
Kucherov stuffed the puck home easily for the empty-netter after a determined effort from Goncalves and a putback by Cirelli.
“Tough last five minutes. They pushed, they found a way to tie it, and once they tied it, we really didn’t have a response,” said Perry, who played for Tampa Bay from 2021 to 2023.
The three rapid-fire goals stunned the Kings, who found themselves outside the playoff picture once Seattle topped Nashville later Thursday.
The second stanza was a slog, with the two teams combining for two shots on goal through 13:12. While the Kings were stuck on one shot for the final 18:59, the Bolts managed to find their footing late in the frame. Their seven unanswered strikes on net included Point’s second goal, an equalizer with 1:53 remaining.
J.J. Moser’s outlet pass allowed Point to sprint up the wing and dance behind the net before being checked by Alex Turcotte. Point was separated from the puck but stayed with the play, getting inside of Turcotte to tap the puck home after Raddysh’s rim-around attempt ricocheted off the net and defenseman Mikey Anderson.
Tampa Bay is tied for the most first-period goals in the NHL this season while the Kings have scored the second fewest behind Seattle, but it was the Kings leading 2-1 at the first intermission.
Equally uncharacteristic was that Anže Kopitar was called for a penalty, the fourth minor this season for the perennial Lady Byng contender. The Lightning cashed in to open the scoring.
From Kucherov’s entry onward, the Bolts moved the puck with aplomb, the Russian flanker breathing essence into a series of touch dishes and quick handles that effectively passed the puck into the net. Point, who scored a day earlier at Honda Center, tucked in the goal with ease, 3:34 after the opening faceoff.
The Kings would respond 69 seconds later with a workmanlike build-up to a gorgeous goal. Malott first pressured Nick Paul as he went deep for a puck, allowing Perry to step up and disrupt Declan Carlile’s backhanded pass off the wall. Malott scooped up the puck and then launched a laser from the inner shadow of the right circle for his third goal this season.
With a power play of their own, the Kings converted at 6:14. Fiala’s shot attempt was nearly tipped in by Perry, then almost became an own goal off Erik Černák’s skate and ultimately came to Kuzmenko at the side of the net. It was the Yakutsk native’s eighth goal and his fifth on the power play, but it wasn’t enough.
“We should have won the game. We needed to win that game. That’s the bottom line,” Hiller said. “There’s not a lot of moral victories in this one for us tonight.”