LOS ANGELES — The Kings teased the crowd on hand and stole a point with a late goal but stumbled 25 seconds into overtime, slipping in a 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
They have dropped four of their past five decisions and 12 of their last 17. Their 11 losses in games that exceeded 60 minutes are second only to Vegas’ 12.
They entered – and exited – the game buoyed by “pity points,” as captain Anže Kopitar has described them. Only three teams have accumulated fewer wins and only one has compiled fewer in regulation so far this season.
They got one of those consolation prizes after eight of their previous nine defeats came in regulation, but they still ceded two points to the division leaders on Wednesday.
“Yeah, [frustration is mounting]. You look at where everyone is in the standings, you win four games or even two games, and you can jump up four spots,” defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “You play a team in your division, you feel like you play a pretty good game, but the extra point can be a big difference right now.”
Kevin Fiala scored a goal and assisted on Brandt Clarke’s equalizer late in regulation. Darcy Kuemper had 24 saves. Kopitar and Joel Armia missed their fifth consecutive game while Trevor Moore was unavailable for his eighth in a row. Corey Perry exited the lineup anew, returning to the side of an ailing family member.
Jack Eichel assisted on the opening strike by Braeden Bowman, a power-play marker for Mitch Marner and Mark Stone’s game-winner as Vegas won its season-best fifth straight. Stone tacked on an assist. Akira Schmid stopped 22 pucks.
Early in overtime, Fiala’s turnover inside the offensive blue line sent Eichel and Stone off with numbers. Fiala hustled back to block Eichel’s shot, but Eichel recovered it to find Stone on the doorstep for an uncontested winner.
Stone has eight goals and 14 points in his past nine appearances. His latest tally condemned the Kings to their 16th one-goal loss of the season, tying Winnipeg for the most in the NHL.
“It’s extremely frustrating when you don’t get points, especially the two points. We got one tonight, I think that’s OK, but there’s been a lot of games where we’ve come out with zero,” forward Adrian Kempe said. “It’s frustrating, that’s all I can say.”
The Kings appeared to be on their way to their 13th one-goal effort of the season and their second in a row, until Clarke knotted the score with 87 seconds remaining in regulation.
With Kuemper pulled, Fiala fended off Ivan Barbashev at the blue line, sending the puck to Kempe. After Eichel lost his stick, Kempe used his body position and then pivoted to deliver a pass to the activated Clarke at the back post. His sixth goal provoked an ebullient celebration.
Since the calendar turned, Clarke has played 156:16, during which the Kings have outscored opponents 14-5. In nearly double that time with him off the ice, they’ve been roasted by a 24-7 margin.
“He’s been awesome. He can be a wild card sometimes, but that’s the way he plays. He sees it differently, he makes a lot of plays and when he’s feeling good and he’s confident, he makes more plays,” Anderson said. “It’s a big goal tonight, but he’s been like that ever since he’s been here.”
With 8:37 on the clock, Kempe’s hooking minor left the Kings shorthanded and, 44 seconds later, down a goal.
Stone’s pass from the left corner of the zone toward the middle of the blue line found Marner, who skated into a vast expanse to deliver a searing wrister from the inner part of the right circle. Marner was the prized acquisition of the summer’s free agent crop, acquired via sign-and-trade from Toronto, whom Vegas will face next.
After 46:24 of game action had elapsed, the Kings got on the scoreboard and pulled even. Four shot attempts, three of which hit the net, arrived in seven seconds, the last of which was a firm smack into a huge opening by Fiala. Linemates Alex Turcotte and Andrei Kuzmenko earned the assists on the Swiss star’s team-leading 17th goal of 2025-26.
For a second straight outing and the eighth instance this season, the Kings failed to score through two periods, falling to 1-4-3 in those games.
Vegas drew first blood in the second period, at 3:56. Following some heavy forechecking and a prolonged puck battle, Eichel emerged with the puck. He slid it across to Bowman, who was all alone in front to stickhandle his way into a forehand goal. It was the undrafted rookie’s first goal since Dec. 2 and fifth since his Nov. 13 debut.
The Kings played soundly early but produced no tangible results. They have been shut out in the first period 27 times, they have blanked their opponents through 20 minutes 25 times and have skated to 13 scoreless ties at the first intermission.
Coach Jim Hiller was asked if it was difficult to keep the team united during a trying stretch that has gotten longer and longer, and he said no.
“They know how hard they’re playing. They’re playing together. They’re playing nose-to-nose with the best teams in the NHL,” Hiller said. “You guys can see it, I’m not making this (expletive) up. They’re right there with them.”
He added: “I’ve been saying it for a while, we’re gonna get on a run, it’s just really hard to believe that we haven’t.”