Panarin Nets First Kings Goal in 5-3 Victory Over Islanders

Artemi Panarin found the back of the net for his first goal as a Los Angeles King, leading his new team to a 5-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday. The win helped snap a rough stretch for the Kings, who had dropped six of their last seven contests.

Los Angeles broke out of a recent slump Thursday night, defeating the New York Islanders 5-3 at home behind Artemi Panarin’s first goal since joining the team.

The Kings received multi-point performances from Panarin, Adrian Kempe, and Mikey Anderson, who each contributed one goal and one assist. Samuel Helenius and Alex Laferriere added goals, while Brandt Clarke contributed two assists and goaltender Darcy Kuemper turned away 31 shots. The victory was crucial for Los Angeles, which had struggled with a 1-5-1 record over their previous seven outings.

New York got scoring from Bo Horvat, Adam Pelech, and Emil Heineman, with Jean-Gabriel Pageau recording two assists. Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves but couldn’t prevent his team’s second consecutive road defeat following Wednesday’s 5-1 setback against Anaheim, which ended their five-game winning streak.

Los Angeles struck first when Sorokin’s stick came loose in the corner, leaving Panarin with a clear scoring opportunity that he converted at the 3:17 mark of the opening period. The goal marked a milestone for Panarin, who was appearing in just his fifth game since the Kings acquired him from the New York Rangers on February 4th.

The home team dominated the shot count early, outshooting the visitors 13-3 at the first period’s midpoint and holding a commanding 19-5 advantage entering the second frame.

Despite Sorokin’s spectacular save on a Kempe breakaway during a short-handed situation at 9:41 of the middle period, Los Angeles extended their advantage less than five minutes later. Jeff Malott’s backhand feed found Helenius for a one-timer that made it 2-0 at 14:20.

Anderson’s point shot found its way through traffic and past Sorokin at 15:51 of the second period, giving him his first goal since December 6th and pushing the lead to 3-0.

The Islanders managed to get on the scoreboard with just one second remaining in the second period when Horvat won a faceoff and fired a one-timer from the left circle, trimming the deficit to 3-1.

Laferriere capitalized on a power-play opportunity early in the third period, driving through the New York zone before beating Sorokin at 2:30 to restore the three-goal cushion at 4-1.

Los Angeles found themselves back on the man advantage immediately after, but it was Pelech who found the net while short-handed, pulling the Islanders within 4-2 at the 4:30 mark.

Kempe answered back by redirecting a shot into the net at 8:30, re-establishing the Kings’ three-goal lead at 5-2.

New York pulled their goaltender with more than eight minutes remaining to gain an extra skater, and the strategy paid off when Heineman scored with 1:59 left on the clock, making the final score 5-3.