March 11th,

Adrian Kempe scored his 1st NHL goal midway through the 3rd period, which helped give the Kings get a critical 2 points on Saturday vs the Capitals.  The Kings kept pace with the St. Louis Blues, and remained 3 points behind them in the race for the final playoff spot in the West.

Anze Kopitar also scored a goal and had an assist for LA, and Jonathan Quick made 17 saves to help the Kings win their 3rd game in the last 4 tries.  Marian Gaborik also scored, and Jeff Carter had an empty-netter.

This was the first time the Kings won back-to-back games since early February.  Kempe was excited to finally find the back of the net for LA.  “There was a lot of time left in the game,” he said, “[but] I think it was an important goal and it was a really great feeling to finally put it in.”

The Kings fell behind 1-0 and 2-1, but tied it at 2-2 heading into the 3rd period on the goal by Kopitar.  It was the Kings fifth straight game with a power play goal, and the 3rd in the last 4 games for LA captain.  Then Kempe put the Kings ahead for good by spinning away from Capitals forward Marcus Johansson, and beating Philipp Grubauer,

Jonathan Quick started for the 2nd straight game, but Darryl Sutter reassured everyone that Ben Bishop will still see some action.

“Quite honest, we are in a position where we’re fighting for a playoff spot because our goaltending, in February, hit the wall,” Sutter said.

The Kings will have a huge game against the Blues on Monday night at Staples Center, as both teams continue to fight for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.