DALLAS — On a frustrating Monday evening for the Kings at the American Airlines Center, the squad was outdone 4-1 by the Dallas Stars, losing goaltender Darcy Kuemper to injury in the process. Los Angeles took its third consecutive loss, falling to 14-9-9 on the season.

Andrei Kuzmenko had the only score of the game for the Kings over halfway into the second period, managing to strip Stars’ goaltender Casey DeSmith of the puck and fire it into the net. It was his fifth score of the season and fourth coming via the power play.

Earning points for his 11th consecutive game, DeSmith tied a Dallas franchise record. He improved to 8-0-3, making 27 saves on the night.

Power plays have been an area of struggle for Los Angeles this season, with the squad’s 14 power play goals ranking second-to-last in the NHL. Their 14.3% power play conversion rate is better than that of only the Calgary Flames.

Kuzmenko, playing in his second career stint for the Kings, has now found the net twice in his last three games. His four power play scores are the most on the team thus far.

That was the lone bright spot in an otherwise frustrating performance for Los Angeles. Before the conclusion of the second period, Matt Duchene’s second score of the year helped Dallas equalize.

In the third, the Stars rattled off three unanswered goals to claim a commanding victory. Oskar Back and Mikko Rantanen both made highlight reel plays to get the puck past Anton Forsberg, while Wyatt Johnston delivered the empty-net dagger in the final seconds of the contest.

Forsberg, who entered the game with four minutes remaining in the opening period as Kuemper’s replacement, saved 17 of 20 shots. He was credited with the loss, his second straight.

Kuemper was ultimately removed from the ice after a hard collision with Stars’ forward Mikko Rantanen. He was later ruled out for the remainder of the contest with an upper-body injury, taking a lot of contact to the head on the hit. 

Hoping it’s not too bad for Darcy Kuemper, but the impact from Rantanen’s forearm to his mask didn’t look great from the overhead angle. pic.twitter.com/IKtRs037ra

— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) December 16, 2025

Wyatt Johnston had scored just seconds later, but the goal was wiped off the board due to goalie interference. 

Los Angeles will return to action on Wednesday, taking on the Florida Panthers in the first of back-to-back road games. Florida, the back-to-back defending champions, has been stymied by injuries so far and is just fifth in the Atlantic Division at 17-13-2.

Puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. PT.