Kings right wing Adrian Kempe, left, skates against Vegas Golden Knights right wing Keegan Kolesar during the first period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) and right wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) celebrate after Dorofeyev’s goal against the Kings during the first period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill and defenseman Rasmus Andersson defend the goal against the Kings during the first period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
The Kings’ Samuel Helenius, front, skates with the puck while under pressure from the Vegas Golden Knights’ Cole Reinhardt (23) during the first period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Kings teammates look on as Andrei Kuzmenko (96) is tended to after being hit in the face with a puck during the first period of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Vegas Golden Knights’ Mark Stone celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring a goal during the first period of a game against the Kings on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin (15) watches as Kings right wing Quinton Byfield (55) collides with the goal during the first period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill makes a save against the Kings during the first period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
The Vegas Golden Knights’ Jeremy Lauzon, left, knocks Kings captain Anze Kopitar off the puck during the first period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill makes a save against the Kings during the first period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
The Kings’ Trevor Moore, left, scores a first-period goal past Vegas Golden Knights golatender Adin Hill (33) as Vegas’ Shea Theodore (27) defends during the first period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Kings defenseman Jacob Moverare, left, and left wing Trevor Moore celebrate after Moore’s goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
The Kings’ Samuel Helenius, left, and the Vegas Golden Knights’ Kai Uchacz fight during the first period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg (31) stops a shot from Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Jeremy Lauzon (5) during the second period on Thursday night in Las Vegas. The Kings lost, 4-1. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg takes a break during a pause in play in the second period of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Braeden Bowman, left, skates against the Kings during the second period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg makes a save against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke, left, punches Vegas Golden Knights center Kai Uchacz during the second period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg, left, comes out of the crease to make a save against the Vegas Golden Knights’ Pavel Dorofeyev (16) as the Kings’ Cody Ceci (5) defends during the second period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke (92) falls after colliding with Vegas Golden Knights right wing Alexander Holtz during the second period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg, left, defends the net against the Vegas Golden Knights’ Cole Reinhardt (23) during the second period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Kings’ Corey Perry, right, passes the puck between the legs of the Vegas Golden Knights’ Jeremy Lauzon during the third period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Braeden Bowman (42) skates against Kings right wing Quinton Byfield during the third period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
Kings left wing Trevor Moore, left, skates against Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Jeremy Lauzon during the third period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill makes a save against the Kings during the third period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
The Kings’ Quinton Byfield, right, skates with the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights’ Keegan Kolesar during the third period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Vegas Golden Knights’ Shea Theodore (27) and the Kings’ Corey Perry, right, vie for the puck as Vegas goaltender Adin Hill (33) defends his net during the third period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill deflects a shot during the third period of a game against the Kings on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Kings’ Trevor Moore, left, and the Vegas Golden Knights’ Jeremy Lauzon vie for the puck during the third period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Ben Hutton, right, skates against Kings right wing Quinton Byfield during the third period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
The Kings’ Alex Laferriere (14) and the Vegas Golden Knights’ Kaedan Korczak (6) vie for the puck during the third period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill makes a save against the Kings during the third period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
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Kings right wing Adrian Kempe, left, skates against Vegas Golden Knights right wing Keegan Kolesar during the first period on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
LAS VEGAS — The Kings looked like a team that could use several weeks off.
Mark Stone had a goal and two assists and the Vegas Golden Knights took control early Thursday night by scoring four times on their first six shots for a 4-1 victory over the Kings, the final game for both teams before the NHL’s Olympic break.
The Kings (23-19-14) have lost four of their past five games and sit three points behind the Ducks in the race for the final Western Conference wild-card playoff spot.
“Everyone’s looking toward the break, but at the same time, you’ve got to be ready to play those games. These points are just as important as the points coming out of the break,” Kings captain Anze Kopitar told NHL.com. “We didn’t get the job done.”
Jack Eichel and Pavel Dorofeyev each had a goal and an assist for the Golden Knights (27-16-14), who go into the break with back-to-back victories after losing seven of eight games and have a four-point lead over Edmonton for first place in the Pacific Division.
Mitch Marner scored a goal for his 799th career point and Ivan Barbashev extended his points streak to five games with two assists. Barbashev’s four-game goal streak, however, ended. Eichel extended his points streak to four games and now has 200 assists in a Golden Knights uniform.
Vegas’ Adin Hill made 32 saves for his 100th career victory, his most stops since having 34 in a March 15, 2025 game against Buffalo.
Trevor Moore scored for the Kings and Anton Forsberg stopped 18 shots. Anze Kopitar picked up an assist for his 1,300th career point, the 39th skater in NHL history (and the eighth born outside of North America) to accomplish that feat.
Adrian Kempe’s eight-game points streak came to an end.
The Golden Knights, plagued by slow starts during the eight-game stretch when they went 1-5-2, scored their four goals in the span of 5:27 midway through the opening period – and they came on four consecutive shots.
Eichel, alone in the left circle, started the spurt at the 8:22 mark with a wrist shot past Forsberg’s glove side. Stone, skating down the slot, then put in a backhand shot off a Barbashev pass at 11:49.
Dorofeyev made it 3-0 with a power-play goal at 13:29, blasting a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle for his team-leading 26th goal, 14 of which have come on the power play.
Marner scored 20 seconds later with a one-timer short-side from the lower left circle off a spinning pass from Dorofeyev.
Moore cut it to 4-1 at the 15:03 mark of the first period when he sped past Shea Theodore on the right wing and chipped in a shot over Hill.
“We didn’t like the start,” Kings coach Jim Hiller told NHL.com. “Buried ourselves, but then there’s still a lot of hockey left. If you can get one, you get momentum. Now, you’re only down by two. You get another one, you get to pull the goalie, whatever is going to happen is going to happen. … The best part of the game is the last 40 minutes.”
Kings forward Andrei Kuzmenko had to be helped off the ice with 1:42 left in the first period after being hit in the upper left jaw with a puck. Kuzmenko returned briefly in the second period before being declared out with an upper-body injury.
The Golden Knights won despite taking six penalties, though one was a fighting major shared by both teams. The Kings couldn’t make the hosts pay, going 0 for 5 on the power play. The last time the Golden Knights committed six penalties was Nov. 20 against Utah, also a 4-1 victory.
Kings winger Artemi Panarin, acquired on Wednesday in a trade with the New York Rangers, was not in the lineup, as expected. He had 57 points in 52 games for New York, but hadn’t played or practiced in about a week.
UP NEXT
The Kings host the Golden Knights on Feb. 25, which is expected to be Panarin’s debut.