After falling behind early, the Los Angeles Kings could not recover as they ultimately fell 2-1 at the hands of the Washington Capitals on Monday evening. Los Angeles dropped to 10-6-4, taking their first loss in the fifth of six games on the road.

Captain Anze Kopitar had the Kings’ only goal of the contest, redirecting Corey Perry’s shot towards goal and tipping it home. The puck got behind Washington goaltender Charlie Lindgren, allowing Kopitar to cash in for a power play score.

All three of his scores this season have come via power play, with Monday’s marking his 600th career point on the road. Kopitar also extended his team-leading head-to-head total over the Capitals to 21 career points.

Before the 20-year veteran managed to get the Kings on the board, Washington had already claimed a 2-0 advantage. It took less than four minutes of the opening period for Matt Roy to deliver his first score of the season and get Washington out in front early.

Alex Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leading scorer, found an early goal in the second period to double his squad’s advantage. It was his sixth of the season, drilling one past Darcy Kuemper to ignite the home crowd.

Kuemper, who headed into the night with eight consecutive results on the road (6-0-2), saved 23 of 25 shots in a losing effort. He fell to 7-4-3 against the club where he spent two seasons before joining Los Angeles ahead of the 2024 season.

In the loss, Alex Laferriere saw his career-best four-game point streak come to an end. He had matched the streak on two prior occasions, extending it to four for the third time with his eventual game-winning goal in the team’s victory over the Senators last Saturday.

Quinton Byfield saw his three-game point streak snapped after taking the ice Monday even with Adrian Kempe for the team lead in assists (13). His two-point performance against the Canadiens in the second game of the road trip marked his third such outing against them, making Byfield the first player in franchise history to record three multi-point games against Montreal before his 24th birthday.

Los Angeles will enjoy a pair of rest days before completing their road trip in San Jose on Thursday against the Sharks. San Jose is 8-8-3 thus far, currently second to last in the Pacific Division. The Kings claimed the first game of the season series earlier this season with a 4-3 victory on Oct. 28. 

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT.