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Kings stumble against surging Sabres

March 22, 2026

Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson (44) controls the puck under pressure from Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/William Liang)

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LOS ANGELES — The Kings struck first but then conceded four unanswered goals to the juggernaut Buffalo Sabres, falling 4-1 at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday afternoon.

They were leapfrogged by the Nashville Predators for the West’s final playoff berth in the process, the sort of jockeying that has been a constant for the malaise-stricken Kings this season. They have struggled to sustain momentum both across and during games, with most of the sand already having filtered through the hourglass.

“It sucks. Again, the effort’s there, it’s hard to fault the effort, but it’s executing to get a chance to score. If you can get up two or three [goals], it helps the flow a little bit more and this year we haven’t been able to do that,” Mikey Anderson said. “Things are going really good, but if you let a team hang around, every team can catch fire and get a stretch. They finished their chances, and that’s the way it goes.”

The Kings’ alternation of wins and losses under interim coach D.J. Smith ended on Saturday as they suffered consecutive defeats for the first time since he took the helm on March 1.

Since the Olympic break, the Sabres have won 12 of 13 games, outscoring opponents by more than double, 51-25, and allowing just one goal in their past three games.

Artemi Panarin scored the game’s first goal and the only one for the Kings. Anton Forsberg stopped 29 of 31 shots, with the Sabres getting an own goal and an empty-netter. Adrian Kempe (lower-body injury) played again, picking up an assist, and Joel Armia (upper-body injury) returned to action for the first time in nearly a month.

Tage Thompson tallied and set up a power-play marker by Rasmus Dahlin, with Sam Carrick notching a goal in between and Zach Benson, who added an assist, icing the game late. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 26 saves.

When tied after two periods, the Kings have won just seven of 24 games this season following Saturday’s defeat. Armia said he wasn’t concerned that the Kings were running out of time for a run and, with 13 games left in the campaign, that the Kings could still glean something from those losses.

“That’s something that has happened this season a lot: being in the game and somehow we lost at the last moment. But that’s something we need to learn from and keep moving forward,” said the bronze medalist with Finland.

The contest unraveled for the Kings in the third period after the Sabres took their first lead of the afternoon with 8:48 to play and then scored 59 seconds later on the power play resulting from an unsuccessful challenge from the Kings’ bench.

After Joel Edmundson stepped up to hit Benson, Carrick scooped up the loose puck and glided across the crease for a backhand goal. The one-time Ducks grinder has taken off in Buffalo, scoring five goals in eight games since being traded after notching just four in 60 games with the New York Rangers.

“Big-time play. (Benson) took the hit, controlled the puck a little bit and then allowed Carrick to come in and grab it and take it to the net. He took it to the net with authority,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said.

The Kings’ allegations of a high stick by Benson weren’t substantiated by video evidence, and then it was Dahlin slamming the door with the extra man. He zipped a shot off Forsberg for an initial save, but the rebound hit defenseman Cody Ceci and entered the net.

Benson slathered on an empty-net tally with 2:25 remaining.

“It’s a close call. Obviously, we lose this one, but we thought it was (a high stick), and we obviously thought it was worth the risk. Then a bad bounce right behind it, where a shot goes off one of our guys and goes in the net,” Smith said. “It’s a tough way to lose because I thought, for a lot of the game, we were even or as good as them.”

Through 40 minutes, the Kings and the NHL’s best team since a month into the season were deadlocked, 1-1.

Buffalo regained even footing 4:05 into the second period. Jeff Malott’s defensive-zone turnover keyed a sequence that culminated in a rebound coming to Thompson. He dragged the puck below the goal line and around Forsberg’s right pad before he inserted a goal inside the near post with a gaudy display of hands.

“I just felt like he was challenging me out of his net pretty far, taking the angle down, so I thought I’d tuck it behind him,” Thompson said.

The Kings won the opening faceoff, generated the first scoring chance eight seconds afterwards, drew the first penalty at 9:53 and scored the first goal 55 seconds later.

It was the top line of Anže Kopitar, Kempe and Panarin getting it going on the power play. Brandt Clarke’s keep-in at the blue line went to the wall for Kempe, who drew a defender and slipped the puck to Kopitar. With just a quick peek over his shoulder, he backhanded a deft dish to Panarin, whose one-timer through an Alex Laferriere screen became his 24th goal of 2025-26.

After their 24th loss in 34 home games, the Kings darted off to Salt Lake City for a date with the Utah Mammoth on Sunday.

“We don’t have time to feel sad or anything, you’ve just got to forget about it and move on to the next game,” Armia said.

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