March 9, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets center Charlie Coyle (3) checks on Los Angeles Kings defenseman Brian Dumoulin (2) during the second period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images Adrian Kempe scored his second goal at 2:34 of overtime to give the Los Angeles Kings a 5-4 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday afternoon.
Kempe found space in the left circle and scored with a wrist shot for his team-leading 25th goal of the season.
Brian Dumoulin had a goal and two assists, Artemi Panari and Scott Laughton had a goal and an assist each, and Anton Forsberg made 29 saves for the Kings in the opener of a five-game road trip.
Los Angeles improved to 3-4-0 after the Olympic break.
Conor Garland scored twice, Denton Mateychuk had a goal and an assist, Kirill Marchenko also scored and Jet Greaves made 26 saves for the Blue Jackets, extending their point streak to six points (3-0-3).
Quinton Byfield was called for a double-minor high-stick penalty just three seconds into the game, but the Kings killed both penalties thanks to Forsberg’s seven saves.
The Kings then took a 1-0 lead at 6:46 of the first on a redirect by Laughton, who has scored in both of his games for Los Angeles since being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.
The Kings increased their lead to 2-0 at 14:48.
Panarin received a pass outside the corner and spun on the left hash mark to score. This is his second goal in six games since transferring from the New York Rangers on February 4.
Garland scored his first goal since being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, hitting a puck off Forsberg’s glove from just above the goal line to cut it to 2-1 at 17:35 of the first.
It was Garland’s first goal in 24 games.
The Blue Jackets scored two goals in the first minute and 20 seconds of the second period to take their first lead.
Mateychuk tied the score at 10:53 when a backhand near the sidewall eluded Forsberg and crossed the goal line.
Garland put Columbus ahead 3-2 at 12:13 when he fired the puck into the net after a 2-on-1 rush.
The lead didn’t last long as Kempe tied the game with a rebound at 14:09 of the second period.
Dumoulin put the Kings back up 4-3 at 10:07 of the third, dragging a goal around Garland in the left circle and toeing the net.
The Blue Jackets were on the power play when Marchenko scored on a wrist shot from the right circle to tie the game with 1:56 left in regulation.
–Field level media
