Panarin leads LA Kings past Islanders 5-3 for their 1st victory under interim coach D.J. Smith

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Los Angeles Kings center Samuel Helenius, right, celebrates his goal with left wing Jeff Malott during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Kings left wing Trevor Moore, right, tries to get a shot past New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) — Los Angeles Kings center Samuel Helenius, right, celebrates his goal with left wing Jeff Malott during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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11:27 PM on Thursday, March 5

By GREG BEACHAM

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Artemi Panarin scored his first goal in a Kings uniform, and Los Angeles beat the New York Islanders 5-3 on Thursday night for the club's first victory under interim head coach D.J. Smith.

Panarin, Mikey Anderson and Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist apiece for the Kings, and Darcy Kuemper made 31 saves. Samuel Helenius and Alex Laferriere also scored in just Los Angeles' second victory since January.

Kings captain Anze Kopitar had an assist while playing his 1,500th game, becoming the 25th player in NHL history to hit the mark. The Slovenian center, who is retiring this spring after 20 seasons in Los Angeles, is just five points away from passing Marcel Dionne to become the Kings’ career scoring leader.

Bo Horvat scored an improbable goal off a faceoff taken with a second left in the second period for the Islanders, but it didn't prevent a second straight blowout loss for New York in Southern California.

Adam Pelech scored the second short-handed goal of his 11-year career and Ilya Sorokin stopped 30 shots for the Isles, who had won five straight before losing to Anaheim and Los Angeles by a combined 10-4 over the past two nights.

Emil Heineman scored with 1:59 to play while Sorokin was pulled for the final 8 1/2 minutes of the third period.

Smith replaced Jim Hiller on Sunday after the Kings’ slump took them out of playoff position. Los Angeles played decently in his debut while losing to NHL-leading Colorado on Monday.

Panarin had three assists in his first four games with the Kings, who acquired the Russian star from the Rangers and signed him to a $22 million contract extension a month ago.

Panarin finally got his first Kings goal 3:17 after the opening faceoff when Kopitar found him utterly unmarked 10 feet from Sorokin. He also secured his 10th career 20-goal season.

Down 3-0, the Islanders finally scored on an unbelievable play: With one second showing on the clock, Jean-Gabriel Pageau won a faceoff straight to Horvat, who whipped a perfect one-timer past Kuemper's pad for his 26th goal.

Up next

Islanders: At San Jose on Saturday.

Kings: Host Montreal on Saturday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL