Kings center Samuel Helenius celebrates with teammates after scoring his first NHL goal during the third period of their game against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, left, controls the puck away from Kings center Akil Thomas during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Kings winger Warren Foegele, right, controls the puck away from Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk, right, controls the puck away from Kings winger Warren Foegele during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Kings head coach Jim Hiller, top right, reacts during the first period of their game, against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett controls the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Kings, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice, top center, reacts during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Kings, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper stops a shot during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Florida Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis, right, controls the puck away from Kings winger Tanner Jeannot during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Kings center Alex Turcotte, right, controls the puck away from Florida Panthers winger A.J. Greer during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov controls the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Kings, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt, left, and Kings winger Tanner Jeannot battle over the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Kings, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring during the second period of a game against the Kings, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Kings defenseman Jacob Moverare attempts to score during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Florida Panthers center Jesper Boqvist, left, passes the puck away from Kings center Phillip Danault during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Kings winger Trevor Moore, left, and Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling race against each other to reach the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Kings center Samuel Helenius celebrates with teammates after scoring his first NHL goal during the third period of their game against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Kings center Samuel Helenius celebrates with teammates after scoring his first NHL goal during the third period of their game against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Kings defenseman Joel Edmundson, left, and Florida Panthers winger Mackie Samoskevich battle for the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Kings defenseman Jordan Spence, center, and Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper, right, defend against Florida Panthers winger A.J. Greer during the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, left, controls the puck away from Kings center Akil Thomas during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) From left, Kings winger Adrian Kempe celebrates with teammates Anze Kopitar, Kevin Fiala (obstructed) and Jacob Moverare after scoring a go-ahead goal during the third period of their game against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. The Kings held on to win, 2-1. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Kings winger Adrian Kempe celebrates with teammates after scoring during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Kings winger Adrian Kempe celebrates with teammates after scoring during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart, left, controls the puck as Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov heads toward him during the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Kings center Samuel Helenius, center, celebrates with teammates after their 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Kings defenseman Joel Edmundson, center, celebrates with teammates after their 2-1 comeback win against the Florida Panthers at the end of the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Show Caption1 of 28Kings center Samuel Helenius celebrates with teammates after scoring his first NHL goal during the third period of their game against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) Expand LOS ANGELES — The Kings gutted out their 10th victory in their last 11 home games, 2-1, over the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. That should send them off on their upcoming five-game road trip with a glide in their stride, albeit not with an abundance of offensive confidence. Though they remained tied for the fewest goals of any team in 2025 (they have scored two goals or fewer in seven of their nine games), the Kings have also tied for the fewest goals against, allowing them to stay above .500 since the calendar turned at 5-4-0. The Kings worked their third-period magic, converting a one-goal deficit into a one-goal victory in the final 20 minutes to move to 6-3-0 when tied or trailing at the second intermission at home. They have lost just four times on home ice this season overall, two fewer losses than any other team. Samuel Helenius scored his first NHL goal before Adrian Kempe added a tally to his team-leading total. Darcy Kuemper was stalwart, stopping 27 shots. Evan Rodrigues scored the Panthers’ only goal. Spencer Knight made 26 saves. “Both teams deserve some credit. They both defend first. There’s no cheating in either team’s game. They both play a good brand of playoff hockey in the regular season,” said Florida coach Paul Maurice, whose team fell to 18-2-0 when leading after two periods. “There’s some skill there and some plays to be made, but not a lot. It wasn’t a lack of effort by either team. Both teams defend hard.” With 6:48 to play, the Kings took their first lead of the night before protecting it effectively. After losing control of a faceoff in the Florida zone, they recovered the puck on the forecheck and went to work. Brandt Clarke provided a rare game-breaking secondary assist, walking across the blue line and creeping all the way down below one faceoff circle before throwing a diagonal pass above the opposite circle. There, Kevin Fiala hammered a kneeling one-timer for Kempe to deflect past Knight for his team-topping 24th goal. “(Clarke) made the big play. That was a big-time play by (Clarke) and it was nice to see,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “It’s been a while since he’s had one of those ones where he had the puck and you wondered what he was going to do, and he delivered.” With the Kings’ goal drought lingering over their heads, they spoke the language of Hometown Buffet: meat, potatoes and grease. At the 6:41 mark, they made good on their rhetoric, knotting the score with a workmanlike marker. Spence’s attempt from the point struck both Kings winger Tanner Jeannot and Florida defenseman Uvis Balinskis. From a prone position on the ice, Jeannot recovered to stab at the puck, creating a rebound that Helenius backhanded home for his first career goal. The entire bench and four skaters on the ice all shared Helenius’ ebullience. “It feels so good. Everyone’s excited, and myself, too. It’s so nice,” Helenius said. In the second period, Florida carried some momentum from late in the first, earning the game’s first lead despite having played a night earlier, winning 5-2 on Tuesday at Honda Center to take a second straight game from the Ducks. They had also won five of six tail ends of back-to-back sets before Wednesday’s loss. “We put our foot on the gas, and I thought we were a pretty good team in that second period,” Maurice said. Maurice’s team will now have two days off before another pair of consecutive games, something he had never experienced in a head coaching career that began in the 1995-96 season. “We’ve been afforded the opportunity to play a highly unique schedule this year,” Maurice said. “We like the opportunity to stretch ourselves and learn and grow.” The Panthers got a goal from their second power-play unit at 7:27. Phillip Danault’s hooking minor turned into a deficit 1:36 later. Anton Lundell, who drew the penalty, collected a wide shot attempt and casually slipped a no-look pass off his backhand and through the goal crease for Rodrigues. Rodrigues nudged the puck into a gaping aperture for his second goal in as many nights and his third in four games. “I got the puck from the end boards and I was able to see that (Rodrigues) was at the back post before I got it, and I touched it to him,” Lundell said. Related Articles Los Angeles Kings | Kings must ‘wake up’ versus defending champion Panthers Los Angeles Kings | Kings’ 9-game home win streak snapped by Penguins Los Angeles Kings | Kings return from long trip to face Sidney Crosby and the Penguins Los Angeles Kings | Kings can’t stop Jaden Schwartz’s hat trick, fall to Kraken Los Angeles Kings | Kings look to wrap up road trip on high note in Seattle The Kings’ best opportunities behind the defense were foiled by a lack of footspeed from Anže Kopitar and Trevor Lewis. They nearly equalized, but Kopitar also failed to finish a play that nearly passed the puck into the net, originating with Fiala and Spence and generating what could have been an uncontested tap-in for the Kings captain. The first period came and went without a goal, despite three power plays. Florida nearly scored 15 seconds into its opportunity but a quick whistle for a freeze denied Aleksander Barkov. Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, both top-line players for Florida, each had stick infractions in the first period. After Barkov’s penalty, the Kings looked lively and creative on an unsuccessful power play, only to get a pair of five-on-five goals from hard work and shots from the doorstep in the final frame. “It was like a playoff game out there, and I think in the playoffs there aren’t too many nice plays to be made,” Fiala said. “Today, it was a tight game, they were on top of us everywhere. We wanted to simplify things, and we got the job done.”