Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) celebrates with goaltender David Rittich (31) after they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) Carolina Hurricanes left wing Jordan Martinook (48) shoots against Kings right wing Alex L aferriere (14) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) Carolina Hurricanes right wing Jackson Blake (53) controls the puck while under pressure from Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov (84) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) Carolina Hurricanes right wing Jackson Blake (53) takes a shot with Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov (84) defending during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) Carolina Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi (82) controls the puck against Kings right wing Adrian Kempe (9) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) Carolina Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven (22) controls the puck with Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke (92) in pursuit during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho (20) controls the puck past Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson (44) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) Kings center Phillip Danault (24) controls the puck with pressure from Carolina Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven (22) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) Kings goaltender David Rittich, right, reacts after his team defeated the Carolina Hurricanes during an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) Kings center Phillip Danault (24) controls the puck while under pressure from Carolina Hurricanes left wing Taylor Hall (71) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) Show Caption1 of 10Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) celebrates with goaltender David Rittich (31) after they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) Expand LOS ANGELES — In a successful stint defined by squeakers, the Kings added a blowout of the NHL’s hottest team to stretch their string to seven victories in eight games, smoking the Carolina Hurricanes 7-2 on Saturday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena. Captain Anže Kopitar, newcomer Andrei Kuzmenko, grinder Tanner Jeannot, aspiring star Quinton Byfield and creative force Kevin Fiala each contributed a goal and an assist, with Drew Doughty’s pair of helpers also putting him in the multipoint performance club. Adrian Kempe and Trevor Moore also lit the lamp. David Rittich won his second straight decision, stopping 34 shots. Seven goals tied a single-game season high and all 12 Kings forwards recorded at least one point. “Everyone put in the work, and everyone got rewarded,” Jeannot said. Dmitry Orlov and Mark Jankowski scored a goal apiece for Carolina. Pyotr Kochetkov struggled between the pipes, making 18 of 25 saves. The Hurricanes, who lost both clashes with the Kings this season, had an NHL-best winning streak of eight games before being knocked to the canvas by the Kings, who are now 10-0-3 in their past 13 home games. The triumph moved the Kings into a points tie with Edmonton for second place in the Pacific ahead of the Oilers’ meeting with the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night, one in which they’d be missing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl due to injury. Although the Kings didn’t have any possession advantages in the first period, they got the game’s first goal, earned its first power play to add a man-advantage marker and then tacked on a third tally to accumulate a 3-0 lead at the first intermission. They’d cash in three more times in the middle frame, trampling Carolina almost effortlessly at points. In all, they found the nylon with six of their first 11 shots. “The first two periods, I didn’t even mind, I mean, honestly, it’s crazy to say in a 6-1 game,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Sometimes it happens, they made some nice plays and they made some great shots … and the game got out of hand.” Kempe opened the floodgates 3:03 after the puck dropped with a spectacular individual effort for his team-topping 29th goal. After Jeannot and Samuel Helenius won a board battle, the puck came to Kempe at the red line. He surged forward against two defenders, isolating Brent Burns in the right circle, where Kempe’s toe-drag move into a far-side snipe got the stone rolling for the hosts. And roll on it did, when Kuzmenko recorded his first point and first power-play point as a King off a brilliant tic-tac-toe play with Doughty to set up Kopitar’s 17th tally at 14:39. Then, the trade-deadline acquisition scored his first goal as a King with five seconds left in the stanza via a snapshot that capped a counterattack. “(Kuzmenko) had been close, and it sounds good, [when] the coach tells you ‘good job,’” Hiller said. “But it’s sure a heck of a lot better to actually score one, get an assist and actually get on the board. Hopefully, it’s a springboard for not only him but that line.” The hectoring continued on the scoreboard despite the Hurricanes earning some 70% of the expected goals through 40 minutes, per Natural Stat Trick. The Kings, however, put three more tangible tallies behind Kochetkov in the second period, while allowing a goal as well. Moore struck at the 5:58 mark, Jeannot made it 5-0 just 51 seconds later and Byfield slathered on a sixth goal at 8:41. Phillip Danault pulled up to find Moore trailing the play, allowing the Thousand Oaks native to skate between the circles and tuck a shot under the bar to the stick side for his 15th goal of 2024-25. Nine of those have come since Feb. 1. “[Off the] bar and in, we’re seeing that pretty often from (Moore), and maybe he’s getting a little confidence with it,” Hiller said. “(Kempe’s) was a great shot, Kuzmenko’s was a great shot, so I think it was the quality of the shots more than the breakdowns, necessarily, for Carolina.” Jeannot first had a Doughty shot attempt glance off his leg and bounce right to Alex Turcotte, who fed the puck back to Jeannot for a one-timer, his sixth goal as a King. Fiala took the puck away in the neutral zone and set up Byfield’s initial shot, and then Fiala recovered the puck anew before decisively dishing to Byfield at the back post for an uncontested redirection, his 18th goal of the campaign. Orlov slapped a one-timer from the blue line to claw one back for Carolina with 5:43 left in the frame, breaking up Rittich’s shutout. The third period had a running-clock feel to it until the two sides exchanged goals in just eight seconds. Fiala scored a goal, his 26th, trailing the rush with 1:57 to play before Jankowski responded immediately for Carolina. For the ‘Canes, standout forward Seth Jarvis took a nasty spill into the boards and left what was already an academic game. Though he did not return, Brind’Amour intimated that Jarvis escaped serious injury, saying “he looks, actually, all right.” Both clubs were promptly looking ahead to another game Sunday. Carolina will be at Honda Center to take on the Ducks on Sunday evening, while the Kings will be rolling out the black and silver carpet for the Boston Bruins at Crypto.com Arena. 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