San Jose Sharks goaltender Georgi Romanov is scored on by Kings right wing Adrian Kempe, left, during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Kings goaltender David Rittich squirts water prior to an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) San Jose Sharks defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin, left, and Kings left wing Warren Foegele vie for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Kings left wing Warren Foegele, left, tries to get a shot past San Jose Sharks goaltender Georgi Romanov during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Kings goaltender David Rittich deflects a shot by San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Kings goaltender David Rittich, right, stops a shot by San Jose Sharks right wing Carl Grundstrom, center, and center Trevor Lewis helps defend during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Kings center Trevor Lewis, below, collides with goaltender David Rittich after Rittich deflected a shot during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) San Jose Sharks left wing William Eklund, left, shoots the puck as Kings goaltender David Rittich deflects it during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Kings left wing Warren Foegele, center, and San Jose Sharks center Noah Gregor battle for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Kings left wing Jeff Malott, left, and San Jose Sharks center Tyler Toffoli battle for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Show Caption1 of 10San Jose Sharks goaltender Georgi Romanov is scored on by Kings right wing Adrian Kempe, left, during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Expand LOS ANGELES — In a battle of weary legs, the Kings kicked considerably harder than the San Jose Sharks, whom they punted at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night, scoring a season-high eight goals while surrendering just one. The Kings were playing their sixth game in nine calendar days, going 4-2-0 despite their treacherous schedule. The Sharks were skating in their third match in four nights, the first of which went to a shootout. The Kings broke a points tie with the idle Edmonton Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division, now carrying a two-point lead heading into a final stretch that has nine games in store for both clubs. They are now 27-4-4 at home, signifying a franchise record for home wins with six home games left on their slate. On home ice, they own the NHL’s highest points percentage, lowest goals-against average, a top-eight penalty kill and even a top-eight offense, thanks to last weekend’s outburst of 14 goals in two games and Sunday’s rampage. “It’s hard, physically and mentally [to play that dense of a schedule], but we have a lot of home games, and we feel confident coming in here,” Adrian Kempe said. San Jose lost for the 15th time in its past 20 games, keeping them two points behind — or ahead of, depending on one’s perspective — the Chicago Blackhawks for the league’s worst record and best draft lottery odds. Those two teams selected first overall in the past two drafts, with Chicago taking Connor Bedard in 2023 and San Jose selecting Macklin Celebrini last year. Kempe and Warren Foegele scored two goals apiece. Andrei Kuzmenko potted one goal and set up two others. Trevor Moore deposited a goal and assisted on one by Phillip Danault. Trevor Lewis tallied. Captain Anže Kopitar dished out three assists. Quinton Byfield, Drew Doughty and Vladislav Gavrikov each contributed two helpers. David Rittich made 22 saves. Cam Lund mustered the solitary goal for San Jose. Georgi Romanov’s fifth NHL appearance saw him cede eight goals on 36 shots. “It’s obviously good to be home. The fans are good, we have good vibes here and it means a lot for us to play here,” Gavrikov said. The Kings dogpiled on two more tallies in the third period during a span of 33 seconds. Lewis scored his fifth goal this season off a long shot with 4:38 on the game clock after Kuzmenko lit the lamp with 5:11 to play, striking off the rush from between the circles for his ninth goal of a campaign split between three different teams. The Kings had already busted the game open in the second stanza, allowing a goal early and then responding with four unanswered tallies. They moved to 29-1-2 when holding a lead through 40 minutes, heading to the dressing room up 6-1 after scoring two goals 35 seconds apart in the final minute (19:03 and 19:38). Kempe’s second marker of the game and 31st of the year came after Kuzmenko bobbed, weaved and then turned a backhand pass through three defenders to Gavrikov, who one-touched the puck off his backhand to Kempe for an authoritative one-timer. “That was pretty cool. It was a great play by (Igor) Larionov and (Sergei) Makarov,” said Kempe, comparing his Russian teammates to the Red Army legends who were two thirds of the vaunted KLM line. “It was a hell of a play by those two guys.” Foegele’s deflection of Mikey Anderson’s shot snuck through Romanov’s five hole to make it 5-1, after Foegele had already scored at the 13:31 mark for Goals No. 21 and 22 as a King, establishing a new single-season high. Brandt Clarke’s struck shot Foegele at the net front, where Foegele alertly pivoted to pounce on the puck and pop it past Romanov for his second power-play goal of the season. “It just seemed like last year [with Edmonton] he started to score some nicer, say, more difficult goals, that required a larger skill set,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “I think we’ve seen that now.” Their third goal came off Kopitar’s second brilliant assist of the night. After a recovery by Kuzmenko, Kopitar made a no-look, between-the-legs pass out of the corner to hit Moore in stride for his 16th goal of 2024-25. San Jose had opened the scoring in the frame, with Lund capitalizing on a fortuitous bounce at 4:52, 19 seconds after his penalty expired. The first period was replete with penalties, four in total, and the Kings took advantage, scoring one man-advantage marker and adding another de facto power-play goal. They scored six seconds after the Sharks’ first penalty was up and again six seconds before their second one expired. They also killed a 1:41 two-man disadvantage between those goals, which came at 5:35 and 15:13. Kempe’s power-play tally gave the Kings a 2-0 lead and his third 30-goal campaign in the past four years. San Jose collapsed around its net but the diligent position of Kuzmenko, the seeing-eye pass of Kopitar and a drive to the net to beat two Sharks by Kempe coalesced on the redirection goal. “Tonight, with some great plays that Kopi made, he always makes those, we’ve just got to put them in the net,” Kempe said. They had gotten on the board after Moore controlled a puck below the goal line and passed it to the net front for Byfield, whose pass across for Danault’s kneeling one-timer became the alternate captain’s eight goal of the season. On deck await the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, who will be without former King Gabe Vilardi (upper-body). Related Articles Kings collapse late in loss to Maple Leafs Kings come home from shutout loss for a weekend double dip Kings come home from shutout loss for a weekend double dip Kings’ 4-game winning streak ends with shutout loss to Avalanche Newcomer Andrei Kuzmenko has ignited Kings’ power play ...read more read less