ELMONT, N.Y. — The Kings’ offense had been starving, nibbling at only four goals in four games, but in back-to-back road wins, they filled up on bread.
“The Bread Man,” Artemi Panarin, scored two goals in the first period of a 3-2 overtime win against the New York Islanders on Thursday night at UBS Arena.
Two days earlier, he turned in a three-point display against the Washington Capitals. His totals reached three goals and five points in two outings before Brandt Clarke rifled in the overtime winner.
These consecutive victories were the Kings’ first pair of wins this season after six straight losses to begin their campaign and 12 in a row dating to the end of last season.
“The puck almost follows him around the ice. With superstars that’s what happens, and that’s what he is. It’s fun to watch,” Clarke said of Panarin. “His passes, you’ve got to be ready at all times, because it seems like there’s nothing there, but he still sees a lane and he’ll put it on your tape.”
Panarin scored twice and has deposited at least one goal in each of the Kings’ five away games this season, with all six of his goals coming on the road. Darcy Kuemper was the other mastermind of this heist of two points, stopping 41 shots on a night that saw his cohorts outshot handily. Clarke added an assist, and Kuemper picked one up on his OT winner.
Victor Eklund and Matthew Schaefer lit the lamp for the hosts, who extended their points streak to five games (3-0-2). Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves.
“We didn’t play our best in the first two periods. Thanks to our goalie, his positioning was unbelievable tonight,” Panarin said. “It was a pretty good game in the third period, and then we finished the job with an unbelievable goal by Clarkie.”
That strike came just past the midpoint of overtime – in the extra session, the Kings flipped the script, out-possessing the puck-hungry Islanders – when Clarke got the puck back from Adrian Kempe and delivered a snipe that barged its way under the crossbar.
“It was a team effort,” Clarke said. “We possessed the puck, tired some guys out, forced them to make a [line] change they probably didn’t want to make, and then we came down on the rush and it ended up with me with a good look at the net.”
Early in the third period, a heady stretch pass from Drew Doughty sprung Erik Haula for a sterling bid that was negated by Sorokin’s pad. That proved pivotal when the Islanders leveled the score at the 7:06 mark.
Schaefer received the puck just above the right faceoff dot, zooming forward to zip an equalizer inside the far post. He tied Bobby Orr for the second most goals by a teenage defenseman in NHL history (Kings associate coach Phil Housley holds that record).
“It’s crazy to have your name next to his, with so many great things he’s done. It’s an honor,” Schaefer said.
In the second period, the Kings’ best chance came off a penalty shot for Kempe. The crowd vehemently disagreed with the call against Schaefer, and whether it was a case of poetic justice or just a nice save by Sorokin, Kempe failed to convert. Isles coach Peter DeBoer said it would have been “game over” if Kempe had capitalized.
Instead it was the Islanders getting on the board as their power play crept toward its conclusion. Eklund’s one-timer gave him his second goal in two games, which were his first two of 2026-27.
“We weathered the storm. We had some good looks. Darcy played incredibly, so shout-out to him,” Clarke said. “Sometimes you’ve got to scrap a couple out, and that’s what we did tonight.”
Though the Islanders dominated play between them, two goals by Panarin at 5:51 and 16:37 gave the Kings a 2-0 lead through 20 minutes.
They killed the game’s first penalty and 61 seconds later, Panarin got them rolling.
He touched the puck at the blue line and skittered through the right circle, selling a pass that had Schaefer kneeling to deny anything coming across the ice. Instead, Panarin zapped a laser that beat a well-positioned Sorokin above his glove and below the bar.
“I faked it like I was going to pass, then I just picked the spot and it worked for me,” Panarin said.
Between his goals, the Kings were outshot 12-1, with Kuemper battling hard to generate momentum for another marker from Panarin, this one unassisted.
The Kings threatened multiple times on the play after Panarin reversed the puck for Joel Edmundson, whose second seam pass for Alex Laferriere was disrupted in the slot. Panarin followed up with one attempt, which was blocked, and then scored to the far side.
Samuel Helenius threw down with Logan Stanley in a period during which Panarin and Kuemper resplended for the visitors.
The Kings will be off until Saturday, when they’ll visit the New Jersey Devils, giving them a full day to savor a couple of victories after stumbling out of the starting blocks.
So, how happy are they with the “W’s?”
“It’s a little dangerous before a day off in New York,” said Panarin, a former Ranger, as he flashed a mischievous grin.
UP NEXT
The Kings visit the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PT in the third stop of their five-game trip.