ST. LOUIS — The Kings got rid of some negative baggage to begin their five-game road trip.
Adrian Kempe scored a power-play goal 1:50 into overtime to lift the Kings to a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night, putting an end to their four-game losing streak.
Kempe’s goal came 14 seconds after Pavel Buchnevich was called for hooking on Quinton Byfield, giving the Kings a four-on-three advantage.
Alex Laferriere also scored and Darcy Kuemper made 17 saves as the Kings ended the four-game skid, which included a pair of overtime losses.
Justin Faulk scored and Jordan Binnington made 26 saves for the Blues, who lost for the third time in four home games this season.
The Kings outshot the Blues 10-5 in a scoreless first period. Phillip Danault had the Kings’ best chance after he found himself all alone in front of the Blues’ net after a Jake Neighbours giveaway, but Binnington made a glove save on his backhander.
Laferriere’s goal gave the Kings a 1-0 lead at the 1:47 mark of the second period. Kempe forced a turnover at the blue line and sprung Laferriere in for a breakaway allowing him to go forehand-backhand into the upper corner.
Blues captain Brayden Schenn tried to give the team a spark with a big hit on Drew Doughty midway through the second and Tyler Tucker dropped the gloves with Jeff Malott a few minutes later, but St. Louis couldn’t build on it and had just three shots on goal in the frame.
The Blues doubled up their shots total from the second in the first three minutes of the frame. Faulk’s power-play goal at the 2:18 mark tied the game at 1-all.
PERRY DEBUTS
Veteran forward Corey Perry made his Kings debut and started his 21st NHL season after knee surgery delayed the start of his season.
The Kings also officially put captain Anze Kopitar on injured reserve after his 20th NHL season was interrupted last week by a foot injury.
Perry signed a one-year contract with the Kings as a free agent this summer, but the 2011 NHL MVP injured his knee while skating before the start of training camp in September. He underwent surgery and managed to return before the team’s initial prognosis of six to eight weeks of recovery time.
Perry spent his first 14 seasons with the rival Ducks before moving on to Dallas, Montreal, Tampa Bay, Chicago and Edmonton. Perry, who has 448 career goals and 487 assists, has played in the Stanley Cup Final in five of the past six seasons, but lost each time.
Kopitar is week to week after getting hit in the foot by a deflected puck during a game against Minnesota earlier this month. The Slovenian forward announced last month that he will retire at the end of the season.
UP NEXT
The Kings continue their road trip at Dallas on Thursday at 6 p.m. PT.