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LOS ANGELES — The Kings were in dire need of a low-scoring affair and a win, and the Calgary Flames obliged on Saturday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena, where the hosts bageled the visitors, 2-0.
They had surrendered 14 goals in two losses since returning from the Olympic break, and against two teams they were chasing in the Pacific Division.
“We’re professional athletes. Nobody wants to lose, and no one wants to lose big like we did the other night,” said Anton Forsberg, who recorded his second shutout of 2025-26 after being part of an 8-1 drubbing by Edmonton on Thursday and a collapse against Vegas on Tuesday.
He added, “Everybody looked at themselves in the mirror. We came in with a better attitude tonight, and we got two points out of it.”
Saturday’s victory was the Kings’ first in six games and their fifth in 15 outings. Calgary had won three of its past four decisions before the loss.
Alex Laferriere lit the lamp for the Kings, and Adrian Kempe tacked on an empty-net goal. Forsberg made 29 of 29 saves.
Until that dying-embers empty-netter, there were more players on the injury list than on the scoresheet for the Kings. Andrei Kuzmenko underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus, taking his status from day-to-day to week-to-week. Also absent were Drew Doughty (lower-body injury), Joel Armia (upper-body injury) and Kevin Fiala (broken leg).
Dustin Wolf, formerly of Hermosa Beach and Tustin, stopped 35 of 36 shots for Calgary.
“We battled really hard. We got some injuries (recently), there was a bunch of guys stepping up and we grinded one out here,” Forsberg said.
With under 100 seconds to play, Wolf went to the bench for the extra attacker as the Flames were in danger of being blanked. Then, as 37.3 seconds showed on the clock, Kempe skated down a wobbly pass from Artemi Panarin and sent the puck from the red line to the vacated cage. Kempe leads the Kings with 22 goals.
“We were fine, but when you’re in close games, you’ve got to find another level,” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said.
Though the Kings earned a higher quantity and quality of chances in the second period, 35:36 came and went without a goal for either participant, until the Kings got on the board. Quinton Byfield was back in the middle, Laferriere returned to the wing opposite Trevor Moore and all three forwards were back in the points column.
Moore hit the post with a shot attempt, recovered the puck and passed to Byfield behind the net. The Flames got caught puck-watching as the biscuit came to an uncontested Laferriere in front for a redirection shot. Moore and then Laferriere followed up on the rebound, which earned No. 14 goal No. 14 for the campaign.
“Sometimes when losses pile up like that, you feel like you can’t get out of (the slump),” Laferriere said. “There’s so many games in the year that you know you’re going to get a win eventually, but it’s just about fighting through and getting that first one.”
The Kings threatened early in the stanza, with Kempe setting up a pair of near-misses for Anže Kopitar on a night where the familiar duo skated with newcomer Panarin.
Panarin, who was immersed five-on-five, didn’t get a shift on the power play — and neither did anyone else.
There were no penalties in the game for either team, marking only the third such game in Kings’ franchise history. The last time that the Kings both drew and took zero penalties in a game was also against Calgary, on April 9, 2014. The last time they did so at home was against one of the toughest teams of the ‘70s, the Boston Bruins, on Feb. 19, 1977.
Additionally, per statistician Blake Warye, this match was just the fourth in the NHL since 1945 with two or fewer combined goals and no penalties.
“That’s really rare,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “Just a clean, well-fought [game], and for a two-nothing game, I thought it was entertaining.”
A scoreless first period restored some normalcy for the Kings, who had given up 13 goals in their previous four frames with their two netminders, Forsberg and Darcy Kuemper, combining for a .739 save percentage. Each squad put 13 shots on goal, with Forsberg and Wolf answering every bell.
“The first period was our poorest, and we needed (Forsberg) in that moment, and I think he needed that, too,” Hiller said.
Next up, the Kings will host the NHL-pacing Colorado Avalanche on Monday.
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