Kings trim Lightning, run home win streak to 9

The Los Angeles Kings continued their mastery of their home ice Saturday as Adrian Kempe's goal with 5:48 left in regulation beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1.

Kempe's team-leading 19th goal extended his point streak to a season-high five games. Mikey Anderson recorded his fifth goal of the season for Los Angeles, which won its fourth consecutive game and its ninth in a row at home.

Darcy Kuemper stopped a season-high 34 shots to win his third straight start and seventh in his last nine.

Victor Hedman scored for Tampa Bay, which lost its third straight. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves for the Lightning.

Kempe rushed off the bench to score the game-winner after Alex Turcotte scrambled after a loose puck in the neutral zone. As Turcotte drew the attention of Lightning defensemen Emil Lilleberg and Nick Perbix, the 23-year-old's drop pass found Kempe alone in the slot. Kempe then beat Vasilevskiy to give Los Angeles its first lead of the night.

The scoring started early, with Hedman putting the Lightning up just 69 seconds into the game. Tampa Bay's captain, who left Thursday's loss at San Jose in the third period after taking a puck to the side of the head, fired one from near the blue line. Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel set up Hedman for his fifth of the season and first since Nov. 16.

Anderson tied it up nearly seven minutes later on a clean shot after Phillip Danault won a faceoff to Vasilevskiy's right.

The Kings' nine-game home winning streak ranks third in franchise history. They face the Calgary Flames at home on Wednesday with a chance to tie the second-longest streak, which ran from Oct. 13 to Nov. 20, 1990.

Earlier Saturday, the Kings activated forwards Trevor Lewis and Trevor Moore from injured reserve. Lewis, who appeared in his 1,000th career game, last played on Nov. 30 as he dealt with a lower-body injury. Moore, 29, had been out three weeks because of an upper-body issue.

--Field Level Media