Adrian Kempe’s Two Goals Lead the Kings to a Much-Needed Victory
TAMPA, Fla. — Adrian Kempe netted two goals in the second period, leading the Kings to a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
Goaltender Anton Forsberg made 31 saves, helping the Kings break a four-game winless streak (0-2-2) and achieve their third victory in the last nine games (3-4-2).
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored the lone goal for the Lightning, while Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded 18 saves. Tampa Bay now finds itself in a slump, having lost three consecutive games (0-2-1) and seven of its last nine (2-6-1).
Despite outshooting the Kings 13-3 in the third period, the Lightning were unable to find the back of the net again, as Forsberg stood firm in goal.
Bjorkstrand opened the scoring with a power-play goal, finding the rebound and pushing it through Forsberg’s pads with 7:06 left in the first period.
Kempe responded for the Kings with two goals just 10½ minutes apart in the second. He tied the game at 5:21 with a shot from between the circles that beat Vasilevskiy. Later, with 4:02 remaining in the period, Kempe scored again on a breakaway, executing a backhand shot from the right side for his team-leading 13th goal of the season, securing a 2-1 lead.
