Kings Hit New Low In Blowout Loss To Mammoth
After beginning their crucial seven-game homestand tonight against the Utah Mammoth (38-30-6), the Los Angeles Kings (29-25-18) were very disappointing as they were run out of their building by the road team on Saturday, 6-2.
Utah jumped out to a fast start in the first period, holding a commanding 2-0 lead, before the Kings scored their first goal of the game to cut the deficit to one. Center Logan Cooley led the Mammoth to a big start, scoring a pair of goals plus a power play goal to give Utah a 3-1 lead to end the first period.
Final from Los Angeles. #GoKingsGopic.twitter.com/DI4vEr8v6l
— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 29, 2026
LA was still in it, but played a terrible first period and followed that up with an even worse second period, giving up two goals, trailing 5-1 after 40 minutes on ice. The Mammoth set the tone with its shotmaking and speed from the start to take this game from the Kings.
The result was that nothing was going right for LA. It was one of those games where they couldn't get anything going, and Utah was bullying them for much of the night.
Utah opened the game scoring a pair of goals, led by Logan Cooley and Alexander Kerfoot, who both ended the night with two goals, driving Utah's offense in the dominant win.
However, Los Angeles responded just over a minute later with Anze Kopitar redirecting the shot from Adrian Kempe to put it through the net. The crowd erupted, and new life entered the ice, looking like the Kings would build on that momentum.
LAK Goal - Kop-i-tip!
— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) March 29, 2026
Kings stop the bleeding with a massive goal by the captain. Kempe shot, Kopitar redirect, 2-1.
But the road team responded again, with Cooley scoring his second goal in the period after a magnificent play to score the goal while falling down, to put Utah back up by two.
It was the first time in almost a week that Los Angeles allowed multiple goals in the first period, and it was also against the Mammoth on March 22, when they lost 4-3 in overtime.
Neither team could score early in the second period until Utah scored two goals in a span of four minutes at the 3:43 minute mark to take a 5-1 lead, led by Kerfoot scoring his second goal of the game after a failed defensive read by Drew Doughty.
LA was very bad in this period, despite outshooting the visiting team 8-4; they were being outplayed by miles in this game. The defense and goaltending were so bad that Darcy Kuemper was benched for Anton Forsberg to begin the third period.
The Kings did not know how to defend Utah's fast-break rushes or the power play, which the Mammoth finished 2/3 on, while Los Angeles was 0/2.
Adrian Kempe scored five minutes into the final period to give Los Angeles some momentum, finishing with a multi-point game. Clearly, he was the biggest bright side for the Kings, but it wasn't enough to stage a comeback after going down big early on.
LAK Goal - Kempe on the board 4:34 into the third period. Center point, through traffic, multi-point game for him. Kings within 5-2.
— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) March 29, 2026
Utah closed the night by securing an empty-net goal to take an impressive road win, 6-2. With the loss, the Kings now lose the tiebreaker over the Mammoth, having lost twice in their three meetings this season.
Aside from Kopitar and Kempe, who scored the only two goals for Los Angeles, no other Kings were much of a factor offensively. With the defense already being an issue, the offensive struggles made it difficult for the team to stay in this game.
The Mammoth blew the game on the backs of their Cooley and Kerfoot, who combined for four goals and four points, to run the Kings off their home ice.
Key Stats
Kempe had a very good game, recording two points and one goal, while Kopitar notched one goal. The only good news for Los Angeles is that both Nashville and Seattle lost today, so the Kings still have a point lead over the Kraken and are one point behind the Predators for the final playoff spot.
The Kings' next matchup will be against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday at 6:00 PM PT.
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