Washington Capitals vs Los Angeles Kings game recap 2-1 win: Kuemper stones LA as Milano breaks deadlock late

The Washington Capitals vs Los Angeles Kings game recap 2-1 win belongs to Darcy Kuemper first and the scoreboard second. The veteran goalie turned away 38 of 39 shots, including 16 in the third period alone, to steal two points at Crypto.com Arena and snap Washington’s three-game slide. Sonny Milano provided the dagger with 4:12 left in regulation, capping a night that felt closer to a 4-1 loss than a 2-1 victory for the home side.

Washington arrived in Southern California having been out-scored 14-5 during the trip’s first three stops. Head coach Spencer Carbery juggled every line except the top unit, inserted young defenseman Vincent Iorio for his season debut, and challenged the group to “win a period, then worry about the rest.” They ended up winning the only period that mattered, out-shooting Los Angeles 12-6 in the final frame after being dominated for 40 minutes.

Washington Capitals vs Los Angeles Kings game recap 2-1 win: first-period chess match ends scoreless

Both clubs spent the opening 20 minutes feeling each other out, combining for just 13 shots and a single power-play. The Kings’ top line of Kopitar-Kempe-Fiala tilted the ice early, but Kuemper calmly swallowed a one-timer from the dot off Adrian Kempe’s stick and later flashed a glove on a Kevin Fiala back-door attempt. Washington’s best look came shorthanded when Tom Wilson sprung Dylan Strome for a partial break, only to see Cam Talbot sprawl left and deny the back-hand deke.

The period’s biggest storyline was the Capitals’ restructured third pair. Iorio, paired with Trevor van Riemsdyk, logged 4:17 at five-on-five and didn’t look overwhelmed. “We told Vinny to keep it simple—rim, reverse, up,” Carbery said post-game. “For a kid who flew coach at 5 a.m. from Hershey, that was rock-solid.”

Washington Capitals vs Los Angeles Kings game recap 2-1 win: Kings strike first on extended pressure

Los Angeles broke through at 7:44 of the second after an extended O-zone shift. Defenseman Mikey Anderson kept the puck in at the right point, walked the blue line and fired a wrister that deflected off Cap center Nic Dowd’s stick. Trevor Moore, parked at the top of the crease, whacked the rebound between Kuemper’s pads for his 12th of the season. The goal was a just reward for a stretch that saw the Kings out-attempt Washington 18-3; the Capitals looked stuck in a neutral-zone trap they never intended to play.

Washington finally responded with 5:30 left in the middle frame. A harmless-looking point shot from Martin Fehérváry created a rebound that Talbot couldn’t smother. Beck Malenstyn, elevated to the third line in place of the injured Anthony Mantha, pounced on the loose puck and roofed a fore-hand top shelf for his second career NHL goal. The 25-year-old winger celebrated with the restrained enthusiasm of a player who spent most of last year in the AHL. “I blacked out a little,” Malenstyn admitted. “Good blackout, though.”

Washington Capitals vs Los Angeles Kings game recap 2-1 win: Milano late show and Kuemper’s masterpiece

The third period was a shooting gallery—one way. Los Angeles came in waves: 7-0 in shots before the eight-minute mark, 12-1 before Milano’s winner. Kuemper’s sequence at 9:18 will live on highlight reels for weeks. He slid post-to-post to rob Phillip Danault on a one-timer, recovered to stop Viktor Arvidsson on the rebound, then absorbed a Anze Kopitar slap shot through traffic while swimming on his stomach. The sequence drew a standing ovation from the Kings crowd and a stick tap from every Capital on the ice.

With overtime looming, Washington’s fourth line manufactured the winner. Nic Dowd won a defensive-zone draw, allowing defenseman Rasmus Sandin to glide the puck up the left wall. Milano picked it up at center, curled back inside the red line, and used van Riemsdyk as a decoy before snapping a low far-side shot that beat Talbot inside the right post. The winger’s 10th of the season silenced 18,230 fans and sent the Capitals bench into a cathartic dog-pile.

Washington Capitals vs Los Angeles Kings game recap 2-1 win: what the numbers say

• Shot attempts: Kings 71, Capitals 44
• High-danger chances: Kings 12, Capitals 6
• Expected goals (Natural Stat Trick): 3.46–1.87 Kings
• Power plays: Capitals 0/2, Kings 0/3
• Face-offs: Kings 58 %, Capitals 42 %

Translation: Washington was out-played territorially but finished the two chances that mattered. Kuemper’s 38-save gem improved his season mark to 11-7-3 with a .918 save percentage, numbers that look even sturdier when you consider the 32-odd grade-A looks he faced.

Washington Capitals vs Los Angeles Kings game recap 2-1 win: player snapshots

Darcy Kuemper – 10/10
Stood on his head, his glove hands, and at one point his left pad while parallel to the ice. Post-game he credited goalie coach Mitch Korn for “reminding me to stay patient on cross-ice passes.”

Sonny Milano – 9/10
Only 12:19 of ice time, but the winner plus two takeaways. Milano is now on pace for 22 goals, comfortably a career high.

Trevor Moore – 8/10
Opened scoring, rang a post later, and logged 19:51. Moore has eight points in his last nine games and continues to drive play from the wing.

Beck Malenstyn – 8/10
Tied the game, threw four hits, and killed 2:28 of shorthanded time. His emergence could allow Washington to be patient with Mantha’s return.

Washington Capitals vs Los Angeles Kings game recap 2-1 win: what it means for both clubs

The victory lifts Washington to 20-15-6, two points ahead of Detroit for the final wild-card spot in the East. More importantly, it ends a spiral that saw the Caps allow five goals in three straight contests. Carbery called the result “a reset point,” noting that the team charter landed in San Jose early Monday with “a little more jump in everyone’s step.”

For Los Angeles, the loss halts a 7-1-1 heater and exposes the same flaw that has haunted them for years: finishing against elite goaltending. Coach Todd McLellan praised his group’s “process” but admitted “we probably made Kuemper look like a Vezina candidate tonight.” The Kings remain second in the Pacific at 25-12-6, yet their playoff path will require solving tight-checking games like this one.

Washington now heads to northern California for a Tuesday date with the Sharks, while the Kings host Vegas on Thursday in a battle of top-three Pacific heavyweights. If the Capitals can bottle Kuemper’s resilience and Milano’s timely touch, the second half of their season might look less like a slog and more like a springboard.