LOS ANGELES — The Kings gutted out their 10th victory in their last 11 home games, 2-1, over the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night, sending them off on their five-game road trip with a glide in their stride, though perhaps not an abundance of offensive confidence.

Though they still have the fewest goals of any team in 2025, the Kings have also tied for the fewest goals against, allowing them to stay above .500, 5-4-0, since the calendar turned.

The Kings worked some third-period magic, converting a one-goal deficit into a one-goal victory in the final 20 minutes. They have lost just four times on home ice this season, two fewer than any other team.

Samuel Helenius scored his first NHL goal before Adrian Kempe added the go-ahead goal to his team-leading total. Darcy Kuemper was a stalwart in goal, stopping 26 shots.

Evan Rodrigues scored the Panthers’ solitary goal. Spencer Knight made 28 saves.

With 6:48 to play, the Kings took their first lead of the night before protecting it effectively.

After losing control of a faceoff in the Florida zone, the Kings recovered the puck on the forecheck and went to work. Brandt Clarke provided a rare game-breaking secondary assist, walking the blue line and creeping all the way down below one faceoff circle before throwing a diagonal pass above the opposite circle, where Kevin Fiala hammered a kneeling one-timer for Kempe to deflect past Knight for his team-topping 24th goal.

With the Kings’ goal drought lingering over their heads, they spoke the language of Hometown Buffet: meat, potatoes and grease. At the 6:41 mark, they made good on their rhetoric, knotting the score with workmanlike marker. Spence’s attempt from the point struck both Kings winger Tanner Jeannot and Florida defenseman Uvis Balinskis. From a prone position on the ice, Jeannot recovered to stab at the puck, creating a rebound that Helenius backhanded home for his first career goal.

In the second period, Florida carried some momentum from late in the first and got a goal from its second power-play unit at 7:27.