Adrian Kempe Hat Trick Powers Kings to 7-2 Victory Over Sharks

Adrian Kempe recorded a hat trick and an assist, while Quinton Byfield found the net twice, as the Los Angeles Kings dominated the San Jose Sharks with a 7-2 victory on Wednesday night.

Erik Haula and Joel Armia also scored for Los Angeles, and Darcy Kuemper turned aside 30 shots. Artemi Panarin registered four assists.

The performance marked Kempe’s 37th multi-goal game with the Kings, pushing him past Dustin Brown into sole possession of ninth place on the franchise’s all-time list. Kempe returned to the lineup after sitting out Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres with an undisclosed injury.

Macklin Celebrini and Ivar Stenberg each scored on the power play for San Jose, and Yaroslav Askarov made 20 saves. The Sharks have dropped three straight games. Erik Gustafsson recorded assists on both goals.

Kempe opened the scoring just 1:23 into the first period and added another goal before the first intermission, spotting the Kings a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. He completed his hat trick with a power-play goal with 4:09 remaining in the second period. Los Angeles converted three of its five power-play opportunities.

The contest also marked the NHL debut of San Jose defenseman Eric Pohlkamp, who was recalled from the AHL prior to the game.

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