LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alexander Kerfoot and Logan Cooley scored two goals each, Mikhail Sergachev tied a franchise single-game record with four assists, and the Utah Mammoth beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-2 on Saturday night.
Nick Schmaltz and Jack McBain also scored, Karel Vejmelka made 29 saves, as the Mammoth avoided a second losing streak of at least three games in March.
Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe scored for the Kings, who have won one of their last six games. Darcy Kuemper allowed five goals on 16 shots before being replaced by Anton Forsberg to start the third period. Forsberg made 11 saves in relief.
The Mammoth continued their charge toward a playoff berth when Kerfoot opened the scoring 2:31 into the game, followed by two goals from Cooley late in the first period. Cooley struck on the power play to pick up his second with less than nine seconds remaining, canceling out any momentum Los Angeles had when Kopitar got them on the board two minutes earlier.
Utah is now five points ahead of Nashville for the first wild-card berth in the Western Conference, which would put them against the Pacific Division in the postseason and away from the Central Division powerhouse trio of Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota.
The Kings started a critical seven-game homestand with a chance to move into the second wild-card spot ahead of the Predators — a team they face twice next week — but instead face planted with a dismal showing.
Special teams was particularly dire for Los Angeles, giving up two goals on the penalty kill plus an even-strength tally to Kerfoot shortly after its own power play expired midway through the second period.
Mammoth: Visit Seattle on Thursday night.
Kings: Host St. Louis on Wednesday night.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Planning your dream wedding? Discover everything you need at the Wedding Fair in the Park – … Read moreWedding Fair in the Park
“Side-splittingly funny and brilliantly chaotic” Read moreThe Play That Goes Wrong
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.