"Sweeping La La Land": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 5: Carolina Hurricanes at Los Angeles Kings

There is only one stop remaining in California for the Carolina Hurricanes, and it is the toughest of the three. With no disrespect to San Jose or Anaheim, this Kings team is the best of the bunch, even if they enter the contest with just a 1-3-1 record, and without their captain and two-way star, Anze Kopitar, and their starting goalie and Vezina finalist, Darcy Kuemper. The Kings were the league's best road team a year ago, though they're looking for their first of the season before heading out on a long road trip. The Canes are just getting to the middle portion of their trip, with three more big games on the other side. They can't look ahead, sending Brandon Bussi out for his second start after an excellent debut in San Jose to open the journey.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (0:12)- Jordan Staal (2) (William Carrier (2) & Jordan Martinook (4))

CAR (3:58)- Jordan Staal (3) (Mike Reilly (2) & Jalen Chatfield (2))

2nd Period

CAR (3:43)- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (1) (K'Andre Miller (1))

LAK (4:35)- Trevor Moore (2) (Phillip Danault (2) & Joel Edmundson (1))

LAK (16:04-PP)- Andrei Kuzmenko (2) (Quinton Byfield (4) & Adrian Kempe (4))

3rd Period

LAK (11:02)- Kevin Fiala (2) (Adrian Kempe (5))

Overtime

CAR (1:45)- Seth Jarvis (6) (Sebastian Aho (6) & K'Andre Miller (2))

My Thoughts

The longer you play in the NHL, the more likely it feels that you're going to make history and reach incredible milestones. Jordan Staal needed just 12 seconds on Saturday to hit a new one, scoring his 300th career goal. With the goal, Staal and his older brother, Eric, became the fourth pair of brothers in NHL history to each reach that goal plateau, joining the Richards (Maurice & Henri), the Hulls (Bobby & Dennis), and the Sutters (Brent & Brian). The captain wasn't done there. He scored another goal about four minutes later, putting him on Hat Trick Watch with 56 minutes left. With two goals in 3:58, Staal recorded the two fastest goals by one player in Hurricanes history, and the 4th-fastest in organization history. 

The Canes had a 3-0 lead early in the third period, but the Kings fought like a desperate team needing a huge win. They tied the game in the third period, ensuring each team would receive one point by sending the game to overtime. That's when Seth Jarvis decided enough was enough, scoring the game-winner to continue the team's perfect start. By scoring the winning goal, Jarvis has the GWG in four of the team's five wins, becoming the first player in NHL history to accomplish this feat. It has been said a million times, but Jarvis and Sebastian Aho have a ton of chemistry in these situations, whether they be short-handed or in OT. Aho is the franchise's leader in overtime points and goals, while Jarvis is starting to make his way up the leaderboard. 

It was another great start for Brandon Bussi, who faced a much tougher team this time than he did during his debut on Tuesday. With a better opponent comes tougher chances to stop, and Bussi was up to the challenge. He finished the night with 25 saves, nine more than he made against the Sharks. Bussi was forced to make a ton of big stops throughout the night. He faced some rotten luck on the two LA goals in the second period, though the third goal is one that he'd like back. Still, the team rallied around him and the big stops that he made to get him this win. The more he plays, the more confidence I have in him.

The team was dealt a tough blow early in the contest with Shayne Gostisbehere exiting with a lower-body injury. He played just four minutes before his injury, forcing the rest of the defensive group to step up in his absence. Chief among them was Sean Walker and K'Andre Miller. In his 400th NHL game, Walker played just over 26 minutes, while Miller led the way at a little over 27:30. The duo was excellent, and have been since being put together in Jaccob Slavin's absence. Along with stellar defensive play, Miller finished the night with a pair of helpers, including the secondary assist on Jarvis's gamr-winner in overtime. We aren't sure about the severity of Gostisbehere's injury right now, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Charles Alexis Legault in the lineup on Monday night in Vegas.

First Star of the Game- K'Andre Miller

I know I just talked about him, but it bear repeating how well K'Andre Miller played on Saturday night. He made a huge play to intercept a pass and spring Jesperi Kotkaniemi for his breakaway goal in the second period, and it was one of several great moments for him throughout the contest. It was his best as a Hurricanes, granted in just his fifth game.

Next Up: The Hurricanes now face three of the top contenders in the Western Conference, beginning with the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night. They'll head to Denver to face several familiar faces on Thursday night before concluding the road trip with a tilt against the Dallas Stars.