LA Kings continue to struggle on home ice this season

The Los Angeles Kings (28-25-16) returned to Los Angeles for the first time in nearly two weeks for a quick two-game homestand on March 19 against the Flyers and concluded on March 21 against the Sabres. 

Artemi Panarin's offensive outburst in the zone can't get the Los Angeles Kings the points needed on the ice and in the standings this regular season in the short two-game homestand this weekend

Against the Flyers, the first period was a defensive battle with both teams clogging the neutral zone.  The lone goal of the period was scored with about 30 seconds left when Quinton Byfield got the Kings on the board with his 14th goal of the season. However, only 26 seconds into the second period, the Flyers got on the board when Travis Konecny got his team-leading 25th goal.

Only 21 seconds later, the Kings took the lead again when Anze Kopitar scored his 11th goal of the season. This was his 1,309th career point, extending his lead as the Kings' all-time leader in points. Five minutes later, Philadelphia tied things up again when Noah Cates scored his 14th goal of the season. Halfway through the same period, the Flyers gained a 3-2 lead when defenseman Travis Sanheim scored his seventh goal of the season.

The period ended with the Flyers holding a 3-2 lead. Philadelphia held onto the lead halfway through the third period. Then, on the revamped power play unit for the Kings, Artemi Panarin tied things up at three-all with his 23rd goal of the season. Regulation ended up in a 3-3 tie, forcing overtime. Both teams had two shots, but neither scored, resulting in a shootout. The Flyers won in the shootout with Trevor Zegras scoring the game-winner. It was a hard-fought game for the Kings, giving them a point in a tight wild-card race in the Western Conference. 

Two days later, in their matinee against Buffalo, forward Joel Armia returned from a 10-game absence due to an upper-body injury. The Kings hoped his return would spark the offense. The Kings struck first with nine minutes remaining in the first period when Artemi Panarin scored his 24th goal, again on the powerplay. In addition to the goal, Kopitar got the primary assist, earning him his 700th career point on home ice. Unfortunately, this was the lone goal for the Kings. 

The Sabres got on the board four minutes into the second period when forward Tage Thompson scored his team-leading 36th goal of the season. The score remained one-all at the end of the period. The Sabres came out strong at the start of the third period when Sam Carrick scored, giving them a one-goal lead. The Kings then challenged the goal, looking for a high-stick call, but lost their challenge. On the ensuing power play, Buffalo then went up 3-1 when defenseman Rasmus Dahlin scored his 15th goal of the season.

The game went from one-all to 3-1 in less than two minutes, putting the Kings on their heels. With time running out, the Kings pulled their goalie to try to generate some offense. The plan backfired when Zach Benson scored an empty-net goal, sealing a 4-1 victory for the Sabres. The loss leaves the Kings one point behind in the wild-card race with 13 games remaining.

The Kings resume action with a three-game road trip beginning March 22 in Salt Lake City against the Mammoth, followed by Calgary on March 24, and wrapping up in Vancouver on March 26.