LOS ANGELES -- Dressed in royal purple and gold, Adrian Kempe put on a royal display of his own.
The 30-year-old forward collected his fifth career hat trick on Wednesday night, powering the Los Angeles Kings to a 7-2 rout of the division-rival San Jose Sharks before a raucous crowd at Crypto.com Arena.
"It was a big game for us," Kempe said. "I think everyone came out and responded well."
On an evening where Los Angeles debuted the club's "Hometown Remix" uniforms — featuring royal purple, gold, and black accents — Kempe recorded his first three-goal game since the 2022-23 campaign.
"It's amazing," Kings forward Quinton Byfield said. "When he's going, he's one of the best players in the league, and to have him on our team, it's so exciting to watch. Just being on the same power play, seeing the moves he makes, it's awesome."
With his power-play strike in the middle frame, Kempe notched his 37th career multi-goal game, passing Dustin Brown for ninth on the franchise's all-time list.
"He's played so well and I feel like he hasn't really been rewarded," Kings head coach Peter Laviolette said. "I think he's playing strong, he's getting chances and looks, and the line's been good. It's nice to see his contributions pay off on the scoreboard."
Following a brief one-game absence, Kempe sparked the offense right out of the gate in his return to the lineup, putting LA in front less than 90 seconds after puck drop with his fourth goal of the season. Artemi Panarin sprung Kempe on a breakaway with a pinpoint pass out of the defensive zone, allowing Kempe to walk in one-on-one and beat Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov from close range.
"If you go up 1-0, it gives you a completely different feel," Laviolette said. "You come with the intentions of what you want to do for the night, and to get a goal early builds that confidence throughout the group so you can let it ride from there."
Los Angeles doubled its advantage courtesy of a Swede-to-Swede connection. Defenseman Erik Gustafsson notched his third assist of the season, threading a seam pass to Kempe, who blasted a one-timer past Askarov from the bottom of the right circle to make it 2-0 with 3:51 remaining in the opening period.
Los Angeles Kings celebrate a goal during an NHL hockey match against the San Jose Sharks on November 4th, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
John Panganiban-The Sporting Tribune
Los Angeles Kings celebrate a goal during an NHL hockey match against the San Jose Sharks on November 4th, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
After collecting an assist on Byfield's tally earlier in the game, Kempe brought the home crowd to its feet — raining hats onto the ice — when he wired another one-timer past Askarov to extend the lead to 5-1 and hand San Jose its third consecutive defeat.
"It felt good," Kempe said of earning a hat trick on home ice. "A confidence booster for sure."
While the night belonged to Kempe, forward Kenny Connors tallied his first career NHL point in his season debut after being recalled from the AHL's Ontario Reign. In the second period, Connors threaded a pass out from the slot to Erik Haula, who beat Askarov with a smooth backhand finish to stretch the lead to 4-1.
"Everybody was excited for him in the moment," Laviolette said. "It's a long road to get to the NHL, he's worked hard to get to this point."
Coming off a wild 6-5 overtime win against Ottawa on Thursday where they nearly squandered a four-goal lead, a complete 60-minute effort against a Pacific Division rival served as a significant step forward for Los Angeles, which secured just its second victory on home ice this season.
"We've got an opportunity to really defend our home ice and make it so people don't want to come play here," Byfield said. "That's what we're trying to do."
The Kings (5-7-2) will look to build momentum and lock down back-to-back wins when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
