Kempe, Kings clobber Canadiens
LOS ANGELES -- Adrian Kempe had three goals and an assist, and Michael Cammalleri added two goals and two assists to lead the Los Angeles Kings to a 5-1 victory against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday at Staples Center.
The Kings (5-0-1) remain the only NHL team without a regulation loss this season.
Montreal (1-5-1) lost its sixth straight game and remains one of two NHL teams without a regulation victory.
Cammalleri, the oldest player on the Kings at 35, was a healthy scratch the previous two games, but scored a power-play goal in the first period to tie the score at 1-1.
He assisted on Kempe's third-period goal that broke the tie, then scored his second goal of the game later in the third for a two-goal advantage.
Kempe scored his second of the night with 3:18 left to make it 4-1 and got his hat trick with 1:36 remaining. Kempe had one multi-point game in his career before Wednesday.
Trevor Lewis assisted on Kempe's first two goals, and Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick had 36 saves.
Montreal goalie Al Montoya made his first start of the season in place of Carey Price, whose 3.56 goals-against average is 26th among NHL goalies with at least four appearances this season. Montoya stopped 37 shots.
The Canadiens gave Montoya a 1-0 lead at 10:31 of the first period on the first goal of the season by Paul Byron. The left winger started the play by stealing the puck from Derek Forbort in the corner and finished it by jamming Phillip Danault's centering pass into the net.
Montreal left winger Alex Galchenyuk committed back-to-back minor penalties, and the Kings made the Canadiens pay after the second, scoring a power-play goal at 17:12 of the first period to tie the score at 1-1.
Los Angeles defenseman Jake Muzzin tried to center a pass to Cammalleri in the slot, but the puck deflected off the stick of Montreal defenseman Jeff Petry and lifted off the ice. Just before the puck landed, Cammalleri swiped it into the left side of the net for his first goal of the season.
Kings right winger Jeff Carter, who led the team with 32 goals and 66 points last season, sustained a lower-body injury late in the first period and did not return.
NOTES: For the first time since the 1995-96 season, the Kings came into the game as the last NHL team without a regulation loss. ... The Kings started the season 0-for-16 on the power play but are 5-for-9 since, including 1-for-3 on Wednesday. Montreal failed on all four of its man-advantage chances Wednesday. ... The Canadiens entered the game last in the NHL at 1.5 goals a game.