Kings push closer to first wild card with win over Seattle LA one point back of Predators, Seattle eliminated from race

In Los Angeles, the Kings’ Trevor Moore hit for a hat trick on Wednesday night to lead LA to a 5-2 win over the visiting Seattle Kraken.

The Kings moved to within one standings point of the Nashville Predators for the first wild card spot in the Western Conference.

“We got to get rolling here and got to get hot going into playoffs,” Moore said. “You know the hottest team going into the playoffs can be dangerous, and we want to be that team.”

Seattle was officially eliminated from the playoff chase.

Cam Talbot made 21 saves in the win.

The Kings moved to 39-25-11, snapping a three-game skid.

LA took a 1-0 lead midway through the opening stanza on a power play marker from Adrian Kempe, converting a pass from Viktor Arvidsson.

In the middle frame, Moore potted his first of the game at 7:39 for a 2-0 lead, scoring off a tip in from the slot.

Moore collected his double at 11:49 of the second for a 3-0 advantage to LA.

“The thing for ‘Mooresy’ is we didn’t think he was shooting enough lately,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “In Winnipeg (on Monday), he passed up some chances, never mind the breakaway. Tonight, he had a little bit more of a shot mentality, a little more direct. Great to see him rewarded like that.”

The Kraken dropped to 31-31-13.

“We’re playing for other things here,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We’re disappointed with the outcome today. We left some of our effort on the table. Again, I don’t think our effort was poor, but we left too much in the tank here today.”

In the third period, the Kraken got on the board with a power play strike by Andre Burakovsky at 5:40 to trim the deficit to 3-1.

The Kings replied with a goal by Kevin Fiala midway through the third for a 4-1 advantage, scoring off a breakaway.

Seattle’s Brian Dumoulin closed the gap to 4-2 at 11:20, scoring off a wrister from the left circle.

“Whenever you play a team like L.A., you can’t give them anything easy, and we did that tonight,” Dumoulin said. “They didn’t have to work for their chances, and they capitalized on the opportunities that they got.”

Moore collected his hats at 16:57, scoring off a breakaway for the 5-2 final count on the scoreboard.

“It’s the coolest thing ever,” Moore said. “They got to two, right, and then it was just about winning the game. ‘Dubie’ made a great battle on the wall against three guys and got the puck, and it worked out.”

Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves in the loss.