Hagelin, just five games into his Kings career after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins, is week-to-week with a medial collateral ligament strain suffered late Saturday. Kovalchuk, only 23 games into his Kings tenure, has been relegated to the fourth line and was benched in the third period Sunday to complete a career-high ninth straight game without a point.
But one winger helped turn that dial in a 5-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Staples Center. Dustin Brown conjured up his years-long chemistry with Anze Kopitar on the Kings’ first two goals and finished the hat trick with an empty-net goal as the Kings ended a five-game home losing streak.