By james art 
LOS ANGELES –– El Día de los Muertos resurrected an old rivalry from the dead after the Kings lost to the Chicago Blackhawks, their arch nemesis from the 2010s, 4-3 in a shootout that ended an unexpected thriller at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday afternoon .
The Kings had won five of their last seven tilts, including all three at home this season, while Chicago had the worst scoring percentage in the NHL entering the clash.
Alex Laferriere lit the lamp twice and Philip Dano also scored for the Kings. Laferriere’s eight goals are as many as captain Ange Kopitar and two-time team leader Adrian Kempe combined. Kevin Fiala had two assists. Darcy Kuemper stopped 17 of 20 shots and none in penalty kicks.
Nick Foligno, Craig Smith and Tyler Bertuzzi each scored for Chicago. Petr Mrazek had twice as much work as Kuemper, making 37 of 40 saves.
Overtime gave way to penalties where Trevor Moore and Adrian Kemp scored for the Kings, but Chicago scored on all three attempts with Connor Bedard, Teuvo Teravainen and Ryan Donato all chipping in.
Just 31 seconds showed on the clock remaining in regulation when, with Mrazek pulled for the extra forward, Chicago finished the scoring and earned a point.
Kuemper tried to clear the puck, but after a touch by Bedard, it was held at the blue line by Seth Jones. His hard tap to Donato opened up a cross to Bertuzzi, whose kneeling deflection sent the game to extra time.
With 8:12 left, the Kings went up again on Danault’s first goal of the campaign. A faceoff in the offensive zone set up a pass to Moore for a one-timer by Fiala, which missed wide, hit the end boards and went right to Danault, who had outpaced Jones downfield, for a reverse goal.
Although the Kings possessed every favorable analytic indicator, as well as serious advantages in traditional stats like face shots and shots on net, they let Chicago slow down and soon found themselves in a tied game as Chicago struck at 3:26 and again at 5 :34 of third period.
Defender Alex Vlasic started a seemingly innocuous break before Lukas Reichel burst into three areas before delivering a slick backhand pass into the space for Smith’s one-time shot.
Just over two minutes earlier, Foligno turned another innocent-looking play into a goal. He wobbled from the red line to the high slot and let it fly with a long shot. As Foligno beat Joel Edmondson to the net for a rebound, Kuemper removed the puck and appeared to tap it with the back of his glove.
Although the Kings held a big shot advantage Saturday, it was a one-shot game for most of the first 40 minutes. That included two failed Chicago power plays until Laferriere cut into their lead with 1:23 left in the second period.
Laferriere was a much more active participant in his second goal than his first, a backdoor entry. First, his persistent forechecking forced Vlasic into a turnover deep in Chicago’s zone. Then, after Chicago got the puck back, Laferriere chased the play to the red line, where he separated Bertuzzi from the puck to send Alex Turcotte and Danult on a counterattack. Laferriere trailed on the play and scored his eighth goal for the team on a lively wrist shot just over the left faceoff point.
Late in the first period, Tanner Jeaneau took exception to Foligno’s hit on Mikey Anderson and the two brawled in one corner of the Kings’ zone before the team went into the break down 1-0 to the Kings.
They opened the scoring 3:57 minutes into the game during their first lead of the afternoon. Brand Clark got the puck in the right spot, flipping it to Kevin Fiala above the left circle. His pass to Kopitar near the goal line isolated the Kings captain with Vlasic, and as Kopitar drove the net, he poked the puck between Vlasic’s legs to an open Laferriere for an uncontested score at the far post.