Michael Cammalleri’s smile was subtle. Adrian Kempe’s could be seen from space.
Together they helped the Los Angeles Kings overcome what could have been a big bummer.
It’s been that type of start to the season for the Kings that their one area of offensive concern – the third line – sprung alive Wednesday in a 5-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens.
Kempe, quiet in the first four games, scored the first hat trick of his NHL career, all in the third period. Cammalleri, scratched the previous two games, scored twice for his first goals as a King since his first go-around with them in 2008.
It occurred on a night the Kings lost Jeff Carter to a lower-body injury on a freak play in the second period, but by the end of the game the Kings remained the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss (5-0-1).
“That was a good night,” Kempe said. “We took care of our opportunities.”
Kempe converted a two-on-one for his first goal. His second goal was pure skill on a drive to the net. He finished it with an in-close slap shot of a loose puck and calmly raised his arm as if he had done it a hundred times.
“Before I came into the game, I was chasing it a little bit too hard sometimes,” said Kempe, who recorded the first hat trick by a Kings player since Anze Kopitar last season. “After I got that first one, you get a little more comfortable and you feel better about yourself. Everything came to me.”
The theatrics came after Carter left the game when he got pinned against the board with Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry. Carter examined his left skate, went to the dressing room and did not return.
“I don’t know, to be honest,” Kings coach John Stevens said of Carter’s status. “Any time a player can’t finish a game, it’s a concern.”
Cammalleri’s lack of effectiveness was a concern for the Kings. But he got his first goal out of the way when he batted the puck out of the air on a power play in the first period. He knocked in a loose puck in the third period for a 3-1 lead midway through the third period. “It obviously feels good,” Cammalleri said.
“It’s nice to contribute. It’s significant for us. Something we talked about – this last game at home before we go on the road. So it was ... nice for everybody.”
Tyler Toffoli needed a few shifts to rest from an illegal hit to the head from Alex Galchenyuk; otherwise, Cammalleri might not have been on the second power play unit. Cammalleri was in his place for the goal.
The Kings’ third line saw Justin Auger make his NHL debut. The 6-foot-6 fourth-round draft pick in 2013 is described by Stevens as a wing “that’s good on the wall that can play a north-south game.”
Auger showed his power, too, when he drew a hooking penalty on a drive to the net in the second period. He said his parents flew in from Waterloo, Ontario, near Toronto, in the morning, for the occasion.
“It’s a long time coming,” Auger said before the game.
Auger’s debut occurred against a team he rooted against as a kid, and that team got the first goal. Paul Byron forced Derek Forbort into a turnover and beat Forbort to the net on a rebound in the first period.

RESULTS
Maple Leafs   6   Red Wings   3
Kings                5    Canadiens   1
Blues                 5   Blackhawks 2