Sabres stay hot, win 4th straight by pulling away 4-1 over Kings

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Zach Benson had a goal and an assist and the Buffalo Sabres continued their white-hot play with a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Tage Thompson, Sam Carrick and Rasmus Dahlin also scored for the Sabres.

Carrick and Dahlin scored 59 seconds apart midway through the third period, and Benson added an empty-netter to give the Sabres their fourth straight win and 12th in the past 13 outings. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 26 saves.

Buoyed by significant and vocal support despite being the visitors, the Sabres continued their push for an Atlantic Division title as they are on their way to ending a 14-year playoff drought, the longest in the NHL.

Artemi Panarin scored, picking up a point for the fifth straight game. Anze Kopitar tied Marcel Dionne for the Kings franchise record for points on home ice, and Anton Forsberg made 28 saves.

Los Angeles came into the day as the second wild card in the Western Conference but dropped behind the Nashville Predators, who won 4-1 over the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Kings started off strong. Panarin continued the productive start to his Kings tenure by opening the scoring with a power-play goal midway through the first period. He has five goals and 11 assists in 13 games for Los Angeles. It was the first goal the Sabres had allowed on the road in 176 minutes of game action, including consecutive shutouts at Vegas and San Jose.

But Buffalo came back to control the final two periods, with a failed coach's challenge by Los Angeles for a high stick in the build up before Carrick's slick backhand leading to Dahlin's power-play goal.

Sabres: Visit Anaheim on Sunday.

Kings: Visit Utah on Sunday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg (31) blocks a shot by Buffalo Sabres right wing Josh Doan during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Los Angeles Kings left wing Artemi Panarin (10) greets teammates after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) greets teammates after scoring during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram (4) shoots the puck past Los Angeles Kings defenseman Joel Edmundson (6) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/William Liang)

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia’s parliament on Friday appointed right-wing populist politician Janez Jansa as the new prime minister, in a shift for the small European Union country that was previously run by a liberal government.

Lawmakers backed Jansa in a 51-36 vote in the 90-member assembly. The new prime minister will need to come back to Parliament within the next 15 days for another vote to confirm his future Cabinet.

Jansa's appointment concludes a postelection stalemate in Slovenia after a parliamentary ballot two months ago ended practically in a tie. Former liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob's Freedom Movement won by a thin margin but he was unable to muster a parliamentary majority.

Jansa and his populist Slovenian Democratic Party signed a coalition agreement this week with several right-wing groups. The new government also has the backing of a nonestablishment Truth party that first emerged as an anti-vaccination movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new term in office will be the fourth for the veteran Slovenian politician. Jansa, 67, is an admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump and was a close ally of former populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was defeated in a landslide election last month.

Jansa in a speech listed the economy, fight against corruption and red tape, and decentralization as key goals of the future government. He has promised to lower taxes for the rich and support private education and healthcare.

Critical of the previous government's alleged “inefficiency," Jansa said the new government will turn Slovenia into “a country of opportunity, prosperity and justice, where each responsible citizen will feel safe and accepted."

Like Orban, Jansa was staunchly anti-immigrant during the huge migration wave to Europe in 2015. Also like Orban, Jansa has faced accusations of clamping down on democratic institutions and press freedoms during a previous term in 2020-2022. This led to protests at the time, and scrutiny from the European Union.

Golob in his speech described Jansa as “the greatest threat to Slovenia’s sovereignty and democracy."

Alleging that Jansa had threatened to arrest him, Golob said Jansa's "idea of democracy is that anyone who dares speak a word against you deserves only the worst.”

Jansa, a supporter of Israel, also has been a stern critic of the Golob government's 2024 recognition of a Palestinian state.

The vote on March 22 was marred by allegations of foreign influence and corruption. The around 2 million people in the Alpine nation are deeply divided between liberals and conservatives.

Janez Jansa, center, addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa arrives for a session of the Slovenian Parliament in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)