The Los Angeles Kings will be without forward Andrei Kuzmenko in Thursday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, head coach Jim Hiller told reporters including Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period. Kuzmenko will aim to work his way back to full health before the Kings take on the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
Kuzmenko did not play in the third period of Los Angeles’ February 5th match against Vegas, though he did not appear to sustain a clear injury. He played a full game, and even posted two assists, in the Kings’ return from the Olympic break on Wednesday.
The Russian winger has found a nice scoring touch as of late. Wednesday’s game brought him to four points in his last three games, though Los Angeles would go on to lose all three. That scoring continued a strong new-year for Kuzmenko, who now has 13 points in 19 games since the calendar turned over. He is up to 13 goals and 25 points in 52 games this season, strong enough scoring to earn Kuzmenko upwards of 20 minutes a night through points of this season. His absence will leave the Kings searching for another playmaker, now without wingers Kuzmenko and Kevin Fiala, who sustained multiple fractures in his left leg during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Los Angeles will tap extra forward Taylor Ward to fill Kuzmenko’s hole in the lineup. Ward has scored four points in 15 NHL games this season. He has also notched 12 goals and 21 points in 32 games with the AHL’s Ontario Reign, matching his goal-total and six points shy of his point-total from 66 AHL games last season. Ward should fill a bottom-line role, while Los Angeles looks towards recent star addition Artemi Panarin to replace the scoring left vacant by Kuzmenko and Fiala. Panarin recorded two assists in his Kings debut on Wednesday, and led the New York Rangers in scoring with 57 points in 52 games prior to his trade.
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Kuzmenko did not play in the third period of Los Angeles’ February 5th match against Vegas, though he did not appear to sustain a clear injury. He played a full game, and even posted two assists, in the Kings’ return from the Olympic break on Wednesday.
The Russian winger has found a nice scoring touch as of late. Wednesday’s game brought him to four points in his last three games, though Los Angeles would go on to lose all three. That scoring continued a strong new-year for Kuzmenko, who now has 13 points in 19 games since the calendar turned over. He is up to 13 goals and 25 points in 52 games this season, strong enough scoring to earn Kuzmenko upwards of 20 minutes a night through points of this season. His absence will leave the Kings searching for another playmaker, now without wingers Kuzmenko and Kevin Fiala, who sustained multiple fractures in his left leg during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Los Angeles will tap extra forward Taylor Ward to fill Kuzmenko’s hole in the lineup. Ward has scored four points in 15 NHL games this season. He has also notched 12 goals and 21 points in 32 games with the AHL’s Ontario Reign, matching his goal-total and six points shy of his point-total from 66 AHL games last season. Ward should fill a bottom-line role, while Los Angeles looks towards recent star addition Artemi Panarin to replace the scoring left vacant by Kuzmenko and Fiala. Panarin recorded two assists in his Kings debut on Wednesday, and led the New York Rangers in scoring with 57 points in 52 games prior to his trade.
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