Hockey is finally back, and the Kings already have two games under their belts after kicking their 2025-26 regular season off with a back-to-back set against the Avalanche and Golden Knights.
It was a tough start to the season, though, even if they earned two of a possible four points. After dropping their home opener 4-1 to Colorado on Tuesday, it was right back to work on Wednesday for a road game the next night. With a bounce-back win in Vegas on Wednesday, LA earned their first victory of the season. Despite blowing a 2-0 lead and needing some late-game heroics before ultimately winning in a shootout, they still came away on the right side of the scoresheet.
Now what? Well, there’s only so much we can take from two games, yet there were still some early pros and cons that can be discussed after these initial contests.
The Pros After Two Games:
1. The Future Is Now:
Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke are the future in LA, and there’s a strong case that the duo were LA’s best players through the first two games.
Nobody played particularly well against Colorado, but Clarke and Byfield made their presence known against Vegas.
Byfield scored a great goal in the first frame — showing he’s carried over the confidence gained in the second half of last season — and set up Clarke with a nifty feed to tie the game late. LA’s future No. 1 center also had the team’s best chance in overtime, looking rather dangerous at 3-on-3.
Clarke scored the aforementioned goal and was the Kings most poised defenseman on the puck throughout both contests. We’re seeing him mature into a player the coaches can trust while maintaining the elite skill that drove him to be selected eighth overall at the 2021 NHL Draft. He’s also been displaying a competitive fire that, according to coach Jim Hiller, doesn’t get enough credit.
In two games where the Kings weren’t at their collective best, Byfield and Clarke both stood out positively, which is a massive plus for the organization moving forward.
2. Jeff Malott:
Dating back to the end of last season, Malott has quickly become one of the best stories up and down the Kings bench. Finally establishing an NHL spot at age 29, he’s continued to impress through two games thus far.
His fight against Colorado’s Josh Manson, after the Avs blueliner threw a big hit on Warren Foegele, drew praise from Hiller postgame. Malott followed that up with his first career goal against Vegas some 24 hours later.
Generally speaking, Malott earned his spot on the opening night roster during training camp and is doing everything needed to keep it that way as LA’s 2025-26 campaign rolls along.
3. The Offense; No, Wait, the Defense
Well, it really depends on which game we’re talking about.
“That [stretch] was a little bit like a Formula 1 race, said Hiller. “Where the pedal went right to the metal with Colorado, who I thought skated and played well. Then, you end up playing a strong Vegas team and their home opener. I don’t know if you can start it with any more accelerant than that. So, we liked how we played defensively against Colorado, not offensively. We liked how we played offensively against Vegas, not defensively.”
[ed. note: ‘Did somebody say Formula 1?, asked Kopitar’]
Some Cons Thus Far
1. Puck Moving on the Blueline:
At different times, LA’s been sloppy in all three zones over their six-plus periods of play, but the struggles to move the puck from the backend have been very evident.
Other than Clarke, and occasionally Drew Doughty, most of LA’s other defensemen have looked uncomfortable at times, and costly turnovers hurt them both nights.
Additionally, it was a tough start for two debutants, Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci. Both struggled to move the puck as a pair. Some speed bumps are understandable, given they were playing their first set of games on a new team and in a new system, but their challenges were noticeable.
Puck moving was a concern when the Kings decided to further lean into a bigger, heavier blueline over the summer, and it’s something that should be monitored throughout the season.
2. Penalties:
In both games, LA found themselves in deep penalty trouble, giving up six power-play opportunities each night. Alex Turcotte’s five-minute major gave Vegas life on Wednesday, and the penalties against Colorado a night earlier made it difficult for LA to get into any sustained rhythm, contributing to their sloppy play.
The penalty kill had strong moments in both games, particularly Trevor Moore’s shorthanded goal in Vegas, but teams typically don’t win many games giving up six power plays.
Discipline should be an easy thing to fix, and LA needs to sort that out sooner rather than later.
3. Letting Vegas Comeback in Game 2:
“They basically carried it in three times, through the neutral zone,” Hiller explained. “It was only three times, but it felt like 30 times for some reason in the third period. They only came through us three times; but, of course, scored two goals and two really nice goals. So that’s concerning. They went two for three, basically carrying it in on those entries. We don’t to overreact to that, but we just felt we were a little loose. … [We weren’t] as connected on our breakouts going the other way in the third period as we need to be. And that that starts way up the ice. It starts by getting organized, so when you are in the position to break out, you come together and you get going the other way. We got a little disconnected there in the third period.”
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