It’s all come down to this.
Game 82 is upon us, even though much is yet to be decided. With the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs set to begin this weekend, coach DJ Smith and his squad still don’t know for certain who their postseason opponent will be.
Of course, the possibilities have dwindled to three clubs. Depending on how tonight’s Kings, Oilers, and Ducks games turn out, LA could be facing Colorado (as the eighth seed) or a Pacific Division foe (with even a slim shot at having home ice advantage).
Will the Kings face off with the Presidents Trophy winning Colorado Avalanche? Is LA staring at a fifth consecutive date with Connor McDavid and his Edmonton buddies? Or is a SoCal showdown in order, featuring the Kings and Ducks?
They’ll be playing Game 1 on Sunday or Monday, that’s about the only thing that’s been settled thus far.
So, with all of that in mind, tonight is another must-win game for Los Angeles — if they want a chance at moving up in the Western Conference seeding. While you never wish for any opponent in the playoffs, a series against the Ducks or Oilers would maybe be more manageable than the Avs at this point. Who knows, for sure. Nothing has been normal or made much sense throughout the first 81 games, why start now?
Listen up, listen up!
There are a pair of audio clips now available, breaking down the latest Kings news. If you’re looking for a quick-hitter, check out this week’s Mayor’s Minutes segment from NHL Network Radio posted here. They talk about Forsberg, if Quick is HHOF worthy, Byfield, Kuzmenko, and much more.
There’s also an all-new Kings Of The Podcast episode breaking down the team’s annual End of Season Awards (and, yes, they also talk playoffs):
Statistically Speaking
— Captain Anze Kopitar will play in his final career game against the Flames tonight. Among active skaters, only Brent Burns (85 GP) and Corey Perry (79 GP) have faced Calgary more than Kopitar (75 GP), while the captain’s 61 points against the Flames are fourth-most among active skaters.
— Kopitar skates into Scotiabank Saddledome for the final time as the Kings’ all-time points leader with 1,316 points through 1,520 career NHL games. The captain will end his regular-season career having played 1,521 career NHL games, the 23rd- most in NHL history.
— Quinton Byfield enters play riding a six-game road multi-point streak, dating back to March 16 against the Rangers. With his two-point performance Tuesday night in Vancouver, Byfield is joined by Wayne Gretkzy (2x; 9 GP in 1990- 91 & 6 GP in 1991-92) and Marcel Dionne (6 GP in 1980-81) as the only three skaters in franchise history to record such a streak.
— Alex Laferriere has multi-point efforts in each of his last two games, including a goal and assist on Tuesday to mark his 42nd and 43rd career points and establish a new single-season career-high in points besting his previous high of 42 set in 2024-25.
— Adrian Kempe’s nine goals in the month of April lead all NHL skaters which is also a franchise mark for the most by a Kings skater in the month of April. Kevin Fiala (7 in 2025) and Luc Robitaille (7 in 1993) join Kempe as the only team skaters to score seven or more goals in the season’s final month.
— A win tonight would secure LA’s spot a top this list:
The hottest teams in the NHL this April
14 pts — Kings
13 pts — Hurricanes
12 pts — Flyers
11 pts — Golden Knights
11 pts — Senators
11 pts — Avalanche
11 pts — Blues
10 pts — Stars
10 pts — Canadiens
10 pts — Wild
10 pts — Mammoth
10 pts — Capitals pic.twitter.com/ZN5QvptN83
— NHLMuse (@NHL_Muse) April 15, 2026
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Flames
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Panarin – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Byfield – Laferriere
Armia – Laughton – Wright
Joseph – Helenius – Ward
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Kuemper (starter)
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) Malott, Turcotte and (D) Moverare
Injured Reserve: Fiala, Kuzmenko (injury status updates here)
How to Watch the Game
Puck drop is set for 6:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised locally by FanDuel Sports. Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app.
More on the Kings’ changing TV situation for next season can be found here.
Across the Ice
Calgary is coming off a 3-1 loss to Colorado on Tuesday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
Sharangovich – Backlund – Coronato
Farabee – Frost – Gridin
Zary – Strome – Suniev
Olofsson – Beecher – Klapka
Kuznetsov – Whitecloud
Maatta – Brzustewicz
Pachal – Parekh
Wolf
On This Day in Kings History
MORE LA KINGS NEWS:
Follow @mayorNHL
Continue reading...