Time to start some home cooking.
All season, Los Angeles has struggled on home ice. That will have to change now if the Kings are serious about wanting to play a game 83 in about three weeks. With 10 games remaining on their regular season schedule, the next seven — all at Crypto.com Arena — each carry massive importance.
Tonight, the homestand kicks off with the visiting Utah Mammoth, who were able to outlast the Kings in overtime last weekend in the road. Coming into play for this one, coach DJ Smith’s group are on the heels of just about several teams in the playoff picture. For example, LA sits one point behind Nashville in the wild card race and three points behind Vegas in the Pacific Division.
It’s not going to be easy, but given the strength of schedule, the dominant play of Artemi Panarin, and the resurgence of Quinton Byfield, anything can happen. A win tonight would go a long way for the group’s confidence heading into the most important stretch of the season.
Other Important Games Today
There will be several other games played this weekend that could have significant impacts on the Kings near future. A small handful of college free agents LA management is believed to be closely tracking are playing, including players at Michigan and Denver. Plus several Kings prospects square off tomorrow. More here:
Plus, there is a full podcast dedicated to who might sign entry level contracts, when, why, and everything in-between here.
Statistically Speaking
— Saturday’s matchup marks the second game between the Kings and Mammoth in the span of seven days (4-3 OTL on March 22).
— Mikey Anderson collected a pair of assists on Thursday night in Vancouver as part of his third multi-point game of the year. With his helpers, Anderson now sits one point shy of becoming the 24th defenseman in team history to reach the 100-point mark, and sixth U.S.-born blueliner.
— Adrian Kempe clinched his fourth straight 60-point season with his team-leading 34th assist on Thursday night against the Canucks. He is the ninth different Kings skater with a run of that length or longer. Per NHL PR, Anze Kopitar (6 from 2006- 07 – 2011-12 & 4 from 2021-22 – 2024-25) is the only other player in team history with a streak of that length in the past 30 years.
— Quinton Byfield skates into DTLA riding a three-game multi-point streak, recording two points in each of his last three outings including a goal and assist in LA’s last matchup with Utah on March 22. Should he pick up at least a pair of points on Saturday, Byfield would become the fifth different Kings skater in the last 20 years to have multi-point performances in four consecutive games. The others: Anze Kopitar (4x; last in 2023-24), Kevin Fiala (4 GP in 2024-25), Dustin Brown (4 GP in 2010-11) and Alex Frolov (5 GP in 2006-07).
— Artemi Panarin has found scoresheet in each of his five career meetings against the Mammoth with eight points and a League-best six goals.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Mammoth
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Panarin – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Byfield – Laferriere
Armia – Laughton – Wright
Malott – Helenius – Joseph
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Kuemper (starter)
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) Turcotte, Ward 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 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
Utah is coming off a 7-4 loss to Washington on Thursday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
Keller – Schmaltz – Guenther
Peterka – Cooley – Crouse
McBain – Hayton – Yamamoto
Kerfoot – Stenlund – Carcone
Sergachev – Durzi
Schmidt – Marino
Cole – Maatta
Vejmelka
On This Day in Kings History
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