Every Kings game has been a “must-win” situation for weeks now, as they’ve tried to stay in the Western Conference playoff race — but none of those contests compare to the significance of what is set to go down at Crypto.com Arena tonight.
Coming into play this evening, LA and Nashville are tied for the eighth seed in points. Thus, with just a handful of games remaining on the regular season schedule, this game has massive implications for both sides.
Through the early part of their current seven-game home stand, the Kings been able to keep pace in the wild card race via a 2-0-1 record. While it hasn’t necessarily always been pretty over that stretch, teams don’t earn style points for good looking hockey. Instead, it’s all about gaining points by any means necessary over the next two weeks. That’s what’s needed to keep LA in the mix as we get deeper into April.
Surrounding the Kings, there continues to be a conversation about goaltending. Darcy Kuemper has looked a tad shaky at times, yet coach DJ Smith and his staff continue to ride with him down the stretch. Anton Forsberg has proved capable of holding down the fort, and with Kuemper coming off a game in which he let in six goals against Toronto, this topic doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon.
Statistically Speaking
— MoneyPuck brought some numbers for today’s matchup:
— Adrian Kempe recorded his fourth career four-point game on Saturday vs. Toronto, his first since April 14, 2023, in Anaheim. With one more point, Kempe will clinch his third consecutive 70-point season. Should Kempe score on Monday, it would set a new career-long five-game goal scoring streak, besting his current streak (4 GP) set six different times.
— Anze Kopitar is set to skate in his 60th and final career regular-season game against the Predators. In his 59 games, Kopitar has recorded 13 goals and 44 points. His 31 helpers are tied for the third-most versus Nashville among active players while his 59 games and 44 points both rank sixth.
— On Saturday, Artemi Panarin played in his 20th game with the Kings, picking up his sixth multi-point game with the team to reach 23 points since joining the club. Per NHL PR, Panarin surpassed Ryan Smyth for the third-most points through a players’ first 20 games with the franchise in the past 25 years, trailing Pavol Demitra (26 in 2005-06) and Craig Conroy (24 in 2005-06).
— Quinton Byfield skates into Crypto.com Arena fresh off scoring his sixth career overtime goal, his third of the year, on Saturday against the Maple Leafs. With his goal, Byfield tied Tanner Pearson for the sixth-most overtime goals in Kings history. Byfield also scored the overtime winner in the Kings’ first game versus Toronto this season on Nov. 13, 2025.
— Alex Laferriere scored his 19th goal of the season on Saturday to match his single-season career-high in goals and move him four points shy of tying his career-high in points.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Predators
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 – Ward
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Kuemper (starter, unconfirmed)
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) Joseph, Turcotte and (D) Moverare
Injured Reserve: Fiala, Kuzmenko (injury status updates here)
How to Watch the Game
Puck drop is set for 7:30 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
Nashville is coming off a 6-3 victory over San Jose on San Jose. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
L’Heureux – O’Reilly – Stamkos
Forsberg – Wood – Marchessault
Jost – Haula – Evangelista
Schaefer – Svechkov – Kemell
Skjei – Josi
Hague – Perbix
Wilsby – Barron
Saros
On This Day in Kings History
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