Saturday’s win over the Oilers was a feel-good moment for an LA Kings team coming off a rough night in Winnipeg just 24 hours earlier. However, it underscores the strange season that is playing out in front of coach Jim Hiller. On the front end of back-to-back sets, the team is 0-4-3. Meanwhile, on the second night, LA holds an impressive 5-1-1 record. It defies logic.
However, the quick road trip over the weekend was also quite indicative of LA’s season to date. Over the span of 24 hours, two very different Kings teams showed up. In one game, the group struggled to get anything going and suffered a crushing loss. The next night, the same group — perhaps buoyed by Corey Perry’s return — bounced back and beat one of their biggest rivals in a gutsy, full team effort.
Regardless, it’s time to quickly turn the page, as Hiller’s group will now play four games over the next six nights. And not that there are ever any easy games in 2025-26, but the upcoming opponents are no joke. First up is Dallas, an elite Wester Conference team. Then there’s Vegas on Wednesday night — never an easy out. Friday will bring the color rush game and the first of a home-and-home series with the Ducks; another team fighting to stay relevant in the Pacific Division race.
As any coach will tell you, though, you have to take ’em one game at a time. So, let’s take a deeper dive into the visiting Stars at Crypto.com Arena on Monday.
That aforementioned up and down pattern has been a problem all year, creating a lack of consistency. Which Kings squad will show up any given night remains a mystery. It’s something that plays a role in why the Kings keep dipping in and out of a playoff position over the past two weeks. For a team that has had just one three-game winning streak this season, they have to find a way to string consecutive wins together at some point.
Tonight provides LA with another measuring stick game. Dallas has been rather dominant all season and has been a thorn in the Kings side several years. If they can pull out a win tonight, it would only add to any swagger earned in their most recent victory over Edmonton.
Lineup-wise, Hiller is expected to roll with the same group of skaters and give Darcy Kuemper the start in net.
Statistically Speaking
— Quinton Byfield has registered five points in his last five games played.
— Adrian Kempe has two points against the Stars this season, including an overtime game-winning goal on October 23, 2025.
— Defenseman Brandt Clarke is coming off a multi-assist game on Saturday at Rogers Place. It marked his sixth multi-point game of the season and he’s now up to third in assists among all Kings skaters, trailing only Kempe and Byfield.
— Los Angeles is 4-6-0 in their last ten matchups against Dallas
— The Kings are 55-47-19-4 at home all-time against the Stars
What You May Have Missed
Everybody knows you’re always going to get some good quotes when a mic is rolling near Drew Doughty. Saturday night was no exception…
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Stars
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Malott – Laferriere– Kempe
Foegele – Byfield – Perry
Fiala – Turcotte – Kuzmenko
Lee – Helenius – Ward
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Kuemper (starter)
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) N/A and (D) Moverare
Injured: Armia (day-to-day)
Injured Reserve: Kopitar, Moore
How to Watch the Game
Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised by FanDuel Sports. Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app.
Also, the television landscape is changing at a rapid pace. We have a review of all the latest FanDuel issues here.
Across the Ice
Dallas is coming off a 5-4 loss to San Jose on Saturday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
Duchene – Johnston – Rantanen
Robertson – Hintz – Bourque
Hryckowian – Steel – Bastian
Back – Faksa – Blackwell
Lindell – Heiskanen
Harley – Capobianco
Lyubushkin – Lundkvist
Oettinger
On This Day in Kings History
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