Win or that’s it, in more ways than one.
The Kings are unfortunately where much of the hockey world outside of Los Angeles thought they would be early on in this series. They’re on the brink of a fifth consecutive first-round exit from the playoffs. Heading into play this afternoon, coach DJ Smith will need his team to lay it all on the line in order to extend things to a Game 5. Not only will they likely need to play a perfect game, but they’ll also need some puck luck to go their way.
Overall, there’s little doubt who has been the better team in this series. The Avs are getting excellent goaltending and depth scoring. Yet, the Kings have certainly had their moments, as well — they just haven’t produced the most important thing: wins. While they genuinely feel pretty good about how they have played through the first three contests, it’s still a 3-0 series in favor of Colorado. The fact that LA has made their opponent work for it over three straight close games, there’s no real victory in that reality.
It’s all about wins, and the Kings need one now more than ever.
Furthering the pressure in Game 4 is the obvious. Lingering in the back of everyone’s mind is the fact that today could be the final game of Anze Kopitar’s career. Without the Kings somehow claiming a victory on home ice, this is it. Perhaps nobody wants a win more than the captain, who smashed his stick against the goalie cage following his team’s loss a few nights ago. With solid play throughout the series and nothing to show for it, has the frustration created a feeling of an insurmountable mountain to climb?
We’ll find out in Sunday’s matinee. Nobody can win three games at once, though.
So, one game at a time — and even one shift at a time — will be the mantra for a desperate LA Kings team hoping to see the light of another day.
They Said It
Quotes from what could be a memorable ‘final’ practice in El Segundo yesterday…
Smith on the possibility of going completely off the board with lineup changes in Game 4:
No, not rogue. Obviously, there’ll be adjustments to the lineup. I think some guys have got to get some opportunity. But when you look at that team over there and how they’ve had success throughout the year, it’s by creating turnovers, playing good defense, breaking the puck out. … You have to think about everything, whether it’s jumble the top six, move a guy up, move a guy down. There can be as many as two guys coming in. We’re going to look at all possibilities to win one game.
Smith on the team’s current mindset:
The number one thing you can’t do is get down on yourself, get down on your team, get down on your teammates. And I don’t see any of that in the room. We’ve all seen it over the years — as a series goes on, some guys get rattled and things happen. That is not the case here. I don’t feel for one second that anyone in that room doesn’t think we can win our next hockey game. I know they’re going to get behind Kopitar, and I know that team — my team — will be ready to play.
Smith on Kuzmenko in Game 3:
I think it’s a tough review because he hasn’t played in so long. And now you’re going in against not just a good team, but a really good defensive team that doesn’t give you anything and their D skates so well. They took a lot of time and space away. He didn’t get a ton done, but he didn’t hurt us. He was in a tough spot, to be honest with you — to go right out on the power play, with guys he hasn’t played with on the power play — there was a lot of, I wouldn’t even say rust. It’s the timing of jumping into a playoff game that’s moving significantly faster than a regular-season game.
Smith on grading the performance of his coaching staff in the series:
Other than the fact that we haven’t won one, so you’d say no good. But in the same point — special teams have been really good. The highest-scoring team in the league, and we’re holding them down. The game plan is correct. You just want more results, and let’s see if we get them in Game 4.
There’s nothing to feel bad about. Our team plays hard. We’re organized. We’re detailed. We probably should have at least one win, and we’d be feeling different. I like everything everyone’s done.
Smith on his previous comment (when he was promoted) re: feeling the impact of last year’s playoff loss had lingered on the team. Now 20+ games later, does he feel any impact of last year’s loss on this team?
None. It’s a brand-new team. You look at the guys on the team right now — Laughton, the guys playing all the minutes, Wright, and some of these newer guys that are here. I don’t think there’s anything. It’s a different animal altogether — playing the Avs, different scenario. Just how tight-checking this is out here. There’s no room for either team, and they’d probably give us credit to say that we haven’t given them much room. We’ve played them really hard. Right now they’ve had the edge. They’ve found ways to score the bigger goals. But if we’d shot one in the other night in overtime, we’re sitting here 2-1 and it’s a completely different scenario. So here we are. Got to win one. I think you’ll see our best.
Smith on managing the ‘Kopitar factor’ and maximizing that situation:
You have to manage your emotions. I told the guys, ‘At the end of the day, you go into the game like it’s another game. You do your job to the absolute best that you can do it.’ We have to have our best game. If we don’t have our best game, you’re going to see their best game, because they want to settle it. We have to have our best. I think Kopitar’s leadership and the guys are going to push so that he can play again. I think you’ll see Kopitar’s best game of the series. Having two days’ rest here, afternoon game — he’s always been, to me, a really good afternoon player. A couple days’ rest. I think you’re going to see him give us his best game of the series as well.
Kopitar on breaking his stick over the crossbar at the end of Game 3:
Yeah, it was a combination of everything. Me turning the puck over, not getting bounces, obviously losing three straight. It just kind of piled up, and the stick got the short end of it.
On this being a different team, and different situation, than when were down 0-3 before:
Right now, we have nothing to lose. It’s focusing on [Game 4], on the start, having a good start, and you just go from there. To think about what’s gonna happen in a couple days or four days or five days from now — there’s really no need for that. It’s just staying in the moment, going out there and playing our asses off. And we’ll see where that takes us.
Kopitar on if he’s emotionally prepared for this to potentially be his last game:
[Pauses.] I’m hoping it’s not going to be. Can you ever be emotionally prepared? Probably not. So, we’ll see.
Statistically Speaking
— Kings are 9-for-9 on the penalty kill in the series.
— With his helper in Game 3 on Thursday, forward Quinton Byfield (22 GP) became the fastest player to record their first 10 career Playoff assists with the Kings since Anze Kopitar (15 GP), Dustin Brown (19 GP) and Drew Doughty (20 GP) all hit that mark in 2012.
— Following his Game 3 goal, forward Adrian Kempe (31 GP) tied Luc Robitaille and Marcel Dionne for the third-fewest games to 30 career Playoff points with the Kings, trailing only Wayne Gretzky (15 GP) and Bernie Nicholls (30 GP) per NHL PR.
— Through 31 career Stanley Cup Playoff contests, Kempe also became the fourth-fastest Swedish-born player in NHL history to register 30 career Playoff points. Only Nicklas Backstrom (25 GP), Thomas Gradin (25 GP) and Peter Forsberg (30 GP) have done so faster, per NHL PR.
— For a breakdown of Kempe’s goal in Game 3, watch three-time Stanley Cup Champion Alec Martinez explain it all here:
Adrian Kempe PP Goal Breakdown
Here's the breakdown of @LAKings forward Adrian Kempe's PPG set up by Panarin. I saw this one live at Crypto and it's such an awesome example of the back and forth chess match between teams throughout a playoff series with the adjustments and… pic.twitter.com/V4oud1pZfV
— Alec Martinez (@amartinez_27) April 25, 2026
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Avs
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Panarin – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Byfield – Laferriere
Turcotte – Laughton – Wright *
Malott – Helenius – Ward *
* based upon Saturday’s practice, not confirmed
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Forsberg (starter)
Kuemper
Likely scratches: (F) Armia, Joseph, Kuzmenko and (D) Moverare and (G) George
Injured Reserve: Fiala (injury status updates here)
How to Watch the Game
Puck drop is set for 1:30 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
Here is how Colorado lined up for Game 3:
Lehkonen – MacKinnon – Necas
Kelly – Nelson – Nichushkin
Landeskog – Kadri – Roy
Colton – Drury – O’Connor
Makar – Toews
Burns – Manson
Kulak – Malinski
Wedgewood (starter)
Blackwood
On This Day in Kings History
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