The Kings are back at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night, and the home opener of the preseason comes with a few familiar names stepping into the spotlight.
Artemi Panarin is the headliner. The 34-year-old winger is slated to make his preseason debut after arriving in Los Angeles in a February trade, and he wasted no time making his presence felt once he got there. In 26 games with the Kings, Panarin put up 27 points and led the club with 18 assists.
Darcy Kuemper is another key piece to watch. He is expected to start for the first time this preseason after a 2025-26 campaign that didn’t match the level he set the year before. In 2024-25, Kuemper was a Vezina Trophy finalist after one of the best seasons of his career, but by late last season he had lost the starting job to Anton Forsberg.
Now he gets a chance to begin climbing back. That challenge is made even sharper by the arrival of new head coach Peter Laviolette, who has a track record of leaning on one goaltender heavily. During his time with the New York Rangers, Igor Shesterkin regularly handled the bulk of the work.
There’s not much margin for Kuemper if he wants to reclaim the top spot in net. These preseason reps matter, and he’ll need to treat them with real urgency.
Drew Doughty, who was named the club’s captain on Friday, is not expected to play, so alternate captains Mikey Anderson and Adrian Kempe will wear the letters in his absence.
Los Angeles opened the preseason on the road, and Tuesday marks its first game in front of its home crowd since its 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs run when it hosts the Utah Mammoth.
Fans can watch on SLVR or LAKings.com. The game can also be heard on 710 ESPN LA and the ESPN LA app.
In Other News...
Kings Preseason Lineup Says A Lot As Roster Battle Tightens
The Kings are using a preseason meeting with the Mammoth to give their roster battle a little more shape, and the lineup is starting to reveal which players are moving closer to opening night. With many expected regulars in the mix, this game is less about experimentation and more about seeing how far a handful of camp hopefuls have come as the calendar moves toward the 2026-27 regular season.
Among the names worth watching are Andre Lee, who is in line for a meaningful role, and a group of young forwards trying to keep their momentum going through camp. Liam Lefebvre has already made it through the first round of cuts, while Kenny Connors and Koehn Ziemmer continue to get looks as the Kings evaluate who can handle a bigger stage once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Camp Is Already Revealing What This New-Look Roster Could Become
The second day of Kings training camp offered a first real look at how this reshaped roster is starting to sound and think, with media access bringing together Artemi Panarin, Brian Dumoulin and prospect Martin Chromiak. Camp talks often blur together this early, but this one had a little more texture, from Panarin reflecting on the changing economics of the league to Chromiak describing his offseason work and the added push that came from representing Slovakia at the 2026 IIHF World Championship.
Dumoulins comments were the most revealing for where this group is headed, because the Kings are trying to define a defensive identity while also getting used to new leadership and captaincy changes. That kind of adjustment does not always happen neatly in September, and the early camp tone suggested a team still sorting out what its new backbone looks like, even as the younger players continue to leave an impression. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Fans Just Got A New Way To Follow This Transition Season
As the Kings navigate a transition season, the way fans follow the team is changing too. Los Angeles has struck a new direct-to-consumer media partnership with DAZN for the 2026-27 NHL season, giving supporters another route to watch preseason and regular-season games without relying only on the old setup.
For fans who still prefer traditional television, locally produced games will remain available through Angels Broadcast Television, so this is more expansion than replacement. Kings president Luc Robitaille said the goal is to give fans more ways to watch the team, and DAZNs subscription options should make the streaming side of that equation more flexible as the new season approaches. [Read more 🡒]