The Los Angeles Kings are still searching for their first win, but they just got a needed body back up front.
According to a team announcement, the Kings have activated winger Mats Zuccarello from injured reserve. Because Los Angeles had two open spots on its 23-man roster, no corresponding move was required.
The timing matters. After the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, the Kings were left as the only team in the NHL without a win three weeks into the 2026-27 season. That leaves Los Angeles sitting at the bottom of the league standings.
There’s no mystery about why the start has gone sideways. The Kings have been getting rough results in goal, with Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg combining for an .861 SV%. That kind of production makes life miserable no matter what the rest of the roster is doing.
The offense has not helped much either. Scoring has been an issue for Los Angeles for some time now, and it was a problem last season as well.
Even while reaching the postseason for the fifth straight year, the Kings finished 29th in scoring. This year, they are 31st in scoring so far, just ahead of the Flyers.
Zuccarello’s return gives them at least one more proven option. He has been limited to one assist in two games this season because of an undisclosed injury, but he remains a useful presence. Just one year ago, he put up 15 goals and 54 points in 59 games with the Minnesota Wild.
That alone won’t fix everything in Los Angeles. Still, there is a little room for optimism: the Kings have played the fewest games in the league to this point, so there’s time to dig out of the early hole.
In Other News...
Kings Fans Have A New Reason To Worry About Quinton Byfield
Quinton Byfields night against the Capitals ended quickly, and for a Kings team already trying to steady itself in a rough start to the season, it was another unwelcome development. The young forward left the game with an upper-body injury, adding a new layer of concern around one of the clubs more important pieces as the team continues searching for its first win.
The issue apparently began at Mondays practice, when Byfield was hurt and later described himself as feeling a little tight. He made it only four shifts against Washington before exiting, leaving the Kings to navigate the rest of the game without him and waiting for clarity on how much time, if any, he might miss. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Finally Showed The Response Fans Have Been Waiting For
The frustration around the Kings had been building through six straight losses and a stretch of flat offense that had left them searching for any sign of life. Against Washington, they finally offered the kind of response their season had been missing, skating to a 5-2 win behind goals from Adrian Kempe, Artemi Panarin, Alex Laferriere and Erik Gustafsson, while Darcy Kuemper steadied things with 30 saves in net.
For a team that had been getting squeezed by the scoreboard and by its own inability to finish, the result mattered almost as much as the points. Peter Laviolette and several players pointed to the performance as a meaningful step forward, and now the bigger question is whether it can be the start of something more than one relieving night. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Roster Pressure Is Growing As Two Problems Demand Answers
The Kings are only a few games into the season, but the early tone has already become familiar: the offense has been too quiet and the goaltending has not consistently bailed them out. With those two issues hanging over the club, any talk of roster help is getting louder, and the list of possible fixes is broad enough to include both internal reinforcements and outside additions. Kevin Fialas return would be the cleanest in-house boost, but the Kings are also weighing whether a move from the free-agent market could help stabilize a lineup that needs more punch.
There is no simple fix waiting in the wings, which is why the conversation around upgrades has started to feel more urgent. Los Angeles wants to avoid letting a slow start harden into a longer problem, and the front office is already being pushed to look at every option it has. For now, the big question is less about whether the Kings need help and more about how aggressive theyre willing to be before the seasons early problems start to define them. [Read more 🡒]