The Los Angeles Kings are staring at an early-season test of patience and precision. Jim Hiller’s team is still hunting its first win, and the next stretch gives them a chance to clean up the details while trying to get Artemi Panarin fully plugged into the mix.
What has stood out so far is how much of this team’s identity still hinges on structure. The Kings have leaned on a disciplined 1-3-1 neutral zone setup in recent seasons, but it only works when the defense reads the play cleanly and closes space on time. That wasn’t always the case in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, when some early communication breakdowns opened the door for easy entries into the defensive zone and forced Darcy Kuemper to freeze the puck under pressure.
That’s where the week of practice has mattered. The coaching staff has focused on tightening gap control, with blueliners like Drew Doughty and Brandt Clarke being asked to play closer to opposing wingers along the boards. The idea is simple: take away the clean lane through the middle, force dump-ins, then move the puck out quickly with crisp outlet passes.
Offensively, the Kings are still searching for the kind of chemistry that can make their top unit dangerous every night. Panarin, Quinton Byfield and Adrian Kempe bring real playmaking upside together. Panarin can pull two defenders toward him on the half-wall, which opens space in the high slot for Kempe, while Byfield’s reach helps him win pucks below the goal line.
Behind that group, the middle-six combination of Trevor Moore, Erik Haula and Alex Laferriere is being used in tougher defensive-zone start situations. The goal there is to soak up hard matchups so the Byfield line can see better looks, while also creating second-chance offense through forechecking pressure.
Special teams will also loom large this week. The penalty kill, with Scott Laughton and Joel Armia up front and Joel Edmundson and Brian Dumoulin on the back end, held its shape well against Vegas. The box stayed compact and did its job around the net, shutting down tip-ins.
The power play, meanwhile, is still a work in progress. Panarin is on the left side, Kempe is on the right wall, and Clarke is running the point, but the group needs quicker puck movement to pull penalty kills out of position. Clean entries matter too, along with staying out of the box and avoiding giveaways at the blue line.
The schedule gives the Kings a pair of home games at Crypto.com Arena to put those fixes into action. Edmonton visits on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 10:30 PM, followed by Boston on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 10:00 PM.
The first matchup puts the focus on rush defense and neutral-zone spacing. The second asks more of the power play, plus a stronger net-front presence.
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