The Los Angeles Kings get another crack at the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night, with the puck set to drop at 10 p.m. EST in a Pacific Division matchup at Los Angeles. It’s the second time these teams have met this season, and the first one turned into a wild one: San Jose won 5-4 in overtime.
That earlier game came with a big performance from Igor Chernyshov, who scored twice before an upper-body injury knocked him out for Wednesday’s rematch. He’s one of several names missing from the Sharks’ lineup.
Los Angeles comes in at 4-7-2 overall and is still looking for its first win against division opponents, sitting at 0-1-2 in Pacific Division play. The Kings have scored 36 goals and given up 45, leaving them at minus-9 on goal differential. Over their last 10 games, they’ve gone 4-5-1 while averaging 2.7 goals and allowing 2.6 per game.
San Jose has been a little better in division play, going 2-1-0 against Pacific Division teams. The Sharks are 7-8-1 overall and have shown they can cash in when the offense gets rolling: they are 6-2-1 this season when scoring at least three goals. In their last 10, they’re also 4-5-1, with 2.5 goals scored and 2.6 allowed per game.
Artemi Panarin leads the Kings with eight goals and five assists. Brandt Clarke has chipped in three goals and five assists over his last 10 games. For San Jose, Will Smith leads the way with six goals and four assists, while Michael Misa has three goals and one assist over his last 10 games.
Los Angeles will be without Jakub Dvorak (upper-body), Mats Zuccarello (upper-body), Kevin Fiala (leg), Jan Jenik (undisclosed) and Alex Turcotte (undisclosed). Adrian Kempe is day to day with an undisclosed injury. San Jose is missing Chernyshov, Alexander Wennberg (upper body), Kyle Keyser (upper body) and Quentin Musty (upper body).
In Other News...
Kings Send A Clear Message About Their Forward Depth Plan
The Kings continued to shuffle their forward group by recalling Kenny Connors from the AHLs Ontario Reign and sending Taylor Ward back down. Connors has already gotten a taste of the NHL in two games and has been productive in the minors, while Ward had appeared in four games for Los Angeles this season before the move.
The timing matters because the Kings are also expecting reinforcements soon, with Kevin Fiala and Alex Turcotte both nearing a return to the active roster. For a team trying to sort out its forward depth, this kind of transaction suggests the next few days could bring more movement as the lineup gets closer to full strength. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Pipeline Faces Pressure As Reign Try To End Costly Slide
The Ontario Reign head into their meeting with the San Jose Barracuda trying to stop a four-game skid, and the timing matters for a Kings organization that has leaned on its AHL club to keep the pipeline moving. Recent roster movement has only added to the sense of churn, with Taylor Ward sent back to Ontario and Kenny Connors recalled to Los Angeles, leaving the Reign to sort out their next look while trying to steady a season that has started to wobble.
Aatu Jamsen and Henry Brzustewicz are among the names expected to shoulder more of the load as Ontario tries to get back on track, and the goaltending picture is changing too. The Reign are hoping for a more settled stretch in net, which would give the group a better chance to build some rhythm after a rough run and keep the Kings development track from getting any bumpier. [Read more 🡒]
Alex Turcotte Gives Kings Hope At A Brutal Time
Amid an early-season stretch already marked by injuries and uneven play, Alex Turcotte offered the Kings a small but meaningful sign of progress Tuesday by returning to full participation at team practice. The forward had been skating on his own before rejoining the group, a step forward after he landed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury on Oct. 10.
For a team trying to steady itself while the lineup keeps shifting, any healthy body matters, especially one with Turcottes upside. The Kings still do not have a set timetable for his return to game action, so this is only a checkpoint for now, but it is the kind of development that can help ease some of the pressure around a bruised roster. [Read more 🡒]