The NHL’s schedule reveal on Wednesday morning dropped an immediate stress test for the Kings.
Los Angeles will open its home slate on Oct. 6 at Crypto.com Arena against the Florida Panthers, a matchup that puts new head coach Peter Laviolette and a revamped roster under the spotlight right away in the 2026-27 regular season. After a busy summer of free-agent moves by general manager Ken Holland, the Kings won’t have much time to settle in before facing a team that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025.
Florida got even tougher this offseason with its blockbuster trade for center Brady Tkachuk, adding another high-end power forward alongside Matthew Tkachuk. That only raises the degree of difficulty for Los Angeles in what will be Laviolette’s first home opener behind the Kings bench after he was hired to replace Jim Hiller and interim head coach DJ Smith earlier this offseason.
It will also be the first home opener in black and silver for several of the team’s new additions, including veteran winger Mats Zuccarello and center Erik Haula.
The Panthers are showing up early and often on Pacific Division home-opening nights this fall. San Jose gets Florida on Oct.
1, Anaheim follows on Oct. 4, and then the Kings close that run on Oct. 6.
The matchup also brings back a familiar result from last season. When these teams met at Crypto.com Arena on Nov. 6, the Panthers beat the Kings 5-2.
Los Angeles’ season will begin a few days earlier on national television. The Kings are part of TNT’s first primetime night of NHL action on Sep. 30, when they visit the Colorado Avalanche in the Mile High City at 7 p.m.
PT. It’s the second straight year the Kings open their regular-season schedule against Colorado on national TV.
That game will be the second half of a back-to-back on TNT’s opening night, following the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Philadelphia Flyers at 4:30 p.m. PT.
One game won’t settle anything, but the opener against one of the league’s most dangerous teams will give Los Angeles an early read on how far the new pieces and new voice have pushed the club. The Kings finished the 2025-26 season at 35-27-20, good for a fifth straight first-round postseason appearance.
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Ranking The 3 Best Kings Centers Before Anze Kopitar Took Over
Before Anze Kopitar became the face of the Kings down the middle, Bryan Smolinski was one of the steady veteran centers helping bridge the gap in the early 2000s. Acquired in the big 1999 deal with Ottawa, he brought versatility and a reliable two-way presence to a team trying to get back into the playoff picture, and he fit into a roster that was still searching for its identity. His value showed up in more than one way, from consistent regular-season production to the kind of dependable minutes that coaches lean on when the games tighten up.
Smolinski was also part of one of the franchises most memorable postseason moments, when Los Angeles knocked off Detroit in the first round of the 2001 playoffs. He added to that run with solid offense against both the Red Wings and Avalanche, and his scoring touch carried over through his first full seasons in Los Angeles as he remained one of the clubs most productive centers before Kopitar arrived to take over the position for good. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Fans Can Finally See How Brutal This Schedule Looks
The NHL has finally put the Kings 2026-27 slate on paper, and it does not look like the kind of schedule that hands out many easy nights. Los Angeles will have the usual rhythm of a long season to manage, but the calendar already stands out for the way it stacks demanding stretches around a full 84-game grind, with a mix of heavyweight opponents and the kind of travel that can test depth as much as talent.
There are plenty of dates that will jump off the page for Kings fans, from the early-season opener on the road to the first night back at home, plus a pair of seven-game homestands and a seven-game trip that will ask a lot of the roster. Add in visits and matchups with the Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes and Alex Ovechkin, and the schedule has the feel of a season where Los Angeles will have to earn every bit of its positioning the hard way. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Prospects Just Got A Meaningful Boost Behind The Bench
The Ontario Reign added a familiar veteran voice to the bench, naming Mike Haviland as an assistant coach. For a Kings organization that leans heavily on its AHL pipeline, it is the kind of behind-the-scenes move that can matter as much as a roster tweak, especially with a coach who brings more than two decades of experience and recent stops with the Columbus Blue Jackets and their affiliate in Cleveland.
Havilands arrival comes as the rest of the Pacific Divisions developmental landscape keeps shifting, too, with Henderson hiring Alex Loh and Coachella Valley bringing in Scott Ford. For Los Angeles, the bigger picture is clear: the Reign are trying to stay sharp and stable in the same environment where the Kings prospects are expected to grow, and a stronger staff can be just as important as a stronger lineup. [Read more 🡒]