Three nights after lighting up San Jose for seven goals, the Kings looked nothing like that team again.
They followed that 7-2 win with a 5-2 loss to Pittsburgh on Nov. 7, then came back three nights later and were blanked 3-0 by Nashville on Nov. 10. Those two games captured the problem that has taken over this homestand: when the offense goes quiet, the Kings have no way to dig out.
The scoring swings have been extreme. In their two wins during the homestand, the Kings have piled up 13 goals.
In their three losses, they have managed just four. Overall, they are 5-9-2 and 0-8-1 when they score two goals or fewer.
Against Pittsburgh, the Kings were chasing almost immediately. Tommy Novak scored twice in the first five minutes and 10 seconds, forcing Los Angeles into catch-up mode right away. Corey Perry got the Kings on the board, but Chinakhov answered on the power play late in the first period to make it 3-1 Penguins.
Los Angeles kept pushing. Alex Laferriere scored on the power play in the second period to trim the deficit to 3-2, and the Kings thought they had tied it later in the frame when Artemi Panarin scored.
Pittsburgh challenged for offside, and the goal was wiped out. Before the period ended, Sidney Crosby made it 4-2, and he finished the job with an empty-netter late in the third for the 5-2 final.
Even with Alex Turcotte back in the lineup for the first time since the home opener after his injury, the Kings never really found their rhythm.
The Nashville game had a similar feel, only with even less offense to work with. Filip Forbserg put the Predators in front just over five minutes in after the Kings turned the puck over on the blue line during a two-on-one rush. That left Los Angeles down 1-0 after the opening period, and the pressure only grew from there.
The Kings managed just 15 shots over the first two periods as they struggled to move the puck through the neutral zone. Forsberg struck again in the second period to extend Nashville’s lead to 2-0, and Juuse Saros shut the door from there.
Los Angeles did get 15 shots in the third, but nothing got past him. Adam Wilsby added an empty-net goal, and the shutout was complete.
It was the first time the Kings had been blanked since March 2025, and the bigger issue is impossible to ignore: once they get behind early, they have a hard time recovering.
They’re starting to get healthier, but the results still haven’t followed. The Kings sit 14th in the Western Conference and are 2-3 on this seven-game homestand so far. They still have two games left, against the Islanders on Nov. 12 and the Calgary Flames on Nov. 14, and those are the last chances to salvage what began as a promising stretch.
The path forward is pretty clear from the numbers. The Kings need three goals or more, and they need to stop handing opponents early momentum with turnovers.
When their top players are rolling, they can score in bunches. The problem is doing it night after night.
With two games left at home, the clock is ticking.
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