LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Kings opened their home slate in the 2026-27 campaign with an early-season test against the odds-on favorites to win the Stanley Cup, seeking their first victory of the season and the first of the Peter Laviolette era in the 60th season of Kings hockey.
Instead, Los Angeles suffered its third straight defeat to begin the season, falling 2-1 to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena in the home opener.
Los Angeles took a 1-0 lead on Alex Laferriere’s first goal of the season and carried the advantage into the first intermission. However, the Kings failed to capitalize on a prime 5-on-3 opportunity to begin the second period and were unable to find the back of the net over the final 40 minutes, resulting in their ninth consecutive loss dating back to last season.
"I think we could have done better with regard to the execution," Laviolette said. "At the end of the day, we did not move the puck efficiently enough."
One area that saw significant improvement came inside the crease, where goaltender Darcy Kuemper stopped 26 of 28 shots and played a key role in Los Angeles’ penalty kill, which held Florida scoreless on all six of its power-play opportunities.
"Darcy made some good saves," defenseman Drew Doughty said. "You need that from your goalie on the PK (penalty kill)."
Edwin So - The Sporting Tribune
Los Angeles Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper (35) watches the play during an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers, Tuesday, October 6, 2026 in Los Angeles.
Kuemper’s strong performance against Florida came on the heels of a career-worst outing in the season opener against the team that swept Los Angeles out of the playoffs last season. The 36-year-old surrendered eight goals on 29 shots in a Wednesday's 8-4 loss to the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners — the Colorado Avalanche.
“The first few games we hung [the] goalies out to dry,” Laferriere said. “[Darc] played an unbelievable game.”
The former sixth-round pick started 50 games in each of the last two seasons for Los Angeles, collecting 50 wins over that span. The Kings are hopeful that Kuemper can rediscover the consistency and dominance that made him one of the NHL’s premier goaltenders two seasons ago.
After joining Los Angeles following a two-year stint with the Washington Capitals, he posted a 2.02 goals-against average, the second-best mark in the league, paired with a .922 save percentage (3rd in NHL).
Last season, however, the 15-year veteran took a step back. Kuemper allowed 2.78 goals per game, a 0.76 increase from the previous season, while posting a .891 save percentage. It marked his worst season as a King and ultimately led to Anton Forsberg making all four starts in April’s playoff series against Colorado.
Despite earning just a single point through their first three games, Los Angeles’ newest captain remains confident in the club's ability to rebound Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights — the team that represented the Western Conference in last season’s Stanley Cup Final.
"I believe in us," Doughty said.