The Kings vs Oilers preview starts with two very different starts. The Los Angeles Kings (0-2-2) host the Edmonton Oilers (4-0-1) on Tuesday, October 13, at 7:30 p.m. PT at Crypto.com Arena, still looking for their first win of the season. Edmonton has won four straight. Mats Zuccarello and Alex Turcotte will not play, because the injured reserve rules keep them out at least through Tuesday.
The Kings are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss in Vegas. Our recap of that game has the details. The Kings practiced Sunday at noon at Toyota Sports Performance Center, per the team’s postgame notes.
Kings vs Oilers Preview: The IR Math
The Kings placed Zuccarello and Turcotte on injured reserve on Saturday, according to an announcement on LAKings.com. NHL.com lists Zuccarello’s injury as upper body and Turcotte’s as undisclosed.
LA Kings Insider’s Zach Dooley explained what the move means: a minimum of seven days out of action, which he wrote “rules them out only for tonight’s game in Vegas and Tuesday’s game versus Edmonton.” He added that they would be eligible for Saturday’s game against Boston, but that does not mean they will play. Dooley’s read was that “Turcotte feels shorter than Zuccarello.” Pro Hockey Rumors, citing The Mayor’s Manor, reported that both placements were made retroactive to October 6.
ESPN’s injury report lists estimated returns of October 17 for Turcotte and October 20 for Zuccarello. Those are estimates, not team timelines. Kevin Fiala (lower-leg fracture) is also still on injured reserve, with an ESPN estimate of October 17.
Putting two forwards on IR also opens roster spots. Dooley noted the Kings would have two open spots in theory, and said he would keep an eye on forward Kenny Connors if the Kings use one before Tuesday. That is his speculation, not a reported move.
How the Kings Have Lined Up
The official roster for Saturday in Vegas had the Kings dressing 12 forwards and six defensemen: Artemi Panarin, Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe, Trevor Moore, Erik Haula, Alex Laferriere, Joel Armia, Scott Laughton, Jared Wright, Andre Lee, Samuel Helenius and Corey Perry up front, with Brian Dumoulin, Cody Ceci, Joel Edmundson, Drew Doughty, Mikey Anderson and Brandt Clarke on defense. Darcy Kuemper started in goal, with Anton Forsberg as the backup.
Wright, who signed a two-year contract Saturday, played 10:24 with three shots in his season debut. Erik Gustafsson was not in the lineup. Peter Laviolette has said he can go “11 and seven or 12 and six,” so the alignment can change.
The Kings’ Early Numbers
These figures are from NHL.com’s standings and stats:
- Record: 0-2-2, two points, seventh in the Pacific Division.
- Goals: 10 for and 17 against in four games. The Kings lost 8-4 at Colorado, 5-4 in overtime at San Jose, 2-1 to Florida and 2-1 in overtime at Vegas.
- Points leaders: Panarin has four (three goals, one assist). Haula, Kempe, Laferriere and Clarke have three each.
- Goaltending: Kuemper has an .868 save percentage in three games, and Forsberg has an .800 in one.
Panarin has scored in all three road games. He has not yet scored at home this season, so Tuesday is a chance to change that. The last two losses were one-goal games, and Laviolette called the Vegas loss “frustrating” because the Kings were “in a game down the stretch.”
Why the Kings Are Not Panicking
The dressing room’s message after Vegas was that the results have been close. “I think we’ve been in every game, every game besides the Colorado game I think has been very even, games that we feel like we definitely could have won,” Kempe said, per LA Kings Insider. “I think that still keeps the confidence up in the group.” Kuemper said the group has to use the frustration the right way: “We’re competitors in here. We hate losing, and we want to win,” he told NHL.com.
The depth pipeline also had a good Sunday. The Ontario Reign, the Kings’ AHL affiliate, beat the Coachella Valley Firebirds 3-2 in overtime, according to LA Kings Insider. Wright scored twice for Ontario before his recall, so the Reign are where the next call-up would come from if the Kings use an open roster spot.
Scouting the Oilers
Edmonton opened with a 6-5 overtime loss to Vancouver and has won four straight since: 9-7 at Vancouver, 3-1 over Seattle, 5-2 at Anaheim and 3-1 at San Jose on Saturday. The Oilers have 25 goals for and 17 against.
The numbers below are the same on NHL.com and ESPN:
- Connor McDavid: 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in five games.
- Evan Bouchard: 12 points (six goals, six assists), a big start for a defenseman.
- Leon Draisaitl: nine points (three goals, six assists).
- Vasily Podkolzin: seven points (five goals, two assists).
In Saturday’s 3-1 win in San Jose, Mattias Ekholm, Podkolzin and Alex Formenton scored. McDavid and Bouchard assisted on Podkolzin’s goal, per NHL.com.
The Oilers are missing players too. ESPN lists Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (lower body) on injured reserve, goaltender Frederik Andersen out with a knee injury until “maybe” December, and Matt Savoie on long-term injured reserve. Zach Hyman and Jake Walman are listed as day-to-day. Devon Levi (3-0) and Tristan Jarry (1-0-1) have shared the net, according to NHL.com.
The History
Kings fans know this opponent well. Edmonton eliminated Los Angeles in the first round four years in a row, from 2022 through 2025. A regular-season game in October does not change that history, but it gives the matchup an edge.
The Kings’ official highlights from the Vegas game show what has been working and what has not:
What to Watch Tuesday
- Special teams. Vegas went 2-for-3 on the power play Saturday and the Kings went 1-for-3. Edmonton’s power play will test the penalty kill.
- The goalie decision. Kuemper started in Vegas. Laviolette has not said who starts Tuesday.
- The McDavid matchup. Whom Laviolette uses against McDavid’s line at home, with last change, will be worth watching.
- A first win. The Kings then host Boston on Saturday, October 17, at 6 p.m. PT.
Unconfirmed
- The Kings’ starting goalie and lineup for Tuesday.
- Whether the Kings fill an open roster spot before the game.
- Return dates for Zuccarello, Turcotte and Fiala. The dates above are ESPN estimates.
- Whether Hyman and Walman play for Edmonton.
Want the pressers and postgame reports first? Subscribe to Infanity TV on YouTube.
