Kings vs Senators on Thursday night is the Los Angeles Kings’ first game at Crypto.com Arena in 12 days, and the first of a seven-game homestand. It is also a chance at something they still do not have this season: a home win. The Kings are 3-6-2 overall and 0-3-0 at home, with one goal in each of those three losses. The Ottawa Senators (8-5-0) visit at 7 p.m. PT on the second stop of a five-game road trip and are still playing without starting goaltender Linus Ullmark.
Three home games, three goals
The road has been kinder to the Kings this season. They went 3-2-0 on the trip that ended Tuesday in Chicago and are 3-3-2 away from home. At Crypto.com Arena, according to ESPN box scores, the story has been the same three times:
- Oct. 6 vs. Florida: lost 2-1. Alex Laferriere scored, and the Kings were outshot 30-20.
- Oct. 13 vs. Edmonton: lost 4-1. Brandt Clarke scored, and the Kings outshot the Oilers 40-17. Connor McDavid had a goal and three assists.
- Oct. 17 vs. Boston: lost 4-1. Laferriere opened the scoring in the first period, and the game was 1-1 until Marat Khusnutdinov’s go-ahead goal in the third.
That is three goals on 86 shots at home. The power play went 0 for 11 across the three games. It is a small sample, and the Edmonton game shows the Kings can generate volume, but the finishing has not followed them home.
Who is in, who is out
The lineup is the biggest unknown going into the morning skate. Drew Doughty and Corey Perry were both late scratches in Chicago with undisclosed injuries and are listed as day-to-day. Several injury trackers list Thursday as their expected return date, but the Kings had not confirmed either player’s status as of Thursday morning. Doughty was reported banged up in Monday’s 6-3 win over the New York Rangers, a game in which he had a goal and two assists. Perry earned his first point of the season in that same game.
The rest of the Kings’ injury list, per CBS Sports and other trackers:
- Kevin Fiala (lower leg): on injured reserve, expected out until at least Oct. 31.
- Mats Zuccarello (upper body): on injured reserve, around Nov. 4.
- Alex Turcotte (undisclosed): on injured reserve, listed with a possible return Thursday.
- Jakub Dvorak (upper body) and Jan Jenik (undisclosed): both listed as out.
If Doughty cannot go, Cody Ceci stays in. He replaced Doughty in Chicago after four straight games as a healthy scratch. Erik Gustafsson, who has three points in nine games, would again be in line for heavier minutes.
Ottawa’s goaltending problem
The Senators’ best player this season has been in the crease, and he is not available. Ullmark left the Oct. 21 game against Florida after about 43 minutes, according to the ESPN box score, and was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. In his last four appearances before the injury, he allowed five goals in total. Trackers list him out until at least Nov. 7.
Since then, Ottawa has used two goaltenders, according to ESPN box scores:
- Samuel Ersson: 22 saves on 26 shots in a 6-2 home loss to the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 22.
- Jonas Johansson: 25 saves on 29 shots in a 7-4 home win over the Rangers on Oct. 24.
- Johansson: 25 saves on 27 shots in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss at Vegas.
Ottawa has not announced Thursday’s starter. For a Kings team that has struggled to score at home, a goaltender without Ullmark’s numbers is an opening.
The Ottawa skaters to watch
The Senators can score. Their 39 goals through 13 games (scores include shootout deciders) give them a comfortable edge over the Kings’ 28 in 11. The top of their lineup has done most of the work, according to ESPN box-score totals:
- Tim Stutzle: 8 goals, 8 assists in 13 games.
- Drake Batherson: 7 goals, 6 assists.
- Claude Giroux: 2 goals, 6 assists.
- Shane Pinto: 3 goals, 5 assists.
Ottawa will be without defenseman Thomas Chabot (upper body, expected back around Oct. 31) and winger William Eklund (ankle surgery, out long-term). Warren Foegele (knee) is listed as day-to-day. The Senators’ power play has been a weakness, ranked 28th at 12.7% in one preview citing NHL.com. But the Kings’ penalty kill is listed last in the league at 63.6% in the same preview, so special teams could swing the night.
The Kings’ scorers need to show up at home
Artemi Panarin leads the Kings with 7 goals and 11 points in 11 games. He has not scored at Crypto.com Arena yet. Adrian Kempe and Clarke each have 3 goals and 8 points, and Laferriere has 9 points, two of them goals scored at home. Quinton Byfield has 2 points in 9 games since returning from injury.
Head coach Peter Laviolette has spent the week talking about third periods. After Chicago he said, “The record could be a lot different if we’re closing out third periods.” Two of the three home losses were one-goal or tied games late, which makes that theme a home problem too.
Goaltending for Los Angeles
Anton Forsberg started in Chicago, so Darcy Kuemper is the logical candidate Thursday, but the Kings had not confirmed a starter as of Thursday morning. Based on ESPN box scores, Kuemper has stopped 177 of 199 shots (.889) this season, and Forsberg has stopped 101 of 112 (about .902), including relief work.
Recent history and the homestand
The Kings won both meetings last season by one goal: 1-0 in Ottawa on Nov. 15, 2025, and 2-1 at home on Nov. 24, 2025. After Thursday, the homestand continues against Buffalo on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. PT, then San Jose (Nov. 4), Pittsburgh (Nov. 7), Nashville (Nov. 10), the New York Islanders (Nov. 12) and Calgary (Nov. 14). Seven straight home games is the chance to fix a 0-3-0 home record, and Thursday is the first step.
Notes and conflicts
- Location: This is a home game for the Kings at Crypto.com Arena, not a game in Ottawa. The Kings visit Ottawa on Nov. 21.
- Doughty and Perry: Injury trackers list Thursday as their expected return date. That is a projection, not a team announcement. Treat both as game-time decisions until warmups.
- Ottawa goaltending numbers: Previews disagree. One says Johansson has made one start in Ullmark’s absence. ESPN box scores show two, on Oct. 24 and Oct. 27. We use the box scores.
- Kings goalie save percentages: Our figures come from ESPN box-score totals and may differ slightly from NHL.com.
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