Offensive struggles and inconsistencies on special teams on the power play largely defined this past regular season for the Los Angeles Kings.
The Kings ranked in the bottom five in the NHL this past season in goals per game and power-play percentage. Part of the reason why the Kings struggled so much offensively was that some of their top players and most versatile forwards caught some bad breaks in the offensive zone.
This list is ranked by goals above expected, which measures the difference between how many goals a player actually scored and how many they would be expected to score based on the quality of their scoring opportunities. A negative number can indicate poor finishing ability, unfortunate shooting results, or a combination of the two.
These LA Kings couldn't capitalize on their scoring chances in 2025-26
While the metric doesn't mean every missed opportunity can be simply attributed to bad luck, it can help to identify players whose goal totals for the Kings didn't match the quality and quantity of chances they generated.
Here are the three unluckiest Kings players from the 2025-26 regular season.
Alex Turcotte, C
Turcotte has adapted his game well on both ends of the ice, becoming a better player away from the puck and moving the puck up the ice in transition. He's a dependable two-way center in the bottom-six forward group for the Kings, but his offensive production has been lacking in this past few years.
His offensive opportunities were also somewhat limited by spending most of the season in a fourth-line role. Turcotte also didn't receive many opportunities on either of the Kings' top two power-play units on special teams either.
That's what makes Turcotte's lack of production so surprising. Despite spending much of the season on the fourth line, he ranked second among Kings forwards in both individual scoring chances and individual high-danger scoring chances (per Natural Stat Trick).
While Turcotte only scored three goals and 14 total points in 62 games played this past regular season for the Kings, he had some bad luck that impacted his overall stat line offensively.
Turcotte actually led the Kings in goals expected per 60 minutes (1.08) last season. He was expected to score double-digit goals this past regular season, but finished with -9.1 goals above expected.
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