The Los Angeles Kings are back at Crypto.com Arena and will be looking to avoid their first three-game losing streak since October when the Kings had a three-game losing streak from the second to fourth game of the 2024-25 season. On Wednesday night, the Kings will be playing a Florida Panthers team that has won three of their last four games, including two straight against the Anaheim Ducks.
Entering this game, the Kings are going to look a little different as Jim Hiller reshuffled the lines after a lackluster game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. They would lose 5-1 in that game and didn't play with the same energy that fans are accustomed to seeing.
The good news for the Kings is that when they have had these types of games, they have been able to bounce back rather quickly. They did it earlier this season after a 4-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks to come back and beat the Vegas Golden Knights 6-3 at the end of October.
The same thing happened at the end of November when they would lose 7-2 to the San Jose Sharks but come back in the very next game to beat the Winnipeg Jets by a final of 4-1.
Final Score Prediction: Los Angeles Kings 4, Florida Panthers 2
I expect that trend to continue and the Los Angeles Kings to bounce back with Darcy Kuemper back in the net. However, the game will likely be back and forth for most of the night as the Panthers are one of the better offensive teams in the league.
The outcome of this game won't be decided until the third period but fortunately the Kings have been really good in the third period. Fortunately, Los Angeles has been excellent in that final period at home and has outscored opponents 24-15. This should be enough to send them on their next road trip with a win.