Three nights after a 7-2 rout against San Jose, the Kings scored twice in a 5-2 loss to Pittsburgh on Nov. 7. The next game on Nov. 10, they were shutout 3-0 by Nashville, the first time they have been blanked since March 2025. These goal swings have defined the homestand. The Kings (5-9-2) scored 13 goals in their two wins and only 4 in their three losses. They are 0-8-1 when they score two goals or fewer.
The losses against Pittsburgh and Nashville both started the same way, with the Kings chasing. Against Pittsburgh, Tommy Novak scored twice in the first five minutes and ten seconds. The Kings got within one when Corey Perry scored. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh’s Chinakhov scored on the power play near the end of the first period, giving the Penguins a 3-1 lead. The Kings spent the rest of the night trying to climb back into the game. They nearly got there, when Alex Laferriere scored on the power play, cutting the deficit 3-2 in the second period. The Kings appeared to tie the game late in the same period when Artemi Panarin scored, but the Penguins challenged for offside and it was ruled no goal. In the final minutes of the period, the Penguins went up 4-2 when Sidney Crosby scored. The third period stayed 4-2 until the Kings pulled their goalie. Crosby sealed the 5-2 victory with an empty-netter late in the period. Even though it was Alex Turcotte’s first game back since the home opener due to injury, the offense seemed out of sync.
In the Nashville game three nights later, the offensive struggles continued. The Predators got on the board first when Filip Forbserg on a two-one-one rush when the Kings turned over the puck on the blue line just over five minutes in. The first period ended with the Kings down 1-0. The Kings only mustered 15 shots in the first two periods while struggling to get through the neutral zone. Forsberg scored in the second period, giving Nashville a 2-0 lead at the end of the period. The Kings were able to get 15 shots in the third period but could not get anything past Juuse Saros. The Kings ended up losing 3-0 after an empty-net goal by Adam Wilsby.
Kings' offensive struggles are making early deficits impossible to overcome
The pattern is hard to miss. When the Kings fall behind early, they struggle to get back into games. Their game against Nashville was the first time they were shut out in 108 games.
The Kings are starting to get healthier, but they are 14th in the Western Conference and 2-3 so far on this seven-game homestand. It ends with the Islanders on Nov. 12 and the Calgary Flames on Nov. 14. Those two games are the last chance to turn the homestand that began with promise into a stretch that can help the remainder of the season. The numbers tell what has to change. The formula is simple, they need to score three goals or more. They also need to stop falling behind early, since both losses this week started the turnovers. The Kings have shown they can produce when their top players are going. What they have not done, is show it from night-to-night. With two games remaining of the homestand, time is running short.
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