On Wednesday morning (July 15), the NHL announced the home openers for the upcoming 2026-27 regular season, including that the Los Angeles Kings will host the Florida Panthers at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 6.
This will be a test for new head coach Peter Laviolette and the Kings right out of the gates in the upcoming 2026-27 regular season. After all the signings the Kings and general manager Ken Holland made in free agency this summer, the new roster and coaching staff will be put to the test right away against a team that won back-to-back Stanley Cups as recently as 2024 and 2025.
The challenge becomes even greater when you consider Florida's blockbuster trade acquisition this offseason of center Brady Tkachuk, which gives the Panthers another elite power forward to pair with his brother Matthew Tkachuk.
It will be Laviolette's first home opener as the head coach of the Kings after he was hired to replace Jim Hiller and the interim head coach DJ Smith early this offseason. We will also see the debut of multiple new Kings' free agent signings in the black and silver uniforms at Crypto Arena, including veteran winger Mats Zuccarello and center Erik Haula.
The Panthers will be the home opener for multiple teams in the Pacific Division this fall, including the San Jose Sharks (Oct. 1), Anaheim Ducks (Oct. 4), and the Kings (Oct. 6).
This past regular season, the Kings fell to the Panthers by a score of 5-2 when these two teams met at Crypto.com Arena last fall on Nov. 6.
Part of the reveal of the home openers for the upcoming 2026-27 NHL regular season was also an announcement that the Kings will be part of the first primetime night of action on TNT when Los Angeles takes on the Colorado Avalanche in the Mile High City on Sep. 30 at 7 p.m. PT.
This is the second time in as many years that the Kings open up their regular season schedule on national television against Colorado.
The Kings will battle the Avalanche in the second of back-to-back games on the first night of live NHL games on national television on TNT this upcoming season, coming after the Pittsburgh Penguins face the Philadelphia Flyers at 4:30 p.m. PT.
While a single game won't define the Kings' season, opening up vs. one of the NHL's most dangerous rosters provides an early opportunity to see whether the team's new additions and the coaching staff have moved Los Angeles more toward contender status this fall.
The Kings finished up the 2025-26 season with a record of 35-27-20, good for the franchise's fifth straight postseason appearance in the first round.
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