Five games into the 2026-27 NHL regular season, and the Los Angeles Kings are the only team in the Western Conference still without a victory. The Kings hosted their arch-nemesis Edmonton Oilers at Crypto.com Arena Tuesday night, and once again fell to their division rival.
Los Angeles tried to fight back after going down 3-0 following the first period, but was unable to catch up and cash in on scoring chances in the second and third periods. Head Coach Peter Laviolette swapped out goaltender Darcy Kuemper for Anton Forsberg after allowing three goals on seven shots, to try and provide some sort of spark.
Forsberg was perfect in relief, stopping all nine shots he faced, although Edmonton spent most of the 2nd and 3rd on their defensive side of the ice.
The Kings were horrible out of the gates, to put things lightly. Defensive lapses, poor goaltending, and puck-watching led to three Oilers goals in relatively quick succession. The Oilers’ lack of scoring depth was no problem at all, as their top line combined for eight total points on the night.
LA had an especially difficult time defending Connor McDavid, who pretty much single-handedly created the opportunity leading to Edmonton’s second goal, and notched his own tally later in the period. McDavid proved why he is regarded as the NHL’s best player, recording one goal and three assists. He was in on every single Oilers goal on Tuesday night.
When McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were on the ice together, it seemed like a complete mismatch against LA’s defensive group. And despite controlling play for much of the following 40 minutes, Los Angeles lacked the star power and ability to capitalize on good scoring looks.
“It’s just not f-ing good enough right now; we got to figure it out fast,” said Trevor Moore postgame.
The Kings will need to wait until Saturday for their next game against the Boston Bruins, as urgency to get in the win column is rising quickly.