After losing three of their first four games of the 2025-26 season, the Los Angeles Kings entered Thursday night looking for a much-needed victory to get their season back on track.
However, they would have to battle through some early adversity as they would be without their captain and starting goaltender. Anze Kopitar and Darcy Kuemper were both sidelined against the Pittsburgh Penguins with injury.
The losses proved to be critical as the Kings once again fell short in a game that they should have come out on top.
Final from LA. #GoKingsGopic.twitter.com/BlqsVTx33S
— LA Kings (@LAKings) October 17, 2025
First Period: Fast Start Gets Rewarded
From the initial drop of the puck, the Kings were the better team for the entire first period. The Kings were solid on both sides of the ice. At one point, they were outshooting Pittsburgh 8-2 before finishing the period with an 11-8 advantage in shots on goal.
Less than five minutes into the opening frame, Warren Foegele buried his first goal of the season. Foegele was rewarded after winning the battle for a loose puck off the rebound of his first shot attempt. After battling for the puck, Foegele powered it past Arturs Silovs to give LA an early 1-0 lead.
FIRST FOEGOAL OF THE YEAR! pic.twitter.com/uPddEqViMa
— LA Kings (@LAKings) October 17, 2025
Just under halfway through the period, Kevin Fiala made it 2-0 Kings with his third goal of the year. Fiala finished off a beautiful passing play by Joel Armia and Quinton Byfield. Armia carried the puck into the offensive zone before dishing it over to Byfield, who then found Fiala with a gorgeous setup.
After 20 minutes of play, it was clear that the Kings were the better team. With strong play on both ends of the ice, LA holds a 2-0 lead with 40 minutes of play to go.
Second Period: All of a Sudden, We're Tied
The Kings started the second period off strong, generating an early scoring chance. Fiala rifled a shot off the post after a nice play by Byfield. This is the second post for LA as Trevor Moore rang one off the iron in the first period.
After a rare occurrence of no penalties in the first, the Kings found themselves shorthanded early in the second period after Byfield was called for hooking. Special teams hurt them once again as Evgeni Malkin beat Anton Forsberg on the man advantage. Forsberg was beaten with a wrister from the face-off dot, one that he probably wants back.
Not even one minute after Malkin cut the LA lead in half, Conor Dewar made it 2-2. Dewar scored after gaining possession of a loose puck in front of the Kings' net. Kind of a whacky goal, but another one that Forsberg probably wants another stab at.
With just under four minutes left in the middle frame, LA found themselves on the man advantage after Sidney Crosby was called for tripping. Despite the Pens captain being in the box, the Kings couldn't get anything going on the power play.
Third Period: Special Teams Prove to be not so Special
Once again, that silly red post got in the way of a potential Kings goal as Cody Ceci fired a shot off the crossbar. After a slower-paced third period, LA had a chance to redeem themselves on the power play after Crosby was called for his second stick infraction of the evening.
They did exactly the opposite. Another terrible power play proves to be costly. The Penguins managed to escape their zone, leading to a brief two-on-one that was shut down. However, the Kings fell asleep after that, and Filip Hallander took advantage by banging home the loose puck for his first career NHL goal, which was also the eventual game-winning goal.
Los Angeles pushed to tie the game, but to no avail. With 30 seconds left in the final frame, Crosby iced the gam,e making it 4-2 with an empty net goal.
Result: Penguins Win 4-2
Another disappointing loss. After a first period that looked like the Kings might run away with the game, the Penguins competed hard and battled back to steal two points. This loss is due to horrendous special teams and the lack of big saves. Hopefully, those issues can be chalked up to the absence of Kopitar and Kuemper. If not, those issues need to be figured out as soon as possible.
The Kings (1-3-1) will have their hands full next game as they face the Carolina Hurricanes (4-0-0) on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. PT, 9:00 p.m. ET.
