Kings Look to Right the Ship in San Jose as Season Series Begins
The Kings sit 0-1-0 and 4th in the Pacific as they paddle up to San Jose to kick off a fresh season series with the Sharks.
Alright, grab the board, check the early numbers. The Los Angeles Kings (0-1-0 overall, 0-1-0 on the road) head into San Jose to open the season series against the Sharks (0-0-0 overall, 0-0-0 at home) on Saturday, October 3 at 10:00 PM ET at SAP Center. The Kings sit 4th in the Pacific Division early, and this one's the first meeting of the year between these two — so whatever happens Saturday, it's a clean slate on the scoreboard between them.
What the numbers say
Early stat sheet for the Kings: Joel Armia leads the club with 1 goal, and Alex Laferriere is pacing the group in both assists (2) and points (2). That's it for the sample size so far — one game's worth of data, dude, so don't go reading too much into small numbers yet. The Sharks' leaderboard hasn't filled in yet either.
Recent form is a mixed bag for LA: a 4-2 loss to Vegas, a 6-3 loss to Utah, a 2-1 win at Anaheim, a 6-2 win over Anaheim, and an 8-4 loss at Colorado round out the last five. That's two wins and three losses, and the two wins both came against Anaheim — so the vibes say this group can get rolling when the matchup is right, but the number says they haven't solved everybody yet.
San Jose's last five: a 6-1 win at Winnipeg, a 6-2 loss at Anaheim, a 2-1 shootout loss to Vegas, a 10-0 win over Anaheim, and a 4-2 win at Vegas. Three wins, two losses, and that 10-0 game is a wild outlier sitting in there — the kind of number that makes you squint at the box score twice.
Health check
The injury report is heavier on the San Jose side right now: Adam Gaudette, Alex Barre-Boulet, Quentin Musty, Cam Lund and goalie Kyle Keyser are all on injured reserve for the Sharks. The Kings have their own list to manage too — Otto Salin, Jakub Dvorak and Jan Jenik are on IR, and Kevin Fiala is out recovering from lower leg surgery. That's a real dent in the Kings' forward and blue-line depth, and it's fair to wonder how much it shows up against a Sharks roster that's banged up in its own right.
How to watch
Puck drop is Saturday, October 3 at 10:00 PM ET from SAP Center in San Jose. Catch it on ESPN+, NBC Sports BA or ABTV.
Our take
Early season, thin sample, lineup both sides missing pieces — that's a lot of variance in the water. The Kings have shown they can win when they're clicking (see: both Anaheim results), but the losses have come against quality too. Our take: lean Kings in a close one, but treat it as a vibes-based pick more than a numbers-based one — there just isn't enough data yet to surf with real confidence.
