The Los Angeles Kings head into the midpoint of their five-game road trip taking on the Florida Panthers.

LA are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Monday.

Florida returns home from a four-game west coast road trip where they faced the Kings last Wednesday (January 22, 2025).

This is the second and final meeting of the 2024-25 NHL Regular Season between these two clubs. They split last season’s series, each team winning at home. Coincidentally, the Kings won both last season and this season’s home games by a score of 2-1.

The Kings have earned fifteen points in their last eight games against the Panthers.

CAT'S GAME

When these two teams last met on January 22, 2025, Kings Head Coach Jim Hiller went with Darcy Kuemper in net who gave up just one goal on twenty-eight shots faced for a .964 SV%.

In terms of GAA and SV% numbers, Kuemper is the go-to guy between himself and David Rittich versus the Panthers.

Darcy Kuemper vs. Florida Panthers:

4-6-1 (12 Appearances), 2.76 GAA, .914 SV%

David Rittich vs. Florida Panthers:

4-1-0, 3.98 GAA, .885 SV%

However, I believe this game could get out of hand on the scoresheet, and it may come down to just being happy you made it out of the building with a win. In that world, it would be Rittich between the pipes who has an 80% winning percentage against the Panthers.

Here's a fun walk down Memory Ln.

BOBCAT

Panthers Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has a 1-4-0 record in his last five starts against LA.

In seventeen career appearances versus the Kings, Bobrobsky is 4-10-2. Despite a low win/loss record, his GAA and SV% numbers are solid – 2.91 GAA, .903 SV%.

CAT OUT OF THE BAG

Ahead of Monday’s game against the Red Wings, Kings Defenseman Brandt Clarke was asked about having Defenseman Drew Doughty back with the team.

At the end of his response, Clarke may have let it slip that Doughty could return to the lineup on this road trip, possibly in this matchup with the Panthers.

“We’re looking forward to having him back in the next couple of days, here.” – Brandt Clarke on Drew Doughty’s return, January 27, 2025

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I don’t bring this up to have a gotcha journalism moment. In fact, mentioning this at all is probably why most athletes loathe the media for stirring the pot and/or reaching for something that may not be there.

I only bring it up because I can’t think of a more fitting scenario for Doughty's return than getting a chance to square off against Matthew Tkachuk.

This morning, NHL.com confirmed Doughty will make his season debut today.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5LkCOGk6j8[/embed]

Puck drop is slated for 4:05 PM PST. You can watch the game on television via the FanDuel Sports Network or listen live with the ESPN LA app.

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