The Los Angeles Kings will look for these two players to finish the season strong as LA fights to stay in the playoff race after the Olympic break.
The Los Angeles Kings will return to game action on Wednesday, beginning a six-game homestand with a brutal back-to-back against the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers, who are the top two seeds in the Pacific Division, respectively. This will be acrucial stretch for the Kings.
Analyzing the Kings' roster, it's clear they will need a couple of key players to step up in the final stretch of the 2025-26 season. With playoff positioning on the line in a competitive conference, consistency for the second half of the season will be everything.
With that being said, let's dive into the two players who need to end the season on a high note if Los Angeles has any chance of a successful season.
Darcy Kuemper
The 2025-26 campaign has had its ups and downs for Darcy Kuemper. While he delivered strong performances at times, keeping the Kings alive in games and single-handedly winning them.
There has also been inconsistency during critical stretches, especially before the break, when he gave up 15 goals in the last five games. A lot of this has had to do with injuries: he recently left the game against the New York Rangers after an upper-body injury, missing several games. Since coming back, Kuemper hasn't looked the same. He's still good, but sometimes he's been a liability on ice.
Still, in 36 games this season, Kuemper has a .902 save percentage, a 2.59 goals against average, and an under-.500 record at 14-11-9 as the primary starter for the Kings. The save percentage is still good, but it's the worst save percentage he's had as a King and the worst since the 2023-24 season when he was starting for the Washington Capitals.
It's serviceable numbers, but not quite the level the Kings expect from their veteran star. A legitimate case can be made that Anton Forsberg has been better at times, especially in the late stretches of this season, with a higher save percentage (.907) and fewer goals against (2.57).
But people would still take Kuemper because of his ability to be a game-changer on defense and to defend the net. For the Kings struggling on the defensive end for most part of this season, the 35-year-old needs to round into form at the right time, whose goaltending will be essential down the stretch.
Quinton Byfield
Quinton Byfield will be looking to heat up on the offensive side once the Kings return to action.
The former No. 2 overall pick has shown growth in his overall game over the years, with his numbers increasing in the last four seasons, including scoring more goals, points, and assists.
But this season, in 55 games played, Byfield has 11 goals, 30 points, and has a minus-6 rating when he's on the ice for Los Angeles. It's respectable numbers, but after last season's breakout, he's shown no improvement this season.
The most concerning part is that he had only two goals in his last nine games and has struggled to generate offense, even by himself. Byfield has had zero shots on goal nine times this season, even when he's played over 15 minutes on ice and 20 minutes at times. That means he's basically been nonexistent on ice when he plays half the time, and that's very concerning.
The good news is that Los Angeles acquired Artemi Panarin on Feb. 5 from the New York Rangers, which looks amazing now, especially with Kevin Fiala potentially missing the rest of the season after going down in the Olympics.
If Panarin wasn't on the team and Fiala was hurt, there would be more on Byfield to produce on offense and carry the load, but now with Panarin in Los Angeles, the 23-year-old still has some pressure but won't take a big load.
With the Kings hoping to pursue playoff aspirations, they need Byfield, who was amazing last season and the year before, to play like the player who signed that $31 million extension, which the Kings showed trust in by giving him that contract.
If all this comes to fruition, Kuemper and Byfield going back to the players we know them to be, the Kings will be in a much stronger position as they head into the most important stretch of their season.
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