The veteran winger suits up for his home debut while Darcy Kuemper begins a high-stakes audition to reclaim the starting job under new coach Peter Laviolette.
The Los Angeles Kings are back at Crypto.com Arena.
After opening the preseason on the road, Los Angeles will play in front of its home crowd for the first time since its 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs run when it hosts the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night.
There will be plenty to watch beyond the scoreboard, particularly with several regulars entering the lineup for the first time this preseason.
At the center of that group is Artemi Panarin.
The 34-year-old winger is set to make his preseason debut with the Kings after joining the organization in a February trade. Panarin made an immediate impact following the move to Los Angeles, recording 27 points in 26 games while leading the team with 18 assists during that span.
Drew Doughty, who was named the club's captain on Friday, is not expected to play, leaving alternate captains Mikey Anderson and Adrian Kempe to wear the letters in his absence.
Darcy Kuemper is another notable name entering the lineup.
Kuemper is expected to make his first start of the preseason after a 2025-26 season that fell short of the standard he established the year before. In 2024-25, he was named a Vezina Trophy finalist after putting together one of the strongest seasons of his career.
Now, Kuemper gets his first game action of the preseason as he looks to regain the starting role he lost to Anton Forsberg late last season.
There is plenty at stake for Kuemper. He enters the season with a new head coach in Peter Laviolette, who has shown throughout his career that he is comfortable leaning heavily on one goaltender. During his time with the New York Rangers, Igor Shesterkin routinely handled the majority of the workload.
If Kuemper wants to reestablish himself as the Kings' No. 1 option, there is little room for a slow start. He'll need to approach these preseason opportunities with the urgency of a meaningful game — perhaps not quite Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, but you get the idea.
Game Information
The game starts at 7 p.m. PST.
Fans can watch the game on SLVR or LAKings.com. The game can also be heard on 710 ESPN LA and the ESPN LA app.
