The LA Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] need a win after dropping their last 3 games. The Kings are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/dallas-stars], and their last win was on December 8th against the Utah Mammoth [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/utah]. The Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers] are coming off a 5-2 win over their rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning]. Florida [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers] is looking to extend its winning streak to 3 games tonight against the Kings. PROJECTED KINGS LINES Here are the projected lines [https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-lineup-projections-2025-26-season] for the Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings]: Alex Laferriere - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe Kevin Fiala - Quinton Byfield - Joel Armia Warren Foegele - Alex Turcotte - Trevor Moore Andrei Kuzmenko - Jeff Mallott - Corey Perry Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke Brian Dumoulin - Cody Ceci Anton Forsberg Pheonix Copley PROJECTED PANTHERS LINES Here are the projected lines [https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-lineup-projections-2025-26-season] for the Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers]: Eetu Luostarinen - Anton Lundell - Sam Reinhart Carter Verhaeghe - Sam Bennett - Brad Marchand A.J. Greer - Evan Rodrigues - Mackie Samoskevich Jesper Boqvist - Luke Kunin - Noah Gregor Gustav Forsling - Aaron Ekblad Niko Mikkola - Seth Jones Uvis Balinskis - Jeff Petry Daniil Tarasov Sergei Bobrovsky LINE CHANGES AND INJURIES The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] will be without Darcy Kuemper after he sustained an upper-body injury in the Dallas Stars game, and they will also be without Phillip Danault due to illness. The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] are starting Anton Forsberg with Pheonix Copley as the backup due to Kuemper's injury. The Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers] will still be without Aleksander Barkov (knee), Matthew Tkachuk (lower body), Tomas Nosek (knee), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder), and Cole Schwindt (arm). The Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers] also elected to start Daniil Tarasov after Bobrovsky started the last 2 games. KEY FACTORS The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] will be looking at their top forwards tonight, as their offence has struggled during this losing streak. Adrian Kempe is still putting up good numbers, as he has 5 points in his last 5 games. Kevin Fiala has remained consistent for the Kings; in his last 5 games, he has 4 points. But the Kings need Quinton Byfield to step up, as he has 0 points in his last 6 games. Defensively, the Kings will also have to be strong, especially without Darcy Kuemper, who has been very solid. The Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers] have been good recently as well, and the Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] will have to watch out for Brad Marchand as he leads the Panthers with 35 points this season. On the backend for Florida [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers], the Kings will have to be aware of Seth Jones and his ability to help produce offence for the Panthers, as he has 5 goals and 19 points on the year. The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] have struggled recently, as during this losing skid, they have been outscored 9-4, and while their goaltending and defence haven't been the topic of conversation, if the Kings want to get out of this losing streak, their offence is going to have to step it up tonight against the Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers].
