4/11 Preview – 6 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 92 = 5 (Players Connected), Lineup Notes, Kings/Oilers, Homestand Success

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Kings are in the midst of their most productive homestand of the season, as they host the Edmonton Oilers for their final home game of the 2025-26 regular season.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Over the past five seasons, forward Adrian Kempe has tallied 43 points (21-22-43) from 42 games played versus Edmonton, between regular season and playoffs. No player in the league has more points against the Oilers in that span. Defenseman Brandt Clarke is the lone Kings player with multiple points against Edmonton this season, with two assists from the two games played.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings did not hold a morning skate today, considering the 1 PM puck drop.

Not confirmed, but would expect Anton Forsberg between the pipes in today’s game. Forsberg has won has last three starts, posting a .950 save percentage and a 1.28 goals-against average. The Swede made 23 saves on 26 shots when these teams met in Edmonton back in January, a 4-3 shootout victory for Los Angeles.

Here’s how the Kings lined up last time out, on Thursday versus Vancouver –

Tonight’s @LAKings Line Rushes –

Panarin – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Byfield – Laferriere
Armia – Laughton – Wright
Malott – Helenius – Ward

Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci

Forsberg
Kuemper

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) April 10, 2026

Today’s lineup is expected to be the same as Thursday evening, although forward Jeff Malott is a game-time decision. Should Malott be good to go, he will play. If he can’t, look for forward Mathieu Joseph to check in up front. Could have an update there during Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith’s pre-game media availability.

OILERS VITALS: Edmonton concludes a three-game homestand this afternoon in Los Angeles, after collecting three points in games played versus Utah and San Jose earlier in the week.

Per the Edmonton team account, here’s how the visitors lined up last time out against the Sharks –

Connor Ingram starts in net & Josh Samanski returns to the #Oilers lineup in San Jose. @PlayAlbertaCA | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/1iYdjzHjIy

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 9, 2026

Defenseman Evan Bouchard leads all Edmonton skaters with three assists in two games played versus the Kings so far this season. Bouchard leads all NHL defensemen this season in assists (70) and points (91), as he became the fifth defenseman over the past 30 years to hit 90 points in a single season.

Storyline Of The Day – Five Players Connected
Always feels like there’s something cool going on when the forward line of Panarin, Kopitar and Kempe lines up in the offensive zone with the defensive pairing of Edmundson and Clarke.

Naturally, a line with Artemi Panarin, Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe is going to spend a lot of time in the offensive zone. Three high-end players, who have been productive and as such, they get lots of offensive-zone starts to capitalize on the goals they are generating for the Kings. You don’t always think of defensive pairs in that same way, but the Kings have looked to put the Edmundson/Clarke pairing on the ice in those situations as much as possible as well.

“Obviously they’ve got chemistry,” Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith said of that five-player unit. “Clarkie is able to make plays off the rush, he’s able to create in the oz-on and then Eddie’s got the big shot and defends really hard for those guys. So, it’s just right now the five of them together playing.”

Last game alone, that group connected on two goals for the Kings. The first came off the rush, with Clarke activating down the wing, driving behind the net and feeding Kempe in front for the game’s first goal. Later in the game, an offensive-zone shift led to a point shot by Edmundson, off a Panarin pass, with Kempe deflecting the puck on the way through for his second of the game.

So far this season, it’s been the most productive forward line the Kings have put together and the most productive defensive pairing. Since Panarin linked up with Kopitar and Kempe, they’ve scored 3.88 goals per/60, the best among Kings lined with at least 100 minutes together this season. Edmundson and Clarke have been on the ice for 49 goals this season, tied for the ninth most among all pairs in the NHL this season.

With all five players on the ice, Smith and the coaching staff have made a noted effort to get them cooking in the offensive zone. It’s led to 10 goals at 5-on-5 in just over 131 minutes played, which equates to 4.56 goals per/60. Money Puck doesn’t track five-player units but if you compare that number to just forward lines, it would rank tied for eighth of the 118 lines with at least 150 minutes together. What’s working so well? If you ask the two defensemen, communication has been extremely strong, which helps them understand how to best compliment and bolster the offensive players around them.

Clarke – I think that’s kind of been the plan and we’re just working well together. A lot of communication, that group is so smart and they’re talking to me and Eddie, they’re telling us where they want us on faceoffs and where they want us on zone entries and stuff like that. Obviously that’s super helpful and you trust them because they’re all phenomenal with the puck, so that helps even more. I think it’s been going good for us. The communication has been great and I think that’s what’s helping us all take it to the next level.

Edmundson – I’m just trying to keep up with the other four, honestly. It feels good. It seems like that’s the game plan, get us out there with them and let Clarkie make some plays and get some movement around. It’s been working. I think Bread brings the offensive ability, he’s drawing up the plays for us, he’s kind of the mind behind it. I just kind of listen to what he says.

Panarin has been lauded for his communication ability since he got to Los Angeles. He’s worked with Clarke on power-play positioning and plays, among other players. He’s been direct in what he’s looking for and as one of the most skilled and creative offensive players in the NHL, those around him has appreciated it and taken to it. Naturally, Kopitar and Kempe have incredible chemistry, having played together for so long. Right now, when the Kings can get it, that unit has been rolling.

Whatever’s working, the Kings need it to keep up. They’ve scored nearly a full goal per game more since the start of March and their top players producing has been a big reason as to why. Important to continue that production against the NHL’s fifth-highest scoring team in Edmonton.

3 To Watch For –
– No secrets between the Kings and Oilers.

“We’ve played however many years it’s been and we know that’s kind of a standard for a really good playoff team, so it’s going to be a good test for our group to go up against those guys,” forward Alex Laferriere said. “We know how they play, we know their guys and yeah, I think it’ll be a good test for us.”

Both teams with a ton to play for this afternoon. The Kings are obviously playing for their playoff lives, in control of their destiny with four games remaining. Edmonton currently holds the Pacific Division lead with 90 points, one point clear of both Vegas and Anaheim, with full control over the division title race. It’s an important game for both teams, certainly, and the results today will go a long way in determining the playoff fates of both clubs.

The last time Edmonton was in this building was arguably the low point of the season for the Kings. An 8-1 defeat on February 26, a result that was ultimately the final straw for Kings General Manager Ken Holland to make a coaching change. The Kings haven’t forgotten that game, with an obvious acknowledgement that the Kings will have to be substantially better today than they were in that game.

“That last game is still in our mind, where they took it to us, so we want to get revenge for that game,” defenseman Brandt Clarke said. “Whether we play them in November, whether we play them late April, in the playoffs, it feels like a playoff game. We don’t like those guys, they don’t like us, there’s so much history there. I feel like it’s been a playoff kind of environment for us for the last three weeks, we’ve been in that mindset for a while and so have they, they’re pushing for the top of the Pacific. I think it’s going to be kind of like the playoff games.”

Always feels like there’s a little bit more there from a Kings perspective against this team. See what that leads to this afternoon.

– On the lineup front, as noted yesterday, forward Quinton Byfield and defenseman Cody Ceci did not practice with the group on Friday, but both players are expected to play this afternoon.

Byfield has been playing through injury for some time now, understanding it’s that time of the year. He missed the last two team practices but was ready to go against Vancouver and will be today against Edmonton as well. For Ceci, unclear on the exact reasons behind his absence but there are not expected to be any hiccups there.

With forward Jeff Malott, as noted above, he is a game-time decision for today’s game. Malott did leave Thursday’s win over Vancouver in the second period after he took a puck up high, drawing blood around his left ear, though he did return to the game. We’ll have to see there. Should he not be able to go, Mathieu Joseph has eight games played since joining the Kings and could be in line to check in, with Alex Turcotte unlikely to be an option.

In net, I’d expect Anton Forsberg to get the nod, though that is speculation. After yesterday’s skate, Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith reinforced an upcoming 3-in-4 and the importance of both goaltenders in such a tight window.

“Right now, we’re kind of going game by game,” Smith said after yesterday’s practice “[As of yesterday morning] we haven’t decided and we’ll make that decision [Friday afternoon] as to who is going to play, but we know we’ve got three games in four nights and we need both guys.”

Forsberg has delivered some of his best hockey of the season over the last three starts, with stellar splits and, more importantly, three consecutive wins. Assume it’ll be his net today and away we go.

– Lastly, we’ve reached the final home game of the 2025-26 regular season.

Perhaps the best has been saved for last, with a 4-1-1 homestand entering the final game here this afternoon. The Kings have had 19 seven-game homestands throughout their franchise’s history and they’ve never won more than five of those games, which they could equalize with a win later on today. The most recent seven-game homestand came during the 2022-23 season, when the Kings went 5-0-2, a franchise best. With a win today, the Kings would equal their second-best homestand of all time, tying a mark set in the 1974-75 season, when they also went 5-1-1.

It’s Fan Appreciation Night at Crypto.com Arena, which means jerseys off the backs and lots of giveaways throughout the game. The last few years, this game has carried seeding implications, but not a ton of playoff implications. This season is certainly different. It’s a massive game for the Kings, but also an important day to celebrate the fans, who have continued to show up most nights despite a very poor record on home ice. I always enjoy that one.

Kings and Oilers, final home game of the 2025-26 regular season. A big two points on the line for the Western Conference playoff race!