R1, G3 Preview – Confidence At Home + Matchups in LA, Moore’s Play, Kempe’s Offensive Checklist

TODAY’S MATCHUP: After a pair of 2-1 games in Colorado, the series now shifts to Los Angeles, with the Kings in search of their first victory of the series tonight in Game 3.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Forward Artemi Panarin has accounted for 100 percent of the scoring in the series thus far for the Kings, scoring a power-play goal in both Game 1 and Game 2. Forwards Trevor Moore and Quinton Byfield collected their first points of the series in Game 2, with the assists on Panarin’s goal.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings held a full morning skate today at Crypto.com Arena, in advance of Game 3 this evening.

Look for Anton Forsberg to continue between the pipes this evening, after he was the first goaltender off the ice during today’s morning skate. Forsberg has been exceptional in this series, with a .941 save percentage and a 1.90 goals-against average, as well as 3.04 goals saved above expected, per SportLOGIQ.

Here is last game’s lineup for reference, in Game 2 in Colorado –

Tonight’s @LAKings Line Rushes –

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

Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci

Forsberg
Kuemper

No changes from Game 1.

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) April 22, 2026

Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith indicated that all lineup decisions will be confirmed after warmups today. Should the Kings make any changes, forwards Andrei Kuzmenko, Alex Turcotte and Taylor Ward, as well as defenseman Jacob Moverare, options to play tonight. Kuzmenko is the most likely to go, if the Kings look at making any changes.

AVALANCHE VITALS: Colorado won both regular-season games played in Los Angeles this season, including a 4-2 victory on March 2, D.J. Smith’s first game behind the bench as the Kings’ Interim Head Coach.

Per the Colorado team account, here’s how the hosts lined up on Sunday in Game 2, with no changes from the Game 1 look –

Round 1️⃣ Game 2️⃣ pic.twitter.com/uQxsmgAB2i

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 22, 2026

No Avalanche player has multiple points in this series thus far. Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog scored his first goal of the playoffs to tie Game 2 late in the third period, with forward Nicolas Roy opening his account in overtime to win the game. Since joining the Avalanche, forward Martin Necas has been very productive in Los Angeles during the regular season, with three goals and six points from three games played to date.

Storyline Of The Day – Heading Home
This headline would’ve felt like a threat a month ago.

The Kings entered their final homestand of the season, a season-long, seven-game homestand, with the second-worst home record in the NHL. They lost the first game of that homestand 6-2 against Utah, one of their worst losses of the season. Things did not look all that optimistic as it pertained to playoff qualification after that game.

Then it started to come together. The Kings collected at least one point in their final six home games of the regular season, including five victories and a four-game winning streak in Los Angeles to close out the regular-season slate. The final win was probably the most encouraging, a 1-0 win over Edmonton, a game with a similar flow to how Games 1 and 2 of the playoffs have gone.

The Kings are as confident at home as they’ve been all season long and now they’ve got to bring it at home, in the playoffs.

“Obviously earlier in the year, the results didn’t go our way, even when we played well but couldn’t get the wins, but obviously the final stretch of the regular season was really good,” forward Adrian Kempe said this morning. “I think that brought the confidence back, especially at home. On the road, we’ve been a confident team all year, but coming into the playoffs, being confident at home, it’s going to be a big key.”

In April home games, the Kings scored nearly a full goal more per game than they did prior, with 3.33 goals scored on average, compared to 2.46 coming in. They also allowed nearly a full goal less per game, from 3.14 down to 2.33. That’s nearly 1.7 goals per-game difference, which is massive.

Ultimately, I think that Games 1 and 2 provide a better barometer for measuring how the Kings feel coming into this game. Those games bolstered the team’s confidence in the gameplan and the way they’ve been playing. But I think the April record at home helps too. There were the looming questions of team play at home coming in. And those questions were justified. But with recent success, it just feels more confident coming into this building than it did before. Provides that glimmer of additional hope, that should keep this a confident group heading into Game 3.

“For sure and I think we’re a confident group in general,” Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith said. “I think we’re playing a brand of hockey that gives us a chance to win. I think we look the same every night and I think that’s a testament to the guys and how they’re digging in. Now, maybe you just have a little bit more confidence at home with the puck, but you can’t forget what style of play that we’re playing.”

Alongside the confidence of playing at home is the strategic advantage in doing so.

Often times, you look at that for shutdown potential and there is certainly that. D.J. Smith will likely try and get Quinton Byfield’s line against Nathan MacKinnon’s line as often as possible, using the 1-0 win over Edmonton as a template. They were able to frustrate and contain Connor McDavid in that game and will try and replicate that in Game 3.

That’s not the only way that matchups factor in, though.

If the Kings can get Artemi Panarin, Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe away from Cale Makar and Devon Toews a bit more, it could free up more even-strength scoring opportunities for the Kings’ top guys as well. It’s all a part of the chess match and Smith wasn’t shy about saying he will do his best to achieve that.

“I think you saw that when we played Edmonton at home, especially on faceoffs, icings or o-zone draws, I can decide who Kopi is going to go against, what line he is going against, what set of D are going to play against Bread, that’s a big difference,” Smith said. “Colorado’s got the number-one pair for Team Canada at the Olympics. They’ve got them out there against those guys all the time and I’m going to find shifts where they’re not going to see those guys. We should be able to create more offense.”

A big one tonight.

The Kings can pull back to within a game in this series with a victory, while a defeat sends them to the brink of elimination. It’s a long road back, but the first step comes tonight, as the series shifts back to Los Angeles. Home-ice with matchups should help and the Kings need every advantage they can muster up to pull back into this series.

3 To Watch For –
– I thought Trevor Moore delivered one of his best games of the season in Game 2 and his workload will likely go up here in Game 2, assuming the Kings look to match his line up in certain situations.

Overall, I felt he was the most dangerous player the Kings had on the ice. Moore was tied for the team lead with six shot attempts and four scoring chances. Overall, through two games, Moore leads the Kings with eight scoring chances, one shy of Nathan MacKinnon for the most in the series by any player at 5-on-5.

“I think Mooresie has been really good,” Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith said between Games 2 and 3. “I think that line has been really good and I think they’re going to be really good at home, because I’m going to get my matchups and they’re going to make it harder on their top line.”

That’ll be the test tonight, I think, for Moore and his linemates, Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere. In Denver, the Avalanche dictated the matchups and while they saw some of the MacKinnon line, it wasn’t exclusive. It’ll be a substantially heavier dose in Games 3 and 4 and the Kings will not only need those players to try and keep those top guys quiet, as they did at Ball Arena, but they also need offense from those three players.

They have certainly had their chances and I thought they were by far the best Kings line in Game 2. If they can answer the challenge, matchup wise, and find a bit of their own, they’ll give the Kings a shot tonight.

– Here’s forward Adrian Kempe’s checklist on what he would like to see his line do, 5-on-5, to help bolster the team’s offensive production.

– Hold onto pucks longer in the offensive zone
– Forecheck, win 1-on-1 battles
– Look to get inside more, get to the net.

I think it starts with his line. Obviously Artemi Panarin has scored two power-play goals in this series, leading the charge, but the Kings have been blanked at 5-on-5 through two games. Kempe has been one of the best playoff performers in the NHL over the last four seasons, but he hasn’t gotten on the scoresheet through two games played. That’s got to change and he knows that. Kempe has always elevated his game at this time of the year. He’s got an edge to the way he plays and that has allowed him to not just maintain his regular-season production but exceed it.

“For our line, hold onto pucks a little bit more, forecheck, try to be a little bit quicker to pucks and then hold onto them a little bit more,” Kempe said. “Then, maybe look inside a little bit more, instead of keeping it on the perimeter. I think we’ve got to attack a little bit more, a little bit different mindset going into Game 3. For me, I’ll try to get to the net as quick as I can and hold onto pucks a little bit more.”

Kempe gets it. As he also acknowledged, Colorado’s top players haven’t produced much either to this point. So it’s been tight across the board. While the Kings want to keep it tight, that can’t mean nothing at even strength. A big focus for tonight’s Game 3.

– Lastly, is tonight’s the night for forward Andrei Kuzmenko?

Lots of speculation, but it remains to be seen.

Regarding all lineup decisions, Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith said “we’ll see after warmups” but added that there are some “balls in the air” for the lineup this evening. Unclear if that would mean Kuzmenko or perhaps another player, with Alex Turcotte and Taylor Ward both skating today as well.

The Kings have two goals in two games and both came from forward Artemi Panarin, so looking for more offense makes sense. Kuzmenko has not played a game in nearly two months, so if he does play, let’s pump the expectations a bit. Playing on home ice, the Kings can dictate matchups more to their liking, which makes lineup maneuvering easier.

The upside would be obvious. The Kings have not scored goals and Kuzmenko is an offensive player. Especially on the power play, that could help. The risk is that it’s been two months and the intensity in this series has been extremely high, so you have to ask if he’s ready to handle that kind of a series right off the bat. It’s one to watch for during warmups tonight.

“Kuzy is a guy who has been really good at home, I think if you look at his splits, home versus road, and his power-play skills, he can make a play,” Smith said this morning of Kuzmenko. “We’ll look at all possibilities, but he’s a guy that can flat-out make plays.”

Kings and Avalanche, back at home for Game 3. See if the Kings can find a way to get on the board in this series.