Five games into a seven-game homestand, the Los Angeles Kings have not fully taken advantage of their comfortable surroundings.
The Kings will try to turn things around at Crypto.com Arena when they host the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
Los Angeles is 2-3-0 on the homestand. Most recently, the Kings were shut out for the first time since the 2024-25 season in a 3-0 loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
“Everybody’s probably frustrated,” Kings coach Peter Laviolette said. “We’re here to win hockey games and we’re not getting that done. We’re on a homestand. We’re in our building.”
Los Angeles forward Scott Laughton shared the same frustrations.
He said the Kings need to show better connectivity when trying to exit their zone, get through center ice and then try to maintain possession in the offensive zone for longer stretches.
“Wear teams down, where they’re tired and we three-quarter-ice them,” Laughton said. “It’s just not happening right now.”
Los Angeles has allowed goals in the first six minutes in each of its past two games, both losses.
Laughton, who’s in his second season with the Kings, said he went through similar stretches during his 12 seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers.
He said the key is for players to stick together and, so far, the Kings are doing that.
“To get out of it, you need urgency. You need to have a collective effort to get going here,” Laughton said. “It’s frustrating. It’s frustrating to lose and to be at home and to have these games, but no one feels sorry for us. You can’t feel sorry for yourself. You have to get out of it some way.”
Unlike the Predators, who had won four in a row heading into Tuesday’s game, the Islanders have lost four straight (0-2-2).
They most recently lost 3-2 in a shootout at the San Jose Sharks on Monday to open a three-game California swing.
“I don’t know about the last four games. The Carolina game (a 5-3 loss to the Hurricanes on Thursday) was one of our best games of the year,” New York coach Pete DeBoer said. “The New Jersey game (a 5-4 overtime loss to the Devils on Saturday) was poor. I thought (against the Sharks) we were better for stretches, but not long enough.”
The Islanders have had two days between games while in California, and during that time, forwards Mathew Barzal (knee) and Matias Maccelli (lower-body injury) and defenseman Ryan Pulock (upper-body injury) have shown signs they’re close to returning to the lineup.
All three practiced in full on Tuesday, with Barzal and Maccelli shedding their non-contact jerseys.
Barzal has not played this season after aggravating his injury prior to training camp. He led New York with 72 points (19 goals, 53 assists) in 81 games last season.
Maccelli has missed the past nine games and Pulock has missed four straight.
New York did not practice on Wednesday, but DeBoer said there is “potential” for all three to play before the team’s road trip ends Saturday against the Anaheim Ducks.
