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Los Angeles Kings at Vegas Golden Knights

Sat Oct 107:00 PM PTESPN+Las Vegas, NV
By JR·2 min read
Kings(0-2-1)
Golden Knights(3-1-0)
Saturday 10/107:00 PM

TLDR: The Kings and Golden Knights meet for the first time this season Saturday night in Vegas. It's a Pacific Division game in October, so it counts the same as one in March, and both clubs know it.

10/11, 7:00 PMESPN+
Kings
(0-2-1)
LLL
Golden Knights
(3-1-0)
WWLW

Los Angeles visits Vegas on Saturday, October 10, coming off 3 days of rest after Tuesday's home opener against Florida. Vegas hosts Toronto on Thursday first, so the Golden Knights' lineup, goaltending and legs are all still open questions. The Kings' added skill, Artemi Panarin included, against Vegas at home is the story, and the board doesn't open until the Toronto game is played.

Los Angeles Kings
  • 3 days of rest after Tuesday's home opener
  • Panarin adds skill to Kempe-Byfield core
  • Short trip from LA, no travel grind
  • Third road game in the season's first 2 weeks
  • New-look forward group still finding chemistry
Vegas Golden Knights
  • Home ice at T-Mobile Arena
  • Hosting both games of this homestand
  • Plays Toronto Thursday, 1 day before this
  • Thursday's minutes and goalie usage unknown until played

The schedule has been kind to Los Angeles. The Kings opened on the road at Colorado on Sept. 30, went to San Jose on Oct. 3, and played their home opener against Florida on Tuesday, Oct. 6. Then they get 3 days off before the short trip to T-Mobile Arena. Puck drop is 7:00 PM PT on Saturday, October 10, and LA should walk in fresher than the team waiting for them.

Vegas isn't idle in the meantime. The Golden Knights host the Maple Leafs on Thursday, so they'll have 1 day between that game and this one. Whatever happens against Toronto settles a lot about how Vegas looks Saturday: who's healthy, who's in net, and how much the top guys had to play to get through it. Picks for this one wait until the Toronto game is in the books and a full board is posted.

The Kings' opening-night roster is worth a look. Adrian Kempe and Quinton Byfield are still the core up front. Trevor Moore, Alex Laferriere and Scott Laughton fill out the middle of the lineup, and Artemi Panarin is now in a Kings sweater. That's more skill on the wings than LA has carried in years. The question is whether it turns into goals against a Vegas team that has always been hard to play against at home.

For Vegas, Saturday is the second half of a 2-game homestand bookended by 2 very different opponents. Toronto brings speed and skill. LA brings structure and a team that has been resting since Tuesday. This is also the Golden Knights' 10th season, and the building in that 10th home stretch is still one of the toughest places in the league for a road team to start fast.

Los Angeles Kings
(0-2-1)
10/07LvsPanthers1-2
10/04L@Sharks4-5
10/01L@Avalanche4-8
Vegas Golden Knights
(3-1-0)
10/07W@Kraken6-2
10/05W@Canucks3-2
10/03LvsDucks3-4
09/30WvsBlackhawks5-2

Most of what decides this game hasn't happened yet. Watch the Vegas-Toronto box Thursday for minutes and goaltending, check the Kings' lines out of Tuesday's home opener against Florida, and there's your preview's second half. For now it's a good early-season divisional game between 2 teams that expect to be playing in April.