The Los Angeles Kings did not fare well in their season opener on Tuesday. Los Angeles fell to the Colorado Avalanche by the score of 4-1. Martin Necas scored twice, and the Avalanche didn't give Los Angeles many opportunities in the opener.
The Kings did not have to wait long to have a chance at redemption, though. Los Angeles is taking on Mitch Marner and the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday. So far, things have gone well. Los Angeles has a 2-0 lead over Vegas in the second period.
Head coach Jim Hiller could have tweaked his lineup after a disastrous season-opening performance. And to some extent, he did. Anton Forsberg made his team debut in goal on Wednesday in Vegas. Other than this, there were no other lineup changes for the Kings. Hiller explained he didn't want to overreact to one loss.
“We're really disappointed with the way the game ended but we're running for the long haul. Got to play better than we did. It's going to be an electric building tonight, we should be up for this,” he said, via team reporter Zach Dooley.
Kings find stride early vs. Golden Knights
The Kings got off to a great start on Wednesday night. Los Angeles scored its first goal of the contest early in the first period. Andrei Kuzmenko picked up where he left off, scoring less than five minutes into the game.
A little later in the period, they doubled their lead. Quinton Byfield intercepted a pass attempt in the neutral zone and made a beeline for the Vegas goal. He made a nifty move before backhanding the puck into the net to make it a 2-0 game.
Quinton Byfield's Beautiful Goals: part ♾️ pic.twitter.com/j0pd9Q5CQF
— LA Kings (@LAKings) October 9, 2025
The Kings may have been tempted to make a few changes to its lineup. So far, Hiller has been proven correct in his decision to keep things the same. It's a long season, and it makes sense to keep things as they are in the early going.
