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Projected Lineups: Kings vs. Ducks, Plus Pregame Notes and How to Watch

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Both the Kings and Ducks will be wrapping up their 2026 preseason slate when they take to the ice later this afternoon for another round of the Freeway Faceoff — exhibition edition.

It’s a rematch of sorts, as the two SoCal teams faced off at Honda Center on Wednesday. LA skated off with a 2-1 victory that night. However, like many things at this time of year, few conclusions can be reached from that game; largely because of the rotating cast of characters. However, Anton Forsberg made 24 saves on 25 shots. He’s battling Darcy Kuemper for the starting job, so this afternoon does mean something for those two.

Additionally, it was Joel Armia and Alex Laferriere who found the back of the net for the Kings. With the former coming off a season where he was nursing an injury, scoring a goal in one of his two preseason games is a good way to start off the season.

“Yeah, it’s important,” said Armia. “Coming into camp, I felt good; body feels good, and I’m ready to go. I got to [my offseason] training pretty quickly. I took good care of my body and [dealt] with the injury. I had a good offseason.”

Turning to this afternoon’s lineup, we reported the Kings are assigning two more players to the Reign, getting them rather close to an opening night roster.

REPORT: Connors and Wright to AHL, Kings Down to One Roster Decision

What this also means is that today’s lineup could feature the final auditions for guys like Andre Lee, Taylor Ward, and Erik Gustafsson. Up front, with Perry still away from the team, that should leave an opening for either Lee or Ward to play.

When analyzing which guy draws in, an argument could be made either way. On one hand, that player is the ‘most likely’ to be the one who makes the team. Or, it could be seen as one final look for somebody, while the guy scratched has really already done enough to secure what will be the final roster spot on Monday.

On defense, Gustafsson is the presumed seventh defenseman. We’re expecting Scott Perunovich to be placed on waivers soon.

Where this at least gets somewhat interesting is that all six regular defensemen have only played one preseason game. Therefore, they will be the starting six today. Yet, in Friday’s practice, the second power play unit was Haula, Turcotte, Laferriere, along with Doughty and Gustafsson. That could be something to keep an eye on in the days ahead. And if/when Gustafsson draws into the lineup during the regular season, how will that impact the pairings?

Answers just won’t come today, as Gustafsson has already played in his two preseason games.

UPDATE:

The Kings have placed Ward and Perunovich on waivers, as expected. If they clear tomorrow, they’ll be assigned to AHL Ontario. LA also recalled defenseman Kirill Kirsanov as a precautionary move.

Kings Projected Lineup

Below is a projected alignment of today’s group of players who are scheduled to play. If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.

Panarin – Byfield – Kempe
Zuccarello – Turcotte – Laferriere
Moore – Haula – Laughton
Lee – Helenius – Armia

Dumoulin – Doughty
Kirsanov – Clarke
Anderson – Ceci

Kuemper
Portillo

Likely scratches: (F) N/A (D) Edmundson, Gustafsson and (G) Forsberg

Non-Roster: Perry

Injured Reserve: Fiala

Across the Ice

Anaheim is coming off a 10-0 loss to San Jose in their last game — and, no, that’s not a typo.

The Ducks made several camp cuts on Friday, yet they still have 35 players (20 forwards, 12 defensemen and three goaltenders) on their roster. Thus, an endless number of line combinations are still possible for today’s game.

Here’s how they lined up in practice yesterday:

How to Watch the Game

Puck drop is set for 1:00 pm Pacific Time and the game can be viewed on ABTV locally. For national viewers, select systems may pick up the feed on cable/satellite.

Further details on LA’s broadcast and streaming plans for 2026-27 can be found here:

UPDATED: Kings Regular Season Streaming Options, Plus Preseason TV Plans

On This Day in Kings History

MORE LA KINGS NEWS:

Clarke Ready for More Responsibility, Praises New Coaching Staff and Changes

Byfield – Laviolette Has Talked a lot About Family and Attitude, Made Systems Clearer

(Nearly) Every Word Said by Doughty, Holland, and Laviolette about the Kings New Captain

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