Preview 10/31 – Secondary rating of The Schneid + No Morning Skate, Clarke “good” to start, Fiala newest, Matinee Start

MATCH OF THE DAY: After a 6-5 overtime win over Ottawa on Thursday, the Kings continue their current seven-game home streak with an afternoon matinee against the Buffalo Sabres.

FACE-TO-FACE: Kings forward Adrian Kempe was the only Los Angeles player to score in both games against Buffalo last season, with two points (1-1-2) in both games played. Forward Artemi Panarin scored his team’s only goal in the game at Crypto.com Arena and had four points (1-3-4) against the Sabers last season, including two games played as a member of the New York Rangers.

VITALS OF KINGS: After the entire team practiced yesterday, the Kings will not hold a morning practice with today’s puck drop in the afternoon.

It’s unclear who today’s starting goaltender is, although I’d lean toward Darcy Kuemper this afternoon after he had the day off yesterday. Kuemper has a 5-3-1 lifetime record against the Sabres, with an .895 save percentage and a 3.11 goals-against average. If the Kings opted for Anton Forsberg instead, he would be 4-7-0 lifetime against Buffalo, but he has a .919 save percentage and a 2.59 goals-against average.

According to Peter Laviolette, he doesn’t expect any changes to the roster today, even if it comes with health-related contingencies. As such, here is today’s projected Kings lineup –

Panarin – Laferrière – Kempe
Moore–Byfield–Perry
Lee-Laughton-Armia
Haula – Helenius – Neighborhood

Gustafsson-Clarke
Edmundson-Doughty
Anderson-Dumoulin

Kuemper
Forsberg

Kuemper and forward Adrian Kempe did not skate yesterday, but just a day of maintenance for both players, according to Laviolette. Both should be available today. Defenseman Brandt Clarke played after leaving Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury, but he practiced yesterday and is ready to go.

SABER VITALS: Buffalo concludes a four-game road trip tonight in Los Angeles, going 2-0-1 so far on the road, including wins in California against San Jose and Anaheim.

According to Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News, here’s how the Sabers lined up against the Ducks on Thursday:

#Sabres defensive lines/pairs warming up against Anaheim Krebs-Thompson-Benson Doan-Ostlund-Quinn Zucker-McLeod-Norris Kozak-Carrick-Malenstyn Samuelsson-Dahlin Zellweger-Power Crevier-Gilbert Ellis UPL

– Rachel Lenzi 💁🏻‍♀️😎💥 (@rachelmlenzi) October 30, 2026

Forward Tage Thompson led the way for Buffalo with a hat trick in the win at Honda Center, part of a five-point night overall. No Buffalo player has more assists against the Kings over the past three seasons than Quinn, who had five assists and six total points against Los Angeles during that span. Thompson and Quinn rank first and second on the Sabers in goals and points this season.

Scenario of the day – Out of the Schneid
Of Los Angeles’ six scorers Thursday, four of them scored for the first time since the first two games of the regular season.

Forwards Quinton Byfield and Erik Haula both scored for the first time since Nov. 3 against San Jose. Forwards Trevor Moore and Joel Armia scored for the first time since opening night against Colorado. There are nine or ten matches and seeing four different players achieve this kind of sequences, on the same evening, is quite unique.

“We need that secondary score,” Laviolette said. “It was good to have input from Moore, from the defensemen as well, and from Haula on the board, so there were some good things that the guys produced throughout the lineup, but also at the back end. So, for me, it was a combination of everything (against Ottawa).”

This has been a unique year. The Kings have struggled to find consistent secondary scoring behind their top offensive line. They certainly got it against Ottawa. Now comes the hardest and most important part: staying the course.

The hope of those involved is that Thursday’s game can be a starting point. This isn’t the first time this has happened this season, however, and the fact that we’re still talking about it shows how it’s happened in the past. With a seven-game homestand, perhaps now is the time to find more offensive consistency. It starts with Byfield and Moore, both of whom are players the Kings need to rely on offensively. This is the second score line. Last night, they combined on a nice 5-on-5 goal before Byfield won the game in overtime, his seventh since the start of the 2024-25 season, tied for first in the NHL.

“Hockey is a game of confidence and sometimes just falling in love with it can kind of change your perspective,” Moore said. “So it was good that we had a group of guys to score goals (against Ottawa).”

For Haula, perhaps the doubling of power in his situation is that it was also a power play goal, for a unit that was 2 in its last 18 games going into the game. It was a simple formula, with defender Brandt Clarke hitting his shot from the top and Haula getting a deflection high in the slot. Direct and simple.

Getting a goal from a guy who was brought in to help provide secondary scoring, while also getting one for the second power play unit, was definitely a plus.

“It’s a good feeling to score a goal,” Haula said yesterday. “If you haven’t done it in a while and the team is going through some ups and downs, it definitely builds confidence.”

The Kings will always be motivated by their high-end forwards. However, it can’t just be about these guys. Thursday’s game saw all four of these players see action, with Mikey Anderson also scoring from the blue line. A good start, with still plenty of room for improvement in this area.

3 To Watch –
– In terms of injuries, it seems the worst case scenario has been avoided with defender Brandt Clarke.

Ottawa’s Hayden Hodgson’s check was so blatant the league couldn’t tell the difference between a charge and a board. Hodgson was ultimately suspended for two matches. One of those times where you might think Hodgson is a repeat offender, but those previous suspensions were for the AHL and don’t take that into account. Maybe they should.

Hayden Hodgson of Ottawa will have a hearing today on charges of boarding/charging Brandt Clarke of Los Angeles.

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) October 30, 2026

The hit knocked Clarke out of the game, but he was on the ice for practice yesterday as a full participant, with Peter Laviolette indicating he was both “good” and “cleared.” I expect him to be able to play today against Buffalo. Scary situation, but one that seems to be the worst case scenario avoided.

The Kings certainly missed Clarke when he was away. He is the most fluid player on the team when it comes to moving the puck and is a major asset in terms of breakouts. With Ottawa pressuring, the Kings struggled to deal with it with the lead, leading the Senators to come back and force overtime.

“I think so,” Laviolette said when asked if Clarke’s absence played a role in the third period. “Someone to get the puck out of your end, yeah, maybe. Maybe not necessarily on the offensive end, but just to get out of our end, to get clean through the neutral zone, he’s a puck-moving player, he’s a skater and he wasn’t available. That’s the hand we were dealt, we had to play it and we had to play it better.”

– As for the biggest injury incident – ​​striker Kevin Fiala – yesterday was a good step forward, although I still think it’s still important to exercise caution.

Fiala progressed to a full contact participant in practice yesterday, after skating in a non-contact jersey during Thursday’s morning practice. I think it’s positive, don’t get me wrong, but I also think we need to pump up the breaks a bit. Yesterday wasn’t really a contact-oriented practice, nor was it particularly intense. Fiala essentially took Kempe’s place while he was out for a maintenance day, but it was a lot of power play work and situational work. I thought Fiala handled the puck very well. It gave me some excitement to see him potentially work with Artemi Panarin, whether at even strength or with the man advantage. But it is also a practice.

Are there a certain number of practices before we can expect Fiala to be game ready? Not necessarily, and that’s why you have to be careful about your progress.

“I think this one is a different animal, with what he’s been through,” Laviolette said. “He’s not someone who’s had a second-degree MCL sprain and you have to give him one, two or three. I think it’s a comfort thing and when he feels good. He’s been out for a long time. So, he’s looking great, those are all positive signs, but I don’t think this one goes to the playbook and says, yeah, he just needs two practices and he’s back.”

When Fiala is ready, he is ready. It was great to see him yesterday and he did a lot of work on his own. It’s really encouraging. However, it’s also just practice for a player who hasn’t played a single game since February. There are steps to be taken and it may not be there yet. But seeing him integrated into the group, at the level he was at, as mobile as he was, is rather positive. See where things are going as the Kings have five more home games remaining after today’s game against Buffalo.

– First afternoon game of the season for the Kings.

The preseason finale against Anaheim was at 1 p.m. at home and the Kings played pretty well in that game, even if it didn’t count. Last season, by my count, the Kings had points in 7 of the 11 matinee games they played, although one of the four that didn’t yield at least a point was a March loss to Buffalo. By my calculations, in 2024-25, the Kings have picked up a point in 13 of the 14 matinee games they have played. So there is a certain balance there.

I think the players like afternoon matches. They would be going to the practice rink in the morning anyway, so they’re getting their body ready to play at that time anyway and it’s just a slightly different approach from that point of view. I think most guys like it. The Sabers could have a breakout day, with a 2-0-1 trip already in the bank, so perhaps there’s a chance to capitalize on that as well. Typically, teams returning East would stay after the game if it was in the evening, but the 1 p.m. puck drop could allow for an evening flight home instead.

Either way, see if the Kings can capitalize today.

Kings and Sabres, the first afternoon puck drop of the season at home. Crypto.com Arena breakfast, never a problem for LA Kings Insider staff. 1:00 p.m. Puck drop as the Kings look to post back-to-back wins here in Los Angeles.