Our Florida Panthers vs Los Angeles Kings preview covers the odds, puck line, total, start time, TV channel and where to watch on Tuesday, October 6, 2026. The Florida Panthers (1-0-2 this season; 40-38-4 in 2025-26) visit the Los Angeles Kings (0-1-1 this season; 35-27-20 in 2025-26) at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif. Puck drop is 10:00 PM ET (7:00 PM PT). TV: ESPN (U.S. national) / Sportsnet+ (Canada).
Storyline: Los Angeles plays its home opener under new coach Peter Laviolette after allowing 13 goals in two road games. Florida has gone to overtime in all three of its games and is 1-0-2 on its fourth straight road game, and captain Aleksander Barkov is on long-term injured reserve with a knee injury after playing the first two games. The Panthers won both meetings last season (NHL.com). DraftKings lists Florida at -118 and Los Angeles at -102 on the moneyline, with the total at 5.5.
Florida Panthers vs Los Angeles Kings Odds, Puck Line & Game Info
| Matchup | Florida Panthers @ Los Angeles Kings |
|---|---|
| 2026-27 Records | Florida Panthers 1-0-2 | Los Angeles Kings 0-1-1 |
| 2025-26 Records | Florida Panthers 40-38-4 | Los Angeles Kings 35-27-20 |
| Head Coaches | FLA: Paul Maurice (5th season) | LAK: Peter Laviolette (1st season) |
| Puck Line | FLA -1.5 (+215) | LAK +1.5 (-265) |
| Moneyline | Florida Panthers: -118 | Los Angeles Kings: -102 |
| Total | O/U 5.5 (o-130 / u+110) |
| Venue | Crypto.com Arena (Los Angeles, Calif.) |
| Date / Time | Tuesday, October 6, 2026 — 10:00 PM ET |
| TV / How to Watch | ESPN (U.S. national) / Sportsnet+ (Canada) |
| Probable Starting Goalies | FLA: TBD (Jacob Markstrom / Akira Schmid) | LAK: TBD (Darcy Kuemper / Anton Forsberg) |
Odds via DraftKings (through ESPN), cross-checked on Action Network, as of Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, ~10:23 PM ET. Totals ranged from 5.5 to 6 across books at research time. Lines move, so check your sportsbook before puck drop. Starting goalies had not been confirmed at research time.
Florida Panthers Preview: Last Season, Offseason & Goalies
2025-26 recap: Florida went 40-38-4 (84 points), finished seventh in the Atlantic Division and missed the playoffs one year after winning a second straight Stanley Cup. Barkov missed the entire season. Sam Reinhart led the team with 61 points (29 goals, 32 assists) in 64 games, Sam Bennett had 58 points, Carter Verhaeghe had 55 and Brad Marchand scored 27 goals in 52 games (NHL.com).
Offseason moves: Florida acquired forward Brady Tkachuk from Ottawa on June 21 to join his brother Matthew. He had 59 points in 60 games last season. The Panthers also added goalies Jacob Markstrom (New Jersey) and Akira Schmid (Vegas), forwards Lars Eller and Garnet Hathaway, and defenseman Radko Gudas. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky now plays for Toronto, Daniil Tarasov for Detroit and Mackie Samoskevich for Seattle (NHL.com).
Key players & coach: Reinhart, Bennett, Verhaeghe, Marchand, the Tkachuk brothers, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Eller lead the forwards. Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling, Seth Jones, Niko Mikkola, Gudas and Dmitry Kulikov are on defense. Paul Maurice is in his fifth season as coach.
Goalies: Markstrom went 23-19-1 with a 3.07 GAA and .883 save percentage in 44 games for New Jersey last season. He made 15 saves in a 1-0 overtime shutout at Carolina and 18 saves on 21 shots at Anaheim on Sunday. Schmid went 16-10-6 with a 2.59 GAA for Vegas last season and made 28 saves on 32 shots at San Jose. Florida had not confirmed a starter at research time.
Season so far: Forsling scored at 4:55 of overtime to win the opener at Carolina. At San Jose on Oct. 1, Florida trailed 3-0 before Luostarinen scored twice and Matthew Tkachuk tied it in the third, and Luca Cagnoni won it for the Sharks in overtime. At Anaheim on Sunday, Cutter Gauthier scored twice on the power play, Marchand tied it at 18:10 of the third, and Mikael Granlund won it on a power play at 4:14 of overtime (NHL.com).
Injuries: Barkov (left knee) is on long-term injured reserve. Ekblad (personal) is day to day, forward MacKenzie Entwistle is on the injured non-roster list, and forward Jonah Gadjovich (upper body surgery) is out indefinitely (ESPN).
Los Angeles Kings Preview: Home Opener Under Laviolette
2025-26 recap: Los Angeles went 35-27-20 (90 points), finished fourth in the Pacific Division and was swept by Colorado in the first round. Adrian Kempe led the team with 73 points (36 goals, 37 assists), Quinton Byfield had 49 points, Alex Laferriere had 44, and Artemi Panarin had 27 points in 26 games after arriving from the Rangers during the season (NHL.com).
Offseason moves: Laviolette replaced D.J. Smith, who finished last season as coach after Jim Hiller began it. Los Angeles added forward Mats Zuccarello (54 points for Minnesota), forward Erik Haula (38 points for Nashville) and defenseman Erik Gustafsson. Longtime center Anze Kopitar (38 points in 67 games) is no longer on the roster, and Andrei Kuzmenko now plays for Pittsburgh (NHL.com).
Key players & coach: Kempe, Panarin, Byfield, Laferriere, Zuccarello, Haula, Trevor Moore, Corey Perry and Scott Laughton lead the forwards. Drew Doughty, Brandt Clarke, Mikey Anderson, Brian Dumoulin, Cody Ceci and Joel Edmundson are on defense.
Goalies: Darcy Kuemper went 19-14-15 with a 2.78 GAA, .891 save percentage and three shutouts in 50 games last season and made 21 saves on 29 shots at Colorado. Anton Forsberg went 16-12-5 with a 2.57 GAA and .910 save percentage in 36 games and made 20 saves on 25 shots at San Jose. Los Angeles had not confirmed a starter at research time.
Season so far: Colorado scored four power-play goals in an 8-4 win on Sept. 30, with Dumoulin, Joel Armia (shorthanded), Moore (shorthanded) and Panarin scoring for the Kings. At San Jose on Saturday, Kempe and Byfield scored on the power play, Haula and Panarin scored in the third period to tie it 4-4, and Igor Chernyshov won it at 3:18 of overtime (NHL.com).
Injuries: Forward Kevin Fiala (fractured lower leg, surgery) was at least three weeks from playing as of a Sept. 17 report from the Kings’ website. Defensemen Otto Salin and Jakub Dvorak and forward Jan Jenik are on the injured non-roster list (ESPN).
Key Matchup Notes: Panthers vs Kings
- Schedule spot: Florida played at Anaheim on Sunday, had Monday off and plays its fourth straight road game. It is the Kings’ home opener after two road games.
- Last season: Florida won 5-2 in Los Angeles on Nov. 6, 2025, and 3-2 at home on Dec. 17 (NHL.com).
- Special teams: Los Angeles has killed two of seven penalties (28.6 percent), last in the NHL. Florida has one power-play goal in 17 chances.
- Faceoffs: Los Angeles leads the NHL at 58.2 percent on faceoffs (NHL.com).
- In goal: Markstrom has a .917 save percentage in two starts. Kuemper (.724) and Forsberg (.800) each allowed at least five goals in their starts.
- Odds snapshot: Florida -118 / Los Angeles -102 on the moneyline, Panthers -1.5 (+215) on the puck line, total 5.5 (DraftKings).
How to Watch Florida Panthers vs Los Angeles Kings
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Puck drop: 10:00 PM ET (7:00 PM PT)
Venue: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, Calif.
TV: ESPN has the game nationally in the U.S., and Sportsnet+ has it nationally in Canada (NHL.com). No regional broadcasts are listed for this game at research time.
Check the puck line, moneyline and total above against your sportsbook before the October 6, 2026 puck drop, and look for confirmed starting goalies closer to game time.