AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez
The Los Angeles Kings visit the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose on Saturday, October 3, 2026, with puck drop set for 10:00 PM EDT.
Matchup: Los Angeles Kings (0-1-0, 0 points in 2026-27) at San Jose Sharks (1-0-0, 2 points in 2026-27)
Date: Saturday, October 3, 2026
Puck drop: 10:00 PM EDT (7:00 PM PDT local)
Venue: SAP Center at San Jose
How to watch: SJS: NBCSCA · LAK: ABTV
Los Angeles Kings News & Notes
Los Angeles enters the season under its 29th head coach in franchise history. Peter Laviolette was hired in June after the Kings fired Jim Hiller during the season and finished the year with D.J. Smith as interim. Laviolette won the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2026 and has reached three Cup Finals, also with Philadelphia and Nashville. He brings an 846-562-161 career record over 1,594 games, plus 170 playoff games. It is also the first Kings season without Anze Kopitar on the ice.
The Kings moved early in free agency on July 1, signing forward Erik Haula to a two-year deal at a $3.6 million cap hit and forward Mats Zuccarello to a one-year contract worth $1 million plus bonuses, along with defenseman Erik Gustafsson. Haula had 38 points in 81 games with Nashville last season; Zuccarello recorded 54 points in 59 games.
San Jose Sharks News & Notes
San Jose opened the 2026-27 season on Oct. 1 at home against Florida, the start of the franchise’s first 84-game schedule. The Sharks went 39-35-8 for 86 points last season, fifth in the Pacific Division and four points short of the second Western Conference wild card, an improvement of 19 wins and 34 points over the prior year. The offseason was spent reshaping the blue line, with Jacob Trouba signing a four-year, $33 million deal and Darnell Nurse arriving from Edmonton for Shakir Mukhamadullin and prospect Zachary Sharp.
Mason Marchment was the headline forward addition, signing for five years and $33.75 million after 45 points in 68 games with Seattle and Columbus. Michael Kesselring came over from Buffalo, while draft picks Michael Misa and Ivar Stenberg signed three-year deals. Macklin Celebrini was named captain on Sept. 25, receiving the ‘C’ from former captain Joe Thornton. The Sharks also placed goaltender Eric Comrie and forward Jimmy Huntington on waivers that day for assignment to AHL San Jose, following earlier waiver moves involving Ethan Cardwell, Tye Felhaber and Libor Hajek.
Los Angeles Kings Projected Lines
Line 1: Artemi Panarin – Quinton Byfield – Adrian Kempe
Line 2: Mats Zuccarello – Alex Turcotte – Alex Laferriere
Line 3: Trevor Moore – Erik Haula – Scott Laughton
Line 4: Andre Lee – Samuel Helenius – Joel Armia
Pair 1: Brian Dumoulin – Drew Doughty
Pair 2: Joel Edmundson – Brandt Clarke
Pair 3: Mikey Anderson – Cody Ceci
Goaltenders: Darcy Kuemper – Anton Forsberg
Los Angeles Kings Special Teams
Power play, First unit: Mats Zuccarello – Quinton Byfield – Adrian Kempe – Artemi Panarin – Brandt Clarke
Power play, Second unit: Alex Turcotte – Erik Haula – Joel Armia – Drew Doughty – Alex Laferriere
Penalty kill, First unit: Erik Haula – Joel Armia – Mikey Anderson – Drew Doughty
Penalty kill, Second unit: Scott Laughton – Trevor Moore – Joel Edmundson – Cody Ceci
San Jose Sharks Projected Lines
Line 1: Mason Marchment – Macklin Celebrini – Will Smith
Line 2: Ivar Stenberg – Alexander Wennberg – Collin Graf
Line 3: Igor Chernyshov – Michael Misa – Tyler Toffoli
Line 4: Barclay Goodrow – Zack Ostapchuk – Kiefer Sherwood
Pair 1: Darnell Nurse – Michael Kesselring
Pair 2: Nolan Allan – Jacob Trouba
Pair 3: Dmitry Orlov – Luca Cagnoni
Goaltenders: Yaroslav Askarov – Alex Nedeljkovic
San Jose Sharks Special Teams
Power play, First unit: Igor Chernyshov – Alexander Wennberg – Will Smith – Macklin Celebrini – Luca Cagnoni
Power play, Second unit: Mason Marchment – Michael Misa – Tyler Toffoli – Dmitry Orlov – Ivar Stenberg
Penalty kill, First unit: Alexander Wennberg – Collin Graf – Darnell Nurse – Jacob Trouba
Penalty kill, Second unit: Barclay Goodrow – Kiefer Sherwood – Nolan Allan – Dmitry Orlov
Players To Watch
Erik Haula — Los Angeles Kings
Haula put up an assist on three shots in 15:26 last time out, and the underlying work backs it up: Box Score Junkie has him at 56.7% Corsi-for and 65.0 shot attempts for per 60 through the 2026-27 season to date. His 65.0% Fenwick is the sort of territorial edge that eventually turns into points.
Macklin Celebrini — San Jose Sharks
Celebrini fired seven shots and set up three goals in 22:57 last time out, the kind of volume night that makes shots-on-goal props worth a look. With San Jose’s blue line struggling to tilt the ice — Box Score Junkie pegs Jacob Trouba at 40.4% Corsi-for this season — Celebrini is carrying the offence.
Injury Report
Los Angeles Kings
Otto Salin (D) — Injured Reserve, Undisclosed, expected back Tuesday, October 6
Jakub Dvorak (D) — Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Tuesday, October 6
Jan Jenik (C) — Injured Reserve, Undisclosed, expected back Tuesday, October 6
Kevin Fiala (LW) — Injured Reserve, Lower Leg, expected back Saturday, October 3
San Jose Sharks
Adam Gaudette (RW) — Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Saturday, October 10
Alex Barre-Boulet (C) — Injured Reserve, Undisclosed, expected back Monday, October 5
Quentin Musty (LW) — Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Tuesday, December 1
Cam Lund (C) — Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Monday, October 19
Kyle Keyser (G) — Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Tuesday, December 1
Patrick Giles (RW) — Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Saturday, October 3
Next Up
Los Angeles Kings: host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, October 6.
San Jose Sharks: visit the Dallas Stars on Monday, October 5.