WHO: Los Angeles Kings (4-6-2) vs. Buffalo Sabres (6-4-3)
WHAT: 2026-27 NHL Regular Season, Game 13/84
WHEN: Saturday, October 31 @ 1:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: ABTV, DAZN – VIDEO: 830 AM KLAA, ESPN LA App, LA Kings App – TWITTER: @dooleylak & @lakings
TODAY’S MATCHUP: After a 6-5 overtime win over Ottawa on Thursday, the Kings continue on their current seven-game homestand with an afternoon matinee against the Buffalo Sabres.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Kings forward Adrian Kempe was the only Los Angeles player to find the scoresheet in both games against Buffalo last season, with two points (1-1-2) in the two games played. Forward Artemi Panarin scored his team’s lone goal in the matchup at Crypto.com Arena and totaled four points (1-3-4) against the Sabres last season overall, including two games played as a member of the New York Rangers.
KINGS VITALS: After full-team practice yesterday, the Kings will not hold a morning skate with today’s afternoon puck drop.
Unclear on today’s starting goaltender, though I would lean towards Darcy Kuemper this afternoon, after he had the day off yesterday. Kuemper has a lifetime record of 5-3-1 against the Sabres, with a .895 save percentage and a 3.11 goals-against average. Should the Kings instead roll with Anton Forsberg, he’s 4-7-0 lifetime against Buffalo, but has a .919 save percentage and a 2.59 goals-against average.
Per Peter Laviolette, he is not expecting any lineup changes today, though that comes with the contingency of anything health related. As such, here is today’s projected Kings lineup –
Panarin – Laferriere – Kempe
Moore – Byfield – Perry
Lee – Laughton – Armia
Haula – Helenius – Ward
Gustafsson – Clarke
Edmundson – Doughty
Anderson – Dumoulin
Kuemper
Forsberg
Kuemper and forward Adrian Kempe both did not skate yesterday, but just a maintenance day for both players, per Laviolette. Both are expected to be available today. Defenseman Brandt Clarke did play after he left Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury, but he practiced yesterday and is good to go.
SABRES VITALS: Buffalo concludes a four-game roadtrip tonight in Los Angeles, coming in with a record of 2-0-1 thus far away from home, including wins in California against San Jose and Anaheim.
Per Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News, here’s how the Sabres lined up on Thursday against the Ducks –
#Sabres lines/defensive pairs in warmups vs. 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, as a part of a five-point night overall. No Buffalo player has collected more assists against the Kings over the last three seasons than Quinn, who has five helpers and six total points versus Los Angeles in that span. Thompson and Quinn rank first and second on the Sabres in goals and points this season.
Storyline Of The Day – Off The Schneid
Of the six Los Angeles goalscorers on Thursday, four of them scored for the first time since the opening two games of the regular season.
Forwards Quinton Byfield and Erik Haula both scored for the first time since November 3 versus San Jose. Forwards Trevor Moore and Joel Armia scored for the first time since Opening Night against Colorado. Nine and ten games ago and to see four different players snap those kinds of streaks, all on the same night, is pretty unique.
“We need that secondary scoring,” Laviolette said. “It was nice to get contributions from Moore jumping in, getting it from the defensemen as well, Haula getting on the board, so there’s been some good things that guys produced from completely through the lineup, but the back end as well. So, for me, it was a combination of everything [against Ottawa].”
It’s been a unique year. The Kings have struggled to find consistent secondary scoring behind their top forward line. They certainly got it against Ottawa. Now comes the hard part and the more important part – keeping it up.
The hope from those involved is that Thursday’s game can be a jumping-off point. It’s not the first time that’s been the case this season, though, and that we’re still talking about it says how it went in the past. With a seven-game homestand, perhaps now is the time to find more offensive consistency. It starts with Byfield and Moore, who are both players the Kings need to rely on offensively. That’s the second scoring line. Last night, they combined on a nice goal 5-on-5 before Byfield won the game in overtime, his seventh since the start of the 2024-25 season, tied for the most in the NHL.
“Hockey’s a confidence game and sometimes, just getting one to fall for you can just kind of change your perspective,” Moore said. “So, it was good that we got a bunch of guys to get goals [against Ottawa].”
For Haula, perhaps the 2x power up in his situation is that it was also a power play goal, for a unit that was 2 for its last 18 coming into the game. It was a simple formula, with defenseman Brandt Clarke getting his shot through from up 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 some secondary scoring, while also getting one for the second unit on the power play, was a plus for sure.
“It’s a good feeling scoring a goal,” Haula said yesterday. “If you haven’t in a while and the team is kind of up and down, definitely it’s a confidence booster.”
The Kings will still be driven by their top-end forwards. However, it can’t just be those guys. Thursday’s game saw those four players get in on the action, with Mikey Anderson also scoring from the blueline. A good start, with lots of room still to grow in that area.
3 To Watch For –
– In terms of injuries, looks like a worst-case scenario was avoided with defenseman Brandt Clarke.
The hit by Ottawa’s Hayden Hodgson was so egregious that the league couldn’t differentiate between calling it charging and calling it boarding. Hodgson was eventually suspended for two games. One of those moments where you’d think that Hodgson is a repeat offender, but those previous suspensions were in the AHL and don’t factor in. Maybe they should.
Ottawa’s Hayden Hodgson will have a hearing today for boarding/charging Los Angeles’ Brandt Clarke.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) October 30, 2026
The hit knocked Clarke from the game, but he was on the ice for practice yesterday as a full participant, with Peter Laviolette indicating that he was both “good” and “cleared”. Expecting he’ll be fine to play today against Buffalo. Scary situation, but looks like worst case avoided.
The Kings certainly missed Clarke when he was out. He’s the smoothest puck mover on the team and is a big asset in terms of breakouts. As Ottawa pressed, the Kings struggled to handle that with the lead, which led to the Senators coming back and forcing overtime.
“I think so,” Laviolette said, when asked about if missing Clarke played a part in the third period. “Somebody to get the puck out of your end, yeah, possibly. Maybe not necessarily from the offensive end, but just getting out of our end, getting clean through the neutral zone, he’s a puck mover, he’s a skater and he wasn’t available. That’s the hand we were dealt, we had to play it and needed to play it better.”
– With regard to the biggest injury-related story – forward Kevin Fiala – yesterday was a good step forward, even though I still think it remains important to exercise caution.
Fiala progressed yesterday to a full-contact participant in practice, after skating in a non-contact jersey during Thursday’s morning skate. I do think that’s positive, don’t get me wrong, but I also think we need to pump the breaks a bit. Yesterday wasn’t really a contact-focused practice, nor was it particularly intense. Fiala basically jumped into Kempe’s spot, as 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 really well. It gave me some excitement to potentially watch him work with Artemi Panarin, either at even strength or on the man advantage. But it’s also one practice.
Is there a number of practices before we can expect Fiala to be game ready? Not necessarily, and that’s why we should remain cautious with his progress.
“I think this one’s a different animal, with what he went through,” Laviolette. “This isn’t somebody who had a second-degree MCL sprain and you need to get him one or two or three. I think it’s a comfort thing and when he feels good. He’s been out a long time. So, he looks great, those are all positive signs, but I don’t think this one goes to the textbook and says, yeah, he just needs two practices and he’s back in.”
When Fiala is ready, he’s ready. It’s great to see him yesterday and he’s put in a ton of work on his own. That’s really encouraging. However, it’s also just one practice for a player who hasn’t played a game since February. There are steps to be taken and he might not be there just yet. To see him integrated into the group, though, at the level he was, moving as well as he was, that’s quite positive. See where things go as the Kings have five more games to play at home after today’s against Buffalo.
– First afternoon game of the season for the Kings.
The preseason finale against Anaheim was a 1 PM puck drop on home ice and the Kings played quite well in that game, though it didn’t count. Last season, by my count, the Kings had points in 7 of the 11 matinee games they played, though one of the four that didn’t result in at least one point was a March defeat against Buffalo. Also just by my count, in 2024-25, the Kings collected a point in 13 of the 14 matinee games they played. So there is a bit of a track record there.
I think the players enjoy afternoon games. They’d be going to the practice rink anyways in the morning, so they’re getting their bodies ready to play at that time regardless and it’s just a slightly different approach from that perspective. I think most guys enjoy it. The Sabres might have a getaway day, with a 2-0-1 trip already in the bank, so maybe there’s a chance to capitalize there as well. Typically teams flying back East would stay over after the game if it was in the evening, but the 1 PM puck drop might allow for an evening flight home instead.
Regardless, see if the Kings can capitalize today.
Kings and Sabres, the first afternoon puck drop of the season on home ice. Crypto.com Arena breakfast, never an issue for the working LA Kings Insider staff. 1 PM puck drop as the Kings look to make it consecutive victories here in Los Angeles.