11/4 Preview – Measuring Stick Game vs. San Jose + Clarke on Injury Fear, Connors Lineup Adjustment, Hometown Remix Debut

MATCH OF THE DAY: The Kings split their season opener at home, beginning a Pacific Division showdown against San Jose tonight.

FACE-TO-FACE: The Kings got a goal and an assist each from forwards Adrian Kempe, Quinton Byfield and Artemi Panarin when these teams met in October, a 5-4 overtime victory for the Sharks. Defenseman Brandt Clarke also had several points (0-2-2) in this game, giving him six points (2-4-6) with a +9 rating in his last seven games against San Jose.

VITALS OF KINGS: After two full-squad practices over the past two days, the Kings held an optional morning practice before tonight’s game.

It looks like goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper will get the nod between the posts tonight, his second home start. Kuemper has a 10-5-5 lifetime record against the Sharks, with a .909 save percentage and a 2.78 goals-against average.

Based on what we’ve seen over the past few days, as well as this morning’s practice, here is the projected lineup for tonight’s game:

Panarin – Laferrière – Kempe
Moore–Byfield–Perry
Haula-Connors-Armia
Lee-Laughton-Chromiak

Gustafsson-Clarke
Edmundson-Doughty
Anderson-Dumoulin

Kuemper
Forsberg

That would point to forward Samuel Helenius and defenseman Cody Ceci as the projected healthy scratches tonight. Forwards Kevin Fiala, Mats Zuccarello and Alex Turcotte skated with the team again this morning, although all three players are still out and would need to be activated to the active roster in order to play.

SHARK VITALS: San Jose begins a three-game road trip tonight against the Kings, followed by trips to Minnesota and Dallas.

According to Max Miller of NHL.com, here’s how the Sharks lined up during yesterday’s practice:

#SJSharks lines in practice: Toffoli-Celebrini-Smith Marchment-Misa-Sherwood Stenberg-Bystedt-Graf Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Gaudette Dellandrea Nurse-Kesselring Dickinson-Trouba Allan-Orlov Hajek

— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) November 3, 2026

Forward Igor Chernyshov led the Sharks with three points (2-1-3) when these teams met earlier this season, including the game-winning goal in overtime, while former Kings forward Tyler Toffoli also had multiple points (1-1-2) in San Jose’s overtime win.

Scenario of the day – Measuring stick game
Typically, the term “measuring stick game” is used to refer to a team moving up in its weight class, perhaps after having some success in other areas.

I think the term applies here, but for different reasons.

San Jose is the first rematch on the Kings’ schedule. Los Angeles traveled north for its second game of the regular season. At 5-on-5, the Kings generated a season-high 15 high-danger chances while the 18 appearance total they had was two shy of the season-high. The Kings scored four goals and generally controlled the game. But they lost in overtime.

“I thought we played a very solid game, but it didn’t go well,” said Peter Laviolete, reflecting on the first game against the Sharks. “I feel like we can say that in probably three, four or five games, but we’re winning, so it wasn’t enough. We’ll be looking to improve, but we did a lot of good things in this game.”

That’s why I think tonight’s game has this sort of measuring stick label. It’s not because San Jose leads the NHL. It’s not because the Kings played poorly in this game. That’s because a month later, we still haven’t seen the results. And tonight is the chance to do it.

The Sharks already have a head start on the Kings with the October victory. Both teams are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games. The Kings have yet to win a single game in the division. Besides, they have yet to win a game in the conference. Getting the Sharks back so quickly offers a chance to see where progress could have been made. Or not. That’s what a measuring stick does. It measures where you are, no matter how far forward or backward you are.

“I think that’s a good way to put it,” defenseman Brandt Clarke said. “We had a lot of practice recently, we were able to build on a lot of things. We liked the way we played, it’s a shame we didn’t get the wins we wanted to get, in terms of zone time in that Buffalo game, we did a lot of good things. We’ve been sitting here for a little while and we’re excited to get back on the ice. We’re excited to play against a team that we’re not too big a fan of, you know what I mean? So, that It’s going to be fun, like you said, it’s going to be a good indicator of our growth.

With five games remaining in a seven-game home season, the Kings are 1-1. I never really believed in the quality of the opponent’s argument. I didn’t use it when the Kings started with six straight losses to good teams and I wouldn’t have used it either. If that were the case, you could look at the five teams remaining on the schedule here at home, teams that have a total of 32 wins in 75 games played this season. Articles about five teams would say the same thing about the Kings, who rank 29th in the NHL in winning percentage. But if there’s an opportunity to “get back on track,” it starts tonight against a San Jose team that the Kings know they should have scored two points against last time, but they didn’t.

This is a non-traditional measuring game, but it’s a measuring stick nonetheless, in my opinion.

3 To Watch –
– Brandt Clarke has seemingly been a magnet for injuries ending the day.

Fortunately, they are just finishing the day. On this field alone, Clarke left a game early due to an upper-body injury and an early workout, after taking a stick to the face on Monday. This isn’t his first facial cut in practice this season, either. Both times, he was back on the ice the next day, avoiding what could have been a much scarier situation.

Clarke said he accidentally put a stick in his eye during practice Monday and couldn’t get it open for about a half-hour. Scary at the time, but once he finally did, everything was fine. “I’m healthy right now. I’m not banged up. I’m just looking forward to playing tonight.”

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) November 4, 2026

“I guess sometimes it comes in waves, my face has taken a few scratches recently, I get stuck in the eye while training there,” he said. “That’s how it goes sometimes. Luckily, I’m healthy. I’m not banged up. I’m just looking forward to the game tonight, that’s for sure.

It’s good to know that Clarke is feeling good. An important piece for the Kings. Against Ottawa, it felt like things really started to go downhill once Clarke left the game. He feels 100 percent though, minus a cut right next to his eye, and will be at full capacity tonight.

– In terms of roster setup, I think I like the shape of Kenny Connors, skating with Joel Armia and Erik Haula, assuming what we saw yesterday carries over to today’s game.

I think Connors will always profile as a two-way player in the NHL. He has proven that he is capable of producing offensively in the AHL at a decent rate and that will need to translate somewhat into his NHL play as well. But I don’t think he will only be a scorer at this level. What has always made him effective at lower levels is his ability to contribute to several different facets of the game.

In terms of fit, I thought Armia was perhaps the team’s best striker on Saturday. He has a sneak attack to his game. Haula’s production has always been pretty consistent and the two Finns have chemistry from the national team.

“Both of those guys have really good hockey brains and that certainly makes it easier for me as well,” Connors said. “I don’t have to think too much. They help me a lot. They are two players who have had very good careers in the league, so that really helps. It’s great to play with them.”

Armia had similar things to say about Connors.

He highlighted his “very good hockey IQ” in addition to his good skating abilities, which Laviolette also talked about. Armia felt that Connors was a good fit alongside him and Haula. This line has two natural centers, with Haula skating yesterday on the wing, allowing Connors to fit into his natural spot. This looks like the kind of two-way third line the Kings could use, if the pieces fit together as expected.

– Finally, Game 1 tonight for the Hometown Remix jerseys.

The Kings will wear their purple jerseys tonight for the first of seven home games this season, all on Wednesday, with the exception of Anze Kopitar’s jersey retirement ceremony on February 24.

Learn more about these sweaters HERE, for those interested.

Kings and sharks. Big match tonight. The Kings specifically need to win division games and the San Jose game seems just a little more intense compared to other games there. An opportunity, certainly, to move things forward.