The Kings have sputtered through the early going, but showed signs of life during their five-game road trip.

It’s imperative that they make hay at home, where they have yet to win this season, as they kick off a residency of seven straight games with a visit from the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

The Kings won consecutive contests behind a solid effort in Washington and some individual flashes on Long Island. Then, after a loss in New Jersey, they had their most decisive dub of the season at Madison Square Garden.

Yet that tempered excitement receded into a disappointing loss at Chicago, one that team captain Drew Doughty missed after his best showing in recent memory a night earlier. Quinton Byfield wasn’t long for the sidelines, but for any positive contributions he also turned the puck over on the game-winning goal, serving the Blackhawks a deep-dish pizza in a 2-1 loss.

“It sucks not winning the last game,” reporters heard from Byfield, whose Kings dropped their first six decisions of 2026-27. “From our start, going 3-2 is still a little bit of a positive for us.”

There can be no consolation in relative success for the Kings, an organization with the NHL’s oldest roster, little if anything in the way of high-end prospects and a solitary goal in six of its eight losses.

While a romp over the emaciated goaltending of the Rangers and a couple four-goal displays in defeat can buoy their averages for now, this is a team that cannot score consistently.

Though they didn’t let up even after a goalie switch in Manhattan, beat the Islanders in overtime and finished strong in Washington, sealing the deal has been challenging overall. Six of their 11 games have been either one-goal results or decided by one score plus an empty-netter. They’ve won only once.

“We’ve been here too many times in the third period, 1-1, with a chance to win a game, and we didn’t get it done. It’s on us; we’ve got to get that done,” Kings first-year coach Peter Laviolette told reporters. “Our record could be a lot different if we were closing out third periods.”

There have been just two 1-0 victories in the entire league so far, and Laviolette was brought in to draw blood from the Kings’ stone of an attack. So far, the results have been mixed at best.

General manager Ken Holland acquired Artemi Panarin, one of the 20 most prolific producers of all time on a per-game basis, in February. He’s delivered in sum, but after less than 35% of his career points came off goals previously, he’s got three more goals than he does assists as a King, which is something of an indictment of his teammates’ finishing abilities.

Mats Zuccarello was Holland’s next significant get. So far, the 39-year-old has had more stints on injured reserve (two) than points (one). Meanwhile, Kevin Fiala’s recovery from a broken leg at the Olympics has taken on an indefinite feel.

Ottawa’s arrival highlights some prior questionable decisions by Kings management, one made by Holland and the other by his predecessor Rob Blake.

First, ex-Kings defenseman Jordan Spence, who was relegated to a depth role and jettisoned inexplicably to the Senators for draft picks in 2025, returns to town. Spence leads all Sens defensemen in 5-on-5 expected-goals percentage, per Natural Stat Trick, and his actual goal share has exceeded that figure. He ranks second among Ottawa rearguards in time on ice for a club that’s outperformed the Kings in consecutive seasons despite playing in a much more competitive conference and division.

Meanwhile, the player Holland was eager to replace Spence with at what was then three times the cost, Cody Ceci, has been a healthy scratch of late. In those games, the Kings went 3-1-0, but with Ceci in their mix, they’ve been winless in seven opportunities.

Secondly, forward Tim Stützle tops Ottawa in scoring. He developed under then-Kings assistant coach Marco Sturm with the German national team, but Blake passed on him in the 2020 draft to select Byfield. Stützle has 16 points this season and 425 in his career, while Byfield has just two points this year and 193 since making his debut.

Ottawa (8-5-0, 16 points) at Kings (3-6-2, 8 points)

Where: Crypto.com Arena

How to watch: ABTV