The LA Kings have struggled through a bleak start to their 2026-27 season, going winless in their first four games.
Saturday night’s 2-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights dropped the Kings to 0-2-2 on the season. If that wasn’t bleak enough, it also sets the Kings on a historically bad note to start the 2026-27 campaign.
Per Field Level Media via Reuters, “The Kings also have opened a season with four consecutive losses for the first time in franchise history.”
With two points, the Kings are seventh in the Pacific Division, ahead of only the Calgary Flames. But there is a more interesting historical component here.
LA Kings’ NHL Overtime Record Carries Into 2026-27
Now that Los Angeles has played in two overtime games already, it continues an NHL-record trend that started last season when 33 of their 82 contests required overtime.
That’s 40.2 percent of Los Angeles’ 82-game schedule. Of the 33 matchups that went into overtime or ended in a shootout, the Kings went 13-20. Those 20 overtime losses were also a single-season NHL record.
The upside was that they earned an additional 20 points, which contributed to their 90-point season that ended in a playoff berth. Unfortunately, their inability to win close games cost the Kings in Round 1 of the playoffs against the Colorado Avalanche.
Los Angeles lost its first two playoff games 2-1, the second of which went into overtime. The Kings ultimately lost four games to zero against Colorado after dropping both of their home games by multiple goals. The final game was the last time Kings fans saw the legendary Anze Kopitar suit up.
While 50 percent of the Kings’ games already went into overtime this season, the sample is still too small to project that the trend will continue all year. Still, it’s interesting to point out how eerily similar the beginning of 2026-27 is when looking back on 2025-26.
Kings’ Four Losses Reveal Another Concerning Statistical Pattern
The Kings lost again to the Avalanche to open the season in an 8-4 blowout. Since then, the Kings’ previous losses have all come by one goal, including a regulation loss on Oct. 6 to the Florida Panthers.
The Kings also put up four goals in their overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 3. Since then, Los Angeles has scored just twice, further revealing inconsistencies when they have the puck.
Overall, they have 10 goals on the season, putting them at 27th in the NHL. Their 17 goals allowed sit at 22nd. This also continues the pattern from last season, when the Kings finished the year with a minus-18 goal differential and were 29th in the league with 220 goals scored.
If a silver lining exists, it’s that Los Angeles kept its act together defensively and ended the year seventh in goals allowed. That came following a 2024-25 campaign that saw them give up just 203 goals, good for second in the league.
And it’s hard to ignore that they have only given up four goals in their last two contests. So, if the Kings want to get back on track, it will likely be defense first again this season. That said, if they want to avoid taking so many games into overtime and losing them, then they must figure out how to score when they have the puck.
LA Kings’ Historic Overtime Problem Takes Another Strange Turn