The Carolina Hurricanes take their four-game winning streak into Saturday night’s showdown against the Los Angeles Kings as they look to remain the last unbeaten team. They came away with the 4-1 win on Thursday, Oct. 16, against the Anaheim Ducks, while the Kings lost 4-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Can the Hurricanes keep their winning ways going and checkmate the Kings in the City of Angels?
Hurricanes vs. Kings Preview
The Hurricanes are winners of their first four games of the 2025-26 season. The Kings, however, are 1-3-1 after five games and are going in the wrong direction. With both teams in opposite runs to start their seasons, who will come out on top? Here is where you can watch or listen to the game:
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network South (Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy)
Listen: 99.9 The Fan
Puck Drop: 9:00 p.m. Eastern
The Hurricanes take their NHL-leading 4.75 goals a game into their Saturday, Oct. 18 showdown against the Kings, who are 26th in the league in goals allowed per game (3.80). On the flip side, the visitors are fourth in goals allowed (2.00), while Los Angeles is 27th in goals for (2.60). The Hurricanes have been a better 5-on-5 team so far this season after four games, and if they can limit their trips to the box, they could control the tempo against the Kings. The home side will be without captain Anze Kopitar as he’s out week-to-week with a foot injury. That could be a huge factor as the game progresses.
Related: Hurricanes’ Hot Start Leans on the Back of Multiple Point Streaks
Special teams could make this game interesting, as the Hurricanes are top five on the penalty kill (92.9% -fifth), but are still only 25th on the power play (14.3%). Regarding the Kings, they are in the bottom half of the NHL, as they’re 17th on the power play (20%) and 27th on the penalty kill (66.7%). If there was a game for the Hurricanes to get their power play going, this could be the game, as the host Kings are mightily struggling to keep the puck out of the net while a man down.
The Hurricanes have five players carrying a four-game point streak into the contest. Seth Jarvis (five goals and two assists) and Shayne Gostisbehere (one goal and six assists) each had three points in the team’s 4-1 win over the Ducks and look to make it to five games Saturday night. Sebastian Aho (one goal and five assists) scored his first goal of the season and had an assist on Thursday night. Alexander Nikishin (one goal and three points) scored his first NHL goal in his fourth-ever regular-season game in a milestone moment. Jackson Blake (one goal and three assists) had the primary assist on Jarvis’ second goal of the game to keep his streak alive.
The Kings will be without Kopitar and will have to look for a spark from their roster as they face the red-hot Hurricanes. Adrian Kempe and Quinton Byfield both have two goals and five points through the first five games of the season. If the home side looks to steal a win, it might have to go through their two hottest skaters. Another forward to watch for is Kevin Fiala, who always seems to take another step when facing the Hurricanes. He has three goals and four points; however, he does have a minus-2 rating. Something to keep in mind, as Byfield is also a minus-2, as the Kings are a team who are giving up a fair amount of goals early on in the season.
Drew Doughty leads the defensemen with three points, all assists, and carries a plus-2 rating. He is always an impact blue liner for the Kings, regardless of how the team is playing at any point in the season. The Hurricanes will need to keep him in check, as he can score at any time given the opportunity. Another defenseman to watch is Brandt Clarke, who has a goal and two points, along with a plus-1 rating. A couple of defensemen the Hurricanes could exploit are Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci, who both carry a minus-4.
Related: Jarvis & Gostisbehere Each Tally 3 Points in Hurricanes’ 4-1 Win Over Ducks
Goaltending for the Kings has been a struggle early on as Darcy Kuemper is 0-2-1 with a 3.55 goals-against average (GAA) and a .868 save percentage (SV%). Anton Forsberg is 1-1 with a 3.89 GAA and a .867 SV%. If the Hurricanes can get to either Kuemper or Forsberg early, they could essentially put this game out of reach and force the Kings to make mistakes. Forcing a team to chase the game and get the crowd out of it early will play as a huge factor if they want to make it five straight wins to start the season.
Despite the Kings’ early struggles, the Hurricanes cannot overlook them. The last time these two met was in the first half of a back-to-back last season, where the Kings routed the Hurricanes 7-2. If they want to avenge that loss, the Hurricanes will need a stronger start and not let the Kings control the tempo and physicality. As long as the Hurricanes keep playing like they have been, a full 60 minutes of Carolina hockey, they have a strong chance to go 5-0-0 to start the season and remain the last unbeaten team. It’ll be a fun game to watch as it will be part of the 12-hour marathon of NHL hockey on Saturday, Oct. 18.
