Before the Kings can enjoy the Christmas holiday, a back-to-back on home ice kicks off tonight as coach Jim Hiller’s group welcomes the Columbus Blue Jackets to town.

For an LA team that hasn’t earned very many style points of late, there are a myriad of interesting storylines heading into tonight’s contest. Several topics will need resolution in the near future. First off, Phil Danault is no longer in the picture, as he was traded to Montreal on Friday night. That leaves an interesting dilemma for Hiller.

The search is on for a 3C to take Danault’s place. As for right now, Alex Turcotte is the placeholder. How long he remains there will ultimately be up to GM Ken Holland and Hiller, as they enter what’s being referred to as an evaluation period for the former first round draft pick. As the Trade Deadline gets closer and closer, there is a limited runway for results. There’s also the matter of how Hiller will deploy his centermen now. It’s no secret that Danault would take on heavy responsibility, as far as matchups go. Is Turcotte ready for that pressure? Time will tell.

Some of the wingers are also unsettled in their spots. Trevor Moore appears set to get another audition on the top line, and Hiller has also floated the idea of Warren Foegele in that role. Thus, just the way things start at puck drop does not guarantee that’s how they’ll end after 60 minutes of regulation.

Kuemper is unlikely to play tonight/tomorrow but still very encouraging.

Jim Hiller – “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but when you see [him skating], you start seeing progress. Difficult to measure how long it’s going to take, but you like to see it moving forward.” https://t.co/sQxa5ihPZs

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) December 22, 2025

Shifting focus to the goaltending, will Pheonix Copley get a start tonight or tomorrow? With three days off before and after these two games, Hiller could easily ask Anton Forsberg to go both nights, as he did last week on the road trip.

Put simply, these are two games the Kings need to win on home ice. It’s been tough sledding in front of the home faithful thus far this season, and nothing would bring Kings fans more holiday cheer than a quick four points in the standings just before the short Christmas break.

Statistically Speaking

— The Kings carry an active eight-game point streak (6-0-2) versus Columbus, dating back to March 4, 2022, and have won eight of their last 10 against the Blue Jackets (8-2-0) at Crypto.com Arena.

— LA’s 87.2% penalty kill percentage (PK%) against Columbus is the fourth-highest in the League all-time, while their 92.0 PK% at Crypto.com Arena versus the Blue Jackets places second-highest behind New Jersey (94.0%).

— Anze Kopitar’s assist on Thursday in Tampa was his 200th career point in the month of December, marking his third different calendar month with 200 points (235 in March; 200 in February). He is joined by Marcel Dionne has the only two skaters in LA Kings history with 200+ career points in multiple months, per NHL PR.

— With 15 points this season, Corey Perry is tied with Harry Howell (15 in 1972-73) for the second most points by a Kings player at age 40 or older, behind only Luc Robitaille (24 in 2005-06).

What You May Have Missed

Don’t miss the latest KOTP — it’s packed with all the info you need! Topics include:

– Danault Trade
– Future of LA Kings lineup
– Marc Bergevin leaving
– Prospects at World Juniors
– FanDuel Network issues
– Kopitar missing practice
– Jim Hiller rumors
– Ontario Reign
– Much more!

Kings Of The Podcast Ep. 254: We’re Back, But Danault and Bergevin are Gone

Kings Projected Lineup vs. Blue Jackets

If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.

Moore – Kopitar – Kempe
Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Kuzmenko – Turcotte – Foegele
Armia – Helenius – Perry

Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci

Forsberg (starter)
Copley

Likely scratches: (F) Malott and (D) Moverare

Injured Reserve: Kuemper

How to Watch the Game

Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised by FanDuel Sports. Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app.

Get to know new Kings play-by-play voice John Kelly by checking out his interview here. He tells some interesting stories about joining the Kings broadcasts and what it was like calling games against them for most of his career.

Across the Ice

Columbus is coming off a 4-3 loss to Anaheim on Saturday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:

Marchment – Fantilli – Johnson
Jenner – Coyle – Marchenko
Voronkov – Monahan – Wood
Sillinger – Lundestrom – Chinakhov

Werenski – Mateychuk
Provorov – Severson
Smith – Fabbro

Merzlikins

INJURY UPDATE: D Zach Werenski will not play in tonight’s game at Los Angeles due to a lower body injury suffered at Anaheim on Saturday. He is considered day-to-day. #CBJ

— CBJ Public Relations (@BlueJacketsPR) December 22, 2025

On This Day in Kings History

On December 22, 2011, Darryl Sutter debuted behind the @LAKings‘ bench in a 3-2 shootout win over the Anaheim Ducks. In 2011-12, Sutter coached the #LAKings to a regular season record of 25-13-11, a 16-4 playoff run, and won his first Stanley Cup championship ring.#GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/7NLjg5jvHA

— The Kingstorian (@Kingstorian) December 22, 2025

MORE LA KINGS NEWS:

Notes and Video: Reaction from Kings GM Ken Holland on Danault Trade

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