February 26, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings defenseman Cody Ceci (5) skates during the first game against the Edmonton Oilers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Griffin Hooper-Imagn Image The Los Angeles Kings struggled to get outscored to 14-5 on back-to-back losses following a three-week hiatus in the NHL schedule for the Milan Cortina Olympics.
They will try to right the ship when they host the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon.
“We’ve got work to do on Saturday, we’ve got to go out and win the game and turn it around,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “My focus and energy is trying to get them into the frame of mind to be able to do that.”
Los Angeles ended its Olympic break Wednesday against a Vegas Golden Knights team resting five players from Sunday’s gold medal game in Milan, but the Kings lost 6-4 anyway.
The next night, the Kings hosted an Edmonton Oilers team that lost 6-5 at the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday and lost 8-1 in their most lopsided loss of the season.
This was their 5th consecutive loss, the most of the season.
“For whatever reason, we weren’t as sharp as the team we were playing,” Los Angeles defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “That’s the result we’re getting.”
As Hiller’s hot seat continues to heat up, Anderson told reporters after the Edmonton loss that the players did not quit the coaching staff.
“There’s a group here,” Anderson said. “It may not always seem that way from the outside, but there are good people here. People who want to be here.”
Making things more difficult for Hiller moving forward, the Kings lost defenseman Drew Doughty and suffered an injury to Joel Armia against the Oilers. Both participated in the Olympics until last weekend.
“It’s very disruptive to the Olympic athletes who come and compete there,” Hiller said. “Then there’s the travel. Just the emotions. I think there have been times when it’s been harder for the players to come back and stay healthy.”
The Flames looked sharp coming off the Olympic break on Thursday with a 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks to begin a three-game stretch in California.
“We’ve put in the effort over the last 10 days,” Calgary goalkeeper Dustin Wolff said after the win. “Any time you can get in the building and get two points, that’s what we’re looking for.”
Wolf made 34 saves against the Sharks, but could be held up against the Kings to save him for the much hotter Ducks on Sunday in Anaheim.
Devin Cooley is the Flames’ other netminder and has yet to face Los Angeles in his two-year NHL career.
Nazem Kadri scored twice for his third straight multi-point game against San Jose.
Kadri’s linemates, Connor Zary and Joel Farabee, combined for a goal and two assists.
“That line against San Jose was our strongest line,” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said. “They had a little more urgency than our other lines (against the Sharks). It felt like they were going to impact the game in the right way, and they did.”
–Field level media
