It'll be a glamorous eve in SoCal when the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers visit the LA Kings, poised to drop the puck on a coast-vs-coast battle at 10 p.m. EST this Thursday. Except that each team's record reveals a fall that hasn't been pretty for either lineup, not even the two-time title winners.
The Los Angeles Kings can't win at home. The Kings have managed to begin the season 6-4-4 without winning more than once in their last six appearances at Crypto.com Arena. At the same time, the Florida Panthers have an identical record of failure in their road games so far, winning just one out of the six.
Will it be an ice hockey version of Missouri against Auburn, or will somebody actually try to win? Sportsbooks are moving cautiously, with tight odds on a tilt between out-of-sorts NHL clubs.
Spread
- Panthers +1.5 (-258)
- Kings -1.5 (+238)
Money line
- Panthers +101
- Kings -105
Total
- Over 5.5 (+101)
- Under 5.5 (-109)
Note: The above data was collected on Nov. 6, 2025, and may have changed since writing.
Florida Panthers vs Los Angeles Kings Betting Trends
- The Florida Panthers have won only one of their last six road games.
- The LA Kings have lost five out of six home games to start the season.
- Totals have gone under in four of the last five Panthers-Kings meetings.
Florida Panthers vs Los Angeles Kings Injury Reports
Florida Panthers
- Center Aleksander Barkov is out until 2026 with a knee injury.
- Left winger Tomas Nosek is out until December with a knee injury.
- Left winger Matthew Tkachuk is out until December following groin and hip surgery.
- Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov is out for five months following surgery for a labrum tear.
- Left winger Jonah Gadjovich is out for at least a week with an upper-body injury.
- Center Evan Rodrigues is questionable with a head injury.
Los Angeles Kings
- Left winger Warren Foegele is on the injured reserve with an upper body injury.
Florida Panthers vs Los Angeles Kings Predictions and Picks
The LA Kings finally had a better show on home ice this week, shutting out Winnipeg 3-0 behind 23 saves from former Colorado netminder Darcy Kuemper. In another encouraging sign for the Kings, all three goals were scored by veterans looking for big seasons, including Adrian Kempe, Drew Doughty, and Kevin Fiala. Kempe leads the Kings with 16 points in 14 games played, the only LA skater averaging over a point per game.
Florida has been trying to boost its snipers, but the Panthers have their defensive game to worry about after another letdown of a loss on Tuesday. The Cats were clawed 7-3 by the improving Anaheim Ducks, who lit the lamp a concerning seven times on just 32 shots against Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Making things worse is that the Panthers' Evan Rodrigues went out after taking a shoulder to the head from Leo Carlsson of the Ducks, another injury added to Florida's long ledger.
George Richards of Florida Hockey Now wrote of the four-goal defeat, "The game ended way after midnight … in South Florida so, this loss does not affect the Panthers a whole lot." Funny enough, most people in the NHL still think every win is worth two points, and LA looks poised to grab another one at home against a Florida club that's just too injured. LA is the better money line for Thursday's game.
