Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks: game preview
Los AngelesKings2026-27: 0-2-1 · 1 pts · 2025-26: 35-27-20 · 90 pts · 20that
San JoseSharks2026-27: 2-1-0 · 4 pts · 2025-26: 39-35-8 · 86 pts · 24thFour points apart last season
Los Angeles finished last season 20th in the league on 90 points. San Jose finished 24th on 86, and the 2025-26 season series went SJS 2-1-0.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 216
Across 215 completed games, San Jose lead the head-to-head 117-79-18.
Last 5 meetings
See all: Last 5 meetings →The table on each meeting night
League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 28 Oct 2025, Los Angeles were 11th in the league and San Jose 31st. By 3 Oct it was 28th and 6th.
Los Angeles out-attempted San Jose 323 to 281
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Los Angeles have created the better chances, last 10 games
Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.
This season: 3 games for Los Angeles, 3 for San Jose. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for Los Angeles, 10 for San Jose.
2025-26: 82 games for Los Angeles, 82 for San Jose.
Power play and penalty kill, season and series
This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.
All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings
Los Angeles
Small sampleSan Jose
Small sampleMacklin Celebrini has 7 points in the last 5 meetings
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away, then who has produced in the last meetings.
Macklin Celebrini vs Los Angeles · game by game
See all: Macklin Celebrini vs Los Angeles · game by game →Yaroslav Askarov has started most of these meetings
Yaroslav Askarov played 4 of the last 5 meetings with Los Angeles, with a .872 save percentage. Starters are confirmed on game day.
Expected starter after their game on 9 Dec: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
Expected starter after their game on 9 Dec: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
Los Angeles crease
LAK · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 8 Dec
Two goalies used against San Jose
Yaroslav Askarov
See all: Yaroslav Askarov →SJS · 2-1-0 in 2026-27 Starter estimate from 8 Dec
Scoring rates point to about 6.4 goals
No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.
Goals in the last 5 meetings
Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.
Scoring rates
Los Angeles3.005.002.743.01
San Jose3.004.003.063.56Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.
9 on the injury lists
Los Angeles · injuries
San Jose · injuries
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →Placed D Otto Salin on the injured non-roster list. Loaned G Erik Portillo to Ontario (AHL).
Waived for the purpose of assignment to Abbotsford (AHL) Fs Martin Chromia, Cole Guttman, Lane Pederson and Francesco Pinelli and D Joe Hicketts. Loaned Fs Aatu Jamsen and Koehn Ziemmer, Ds Angus Booth, Kirill Kirsanov and Jared Woolley to Ontario. Placed F Jan Jenik and D Jakub Dvorak on injured reserve.
Signed F Elton Hermansson to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Placed C Patrick Giles on waivers.
Placed G Ilya Samsonov on waivers.
Placed RW Ethan Cardwell, D Libor Hajek and LW Tye Felhaber on waivers.
Los Angeles · 2026 draft
See all: Los Angeles · 2026 draft →San Jose · 2026 draft
See all: San Jose · 2026 draft →Friday 11 December · the full slate
See all: Friday 11 December · the full slate →
Updated after every final