The Kings visited the Vancouver Canucks on April 14, 2026, with plenty still at stake in the race for playoff seeding and only two regular-season games left to sort it out. The trip to Vancouver came in the penultimate game of the 2025-26 regular season, and Los Angeles entered without a morning skate because it was on a back-to-back set.
Adrian Kempe had already done damage against Vancouver this season, scoring twice when the teams met earlier in April at Crypto.com Arena and finishing with a point in all three games between the clubs. He led the Kings with five points in the season series, while Mikey Anderson added three assists in those same three games and had a multi-point night the last time the teams played in Vancouver.
That production has mattered because the Kings have controlled this matchup. Darcy Kuemper posted a 19-save shutout when the teams met in Vancouver in March, and Anton Forsberg made 24 saves in a 4-1 victory over Vancouver in Los Angeles last week. The clubs had already seen enough of each other for the details to matter, and Los Angeles arrived knowing the next decision — including who starts in net — could shift the feel of a game with seeding consequences attached.
Alex Turcotte was getting very close and could be a potential option for the Kings in Vancouver, though Jacob Moverare was the only other healthy skater on the trip and was available for lineup changes. Vancouver, meanwhile, was playing its final home game of the 2025-26 season and came in on consecutive wins, its first back-to-back victories since a four-game winning streak in December.
The Canucks had lined up in Sunday’s overtime victory over the Anaheim Ducks with O'Connor, Rossi and Karlsson on one line, and they had scored twice against the Kings this season on goals from Evander Kane and Marcus Pettersson. Vancouver was scheduled to finish the season in Edmonton on Thursday evening, leaving Monday’s game as the last chance to close out home ice with some momentum. For Los Angeles, the urgency was simpler: preserve position now, because the next result could still reshape the bracket.
