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Latest injury report and availability update: New York Islanders vs Los Angeles Kings
Kings are 2-6-0 at home in 2026-27
Los Angeles has won only two of eight games at crypto.com Arena, and the 3-0 loss to Nashville was the latest home setback.
The Kings are 5-9-2 in all competitions this season, so protecting home ice is the clearest area where they can change the picture.
How to watch Islanders at Kings and puck drop time
Puck drop at crypto.com Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT, 10:00 p.m. ET and 03:00 GMT on Friday (04:00 in Madrid).
In the United States, the game is available on ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+, with local rights depending on the market. Out-of-market fans can also follow the match right here with VAVEL.
Stay with us for confirmed lineups and goaltenders, live period-by-period scoring, shots on goal and Artemi Panarin's box score as the game develops.
Crypto.com Arena and the Pacific time zone for the Islanders
The game is played at crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, the home of the Kings. The Islanders played at San Jose in their previous game and arrive in Los Angeles after a one-goal shootout loss, so the travel is short but the schedule is tight.
New York is 3-3-2 on the road this season, and the 3-2 shootout loss in San Jose showed they can compete away from Long Island.
The puck drops late for East Coast fans at 10:00 p.m. ET, and in Madrid the game starts at 04:00 on Friday morning.
The betting line: Kings at -125 with the total at 5.5
The market has this game as close to even. Los Angeles is a -125 favorite at home, and the total is set at 5.5 goals.
That total fits with what we have seen. The Kings have scored 6, 2, 7, 2 and 0 goals in their last five, and the Islanders have scored 4, 0, 3, 4 and 2, so there are not many reliable trends on either side. Added up, Los Angeles scored 17 goals and allowed 18 across those five games, while New York scored 13 and allowed 20.
Special teams, goaltending and the first goal decide this one, and the first goal carries extra weight for the Kings, who are 2-6-0 at home. Los Angeles has not scored more than two goals in either of its last two games, so the opening period is where the home crowd will read the mood of the night.
Injury reports: Barzal and Romanov are on injured reserve for New York
The Islanders have the longer injury list. Mathew Barzal (knee) and Alexander Romanov (knee) are on injured reserve, Calum Ritchie (lower body) is also on IR and Jean-Gabriel Pageau is listed as out with a lower-body injury.
The Kings have two names on their own report, a much shorter list than the one on the visiting side, which gives the home team a clear depth advantage on paper. Erik Gustafsson is out with an undisclosed injury and Jakub Dvorak is on injured reserve with an upper-body problem.
Losing Barzal removes a key forward from New York's lineup and it puts more of the offensive responsibility on Horvat and Schaefer.
Metropolitan and Pacific Division standings entering Thursday
The standings show how different the two seasons have been. In the Metropolitan Division, Carolina leads at 15-3-2 with 32 points, followed by New Jersey (13-6-0, 26), the Rangers (11-8-1, 23) and Washington (10-6-0, 20). The Islanders are fifth with 18 points.
In the Pacific, Edmonton is at the top with 31 points, Vegas has 28, Anaheim 21, Seattle 19, San Jose 18 and Calgary 17. Los Angeles has only 12 points and sits seventh, ahead of only Vancouver (3-16-1, 7 points).
That is a five-point gap between the Kings and the Flames, which makes every point in this game valuable for a team that has fallen behind early. For New York, a win would close the gap to Washington, which holds fourth place in the Metropolitan Division with 20 points.
Islanders last five games: three straight losses, two in extra time
New York's recent form is better than the record suggests. The Islanders won 4-3 in overtime at Minnesota, lost 4-0 to Edmonton, lost 5-3 to Carolina, lost 5-4 in overtime to New Jersey and lost 3-2 in a shootout at San Jose in their latest game.
Three of those five games were decided by one goal and two went past regulation, so the Islanders have earned points in a few of them.
They have lost three in a row, yet two of those losses gave them a point in the standings.
Kings last five games: two wins, two bad home losses
Los Angeles has played its last five games at home and the results have been mixed. It beat Ottawa 6-5 in overtime, lost 3-2 to Buffalo, hammered San Jose 7-2, lost 5-2 to Pittsburgh and was shut out 3-0 by Nashville in its latest game.
The most worrying number is the scoring in those two latest defeats, because the Kings managed only two goals in the 5-2 Pittsburgh game and none against Nashville.
The 7-2 win over San Jose shows what this group can do when the power play and the first line connect.
Bo Horvat and Matthew Schaefer lead the Islanders' attack
New York's two main offensive names are Bo Horvat and Matthew Schaefer. Horvat leads the Islanders with 7 goals and 17 points, while Schaefer leads the team in assists with 12.
That combination makes the Islanders a team that scores through its first line and through the point, with Schaefer creating from the back end and Horvat finishing around the net.
The Islanders are also dealing with a long injury list, and both of those players carry a heavy share of the scoring load as a result.
Artemi Panarin leads the Kings with 8 goals and 10 assists
The biggest name on the home bench is Artemi Panarin. He leads Los Angeles in goals (8), assists (10) and points (18) through 16 games, so he is involved in almost every scoring chance the Kings generate.
That production matters more than usual because Los Angeles has struggled to win at Crypto.com Arena this season. Two wins in eight home games is the clearest sign the Kings have not turned their talent into results in front of their own crowd.
Panarin's line will see the most attention from the Islanders' defensive pairs, and the first power play of the night will say a lot about how Los Angeles intends to use him.
Kings and Islanders drop the puck at 7:00 p.m. PT in Los Angeles
Welcome to VAVEL's live coverage of New York Islanders at Los Angeles Kings from crypto.com Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT, which is 10:00 p.m. ET and 04:00 on Friday in Madrid.
The Los Angeles Kings are 5-9-2 on the season and 2-6-0 at home, while the New York Islanders come in at 7-6-4 with a 3-3-2 road record. Oddsmakers make the Kings a narrow favorite at -125, with the total set at 5.5 goals.
We will follow every goal, penalty and line change from the opening faceoff, and the live blog carries the shot totals, the power-play chances and the final box score once the game is over.
Here is the latest pregame availability and injury report ahead of New York Islanders vs Los Angeles Kings at crypto.com Arena (Disney+).
Los Angeles Kings injury report: Erik Gustafsson (D) - Out; Jakub Dvorak (D) - Injured Reserve.
New York Islanders injury report: Jean-Gabriel Pageau (C) - Out; Mathew Barzal (C) - Injured Reserve; Calum Ritchie (C) - Injured Reserve; Alexander Romanov (D) - Injured Reserve.