The LA Kings fell to 0-2 in the 2026 preseason as they dropped a 6-3 decision against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday evening at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Utah opened the scoring midway through the first period with a power-play goal, coming on its second man-up opportunity of the game. Mammoth defenseman Mackenzie Weegar created some space at the center point and got a shot through the traffic in front, with Utah forward Daniil But getting a tip on the way through as he was uncovered in the slot to open the scoring.
The Mammoth doubled their advantage late in the opening frame, capitalizing on a Kings turnover to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Kings forwards Koehn Ziemmer and Samuel Helenius weren’t able to get the puck out up the left wall, which allowed Utah to reload. Mammoth forward Clayton Keller worked himself into the slot and beat Kings netminder Darcy Kuemper from between the circles for the goal.
Early in the second period, the Kings got on the board with a power-play goal. The top unit established possession in the offensive zone and cashed in on their second chance of the game. Defenseman Brandt Clarke rotated down low in the offensive zone, while forward Adrian Kempe worked his way up top. Clarke got a deflection in tight on Kempe’s shot, past Utah goaltender Karol Vejmelka and in, bringing the hosts within 2-1.
The visitors opened up their largest lead of the game with a pair of second-period goals, taking a 4-1 advantage.
First, working deep in the offensive zone with pressure and possession, defenseman Mikhail Sergachev slid the puck down to forward Nick Schmaltz in the left-hand circle, where he beat Kuemper to the near post for a 3-1 lead. Then, the Mammoth capitalized off the rush, as Anders Lee found himself uncovered in the slot and buried off a feed from But to make it 4-1.
The Kings pulled a goal back through forward Martin Chromiak to bring the game into the second intermission with a 4-2 Utah advantage. Clarke chipped the puck out of his own zone, off the glass and out, as he sprung Chromiak in behind the Utah defense. Chromiak took the puck to his backhand and used a nice move
Early in the third period, forwards Kenny Connors and Taylor Ward connected off the rush to pull the hosts within a single goal. Connors showed excellent composure and strength to shake his defender, before he worked the puck to Ward for a one-timer finish from the left-hand circle. Connors now has assists in back-to-back exhibition games, three straight if you include the Rookie Faceoff.
Utah restored its two-goal advantage shortly thereafter, as forward Liam O’Brian put home a rebound in front of Kuemper to make it 5-3. After Kuemper made a pad save, O’Brien was not tied up just outside of the crease and buried his first of the night to put the visitors back on top by a pair.
The Mammoth added an empty-net goal to bring us to the final score of 6-3.
Hear from Clarke, forward Liam Lefebvre and Head Coach Peter Laviolette after tonight’s game.
