INSIDER: PPPanarin! Kings Talk Power-Play Changes with Artemi Panarin Involved

When the bulk of the LA Kings hit the ice on Friday at Toyota Sports Performance Center, they did so with a few of their teammates already out there, working on something very specific.

The power play.

With the addition of forward Artemi Panarin, Jim Hiller said that the power play for the Kings will have both “different personnel” and a “different look”.

The former we obviously knew, with the arrival of Panarin. This is a guy who excels on the man advantage and was brought here, at least in part, to provide a spark to that unit for the Kings. Over the last five seasons, Panarin has collected 160 power-play points, sixth-most in the NHL. He’s one of two players in that Top-6, along with Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov, who ranks there without a teammate. He’s joining the 29th ranked power-play unit in the NHL, so there is certainly room to not only add in a player of that ilk, but to sculpt things around him, especially with this extended break to integrate him.

In New York, Panarin ran the show from the left side. In Los Angeles, it sounds like more of the same is loading.

“Panarin is going to be the player who has the puck, primarily, and is running that power play,” Hiller said. “So, it’s how do we give him the most amount of options.”

I’d expect some additional power-play practice to come on Tuesday, when forward Adrian Kempe is expected to return to the group for practice. Doesn’t mean, though, that we didn’t get eyes on what that top power-play unit might look like.

Naturally, it starts with Panarin, who operates off the left side, on the half wall, and does so with tremendous ability. From what could be seen, defenseman Brandt Clarke is still running the point, which seems to be confirmed based on conversations with him and Hiller today.

The remainder of the unit looked to have Corey Perry at the netfront, with Quinton Byfield in the bumper position and Adrian Kempe on the right wing. Jeff Malott was operating on the right side during practice, without Kempe there, but you’d have to imagine that with Panarin’s affinity for passes through the slot, the Kings will have Kempe there hammering away. Just take a peek back at the power-play goal Kempe buried at the Olympics with Team Sweden. The Kings have moved Kempe around a time, partly because teams started to really gameplan around taking away those feeds to him after he scored a career-high 11 goals on the man advantage during the 2022-23 season, when the Kings ranked fourth in the league as a team. With Panarin here, that won’t be an option without allowing him the room to beat you elsewhere. Should really help Kempe to get back into that shooting role on the man advantage.

I don’t think there are a ton of surprises there, but at the same time, there are options the Kings have.

I don wonder if Anze Kopitar might also see some time in the middle, especially when there’s a key faceoff. Byfield has had some success there in the past and he was the guy out there working directly with Panarin, but if there’s any deviation, I’d expect it to be in that spot, especially considering Kopitar’s prowess in the dot, as one of the league’s best. These changes do move a PP1 staple in Andrei Kuzmenko off that unit. He and Panarin play similar roles, both liking to create off the left side, with Kuzmenko potentially owning that left-sided spot on PP2. Trevor Moore and Alex Laferriere have played on the power play as well, with the potential for some time on the second unit.

In a lot of ways, though, it just starts with Panarin.

Moore is a fixture on the Kings penalty kill, meaning he’s played against Panarin for years and has now operated against him in practice. Perhaps a story for another day, but simply having Panarin on the ice should make the penalty kill better, as Moore felt it has already. It also gave the Thousand Oaks native a first-hand look at what Panarin brings in that spot on the ice.

“One of the leading offensive players in the league,” Moore said. “We’re working on PK stuff out there and having that guy on the half wall, you just see it in practice, it’s unique. It’s special the way he thinks the game, just the little plays he makes is pretty unique. We’re really lucky to have him.”

As the player closest to him at the top, Clarke certainly has recognized similar traits.

As a right shot up top, Clarke’s easiest pass is on his forehand, to Panarin on the left side. In watching them work together, there’s a one-timer option there that the Kings haven’t always had before, since Kuzmenko often operated further down the wall and before his arrival, it was three, left-shot forwards through the middle. With Panarin and Clarke both shooting right, there are interchangeable possibilities too, creating movement, which gets Panarin into different positions.

After practice today, both players spent time working together, just the two of them, on certain reads and specific plays they might want to run on the power play. You could see them start in their usual spots, as mentioned, and go from there. It was impressive watching some different things there and it’ll be very important for Clarke and Panarin to get on the same page early, with very little margin for error as the Kings get back into game action.

To Panarin’s credit, he doesn’t want it to just be the Artemi Panarin show. He wants a team effort.

Clarke said that on their first day of power play work, Panarin pulled him aside and encouraged him to take his shots. Encouraged him to make the plays himself when it’s there. That went a long way with Clarke.

“He told me that when your shots are there, when Perrs is at the net or if they’re sagging down a little bit, you have room to walk in and shoot it, you’ve got to do that,” Clarke said. “He told me that the first day we started practicing together, that I’ve got to look for my opportunities too and I’ve got to capitalize when I get the opportunity. That meant the world to me.”

That’s not to say that Clarke won’t be looking for Panarin. He added that he certainly “wants the puck on his stick” and as Hiller said, a lot of what the Kings are looking to do will run through what Panarin does.

But Hiller also emphasized that Panarin understands how successful power plays score goals. Having a guy of that caliber is great, but if he’s being isolated at times or teams are cheating to shut him down, Panarin wants the first thought for others to be to make the play that’s there, not to force the puck to Panarin. That’s a really good attribute for a top-tier player to have.

“He’s saying that if you’ve got a better shot than me, you take it, because that’s what’s going to be best for us,” Hiller said of Panarin. “He’s a player that wants the puck but he’s also a player that understands what the best options are. I was talking to the other coaches about it, for as skilled as he is, he understands how goals are scored and that doesn’t mean it always has to run through him. We’re going to lean on him, but he isn’t a player that feels like he always has to have the puck.”

It’ll be exciting to, hopefully, get a look at the full unit together, perhaps on Tuesday. As noted above, Kempe is expected to be back with the Kings for practice that day after he recently returned back to Los Angeles after his 2026 Winter Olympics came to an end with Team Sweden in the quarterfinals. The Kings didn’t rush him back, providing a few days to recharge, but it’ll be good for Kempe to get a practice day with Panarin, both at 5-on-5 and on the power play, with the two expected to play together in both situations.

There should be some optimism there. As noted the other day, in order for this to work, the Kings have to let Panarin be Panarin. To do the things that have made him one of the NHL’s most dangerous offensive players. What we’re hearing is that they will do exactly that, but we all know that the proof will be in the pudding. Two days until showtime, as the new-look Kings prepare for a pivotal fight to the finish.