Panarin, Kings look to reignite offense in Game 3 of Western 1st Round

DENVER -- Artemi Panarin talked as he was walking to the Los Angeles Kings’ team bus, the forward mentioning the tension he felt being back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“Nervous, (but) it’s not about pressure,” said Panarin, playing in the postseason for the first time since 2023-24, while with the New York Rangers.

“It’s just like the first game: You want to play great but there’s a lot of emotion," the 34-year-old forward said. "It’s a pretty big price right now. So I’m a player who still tries to make plays. But not (my) first time in the playoffs so I think I’m going to handle it well.”

Panarin has done that, with two power-play goals in as many games for the Kings in the Western Conference against the Colorado Avalanche. But he has been the only one finishing for Los Angeles, down 2-0 in the best-of-7 series following a 2-1 overtime loss at Ball Arena on Tuesday.

Game 3 is at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, FDSNSC, truTV, TNT, ALT, SN360, SN, TVAS).

“He gives us every opportunity every night,” Kings interim coach D.J. Smith said. “He can make plays, certainly on the power play. When he gets a clean look, he puts it away. That’s what you need this time of year.”

Panarin provides a spark to a lineup. It’s why Los Angeles acquired him from the Rangers for forward Liam Greentree and two conditional draft picks on Feb. 4, less than two weeks after New York general manager Chris Drury announced in a public letter to the team’s fan base that it was going to begin retooling its roster.

That same day, Panarin signed a two-year, $22 million contract ($11 million average annual value), which begins next season.

He has been a steady presence at left wing on the Kings’ top line with center Anze Kopitar and right wing Adrian Kempe, but they haven’t been able to generate much 5-on-5 thus far in the first two games; granted, the two teams have combined for just six goals. But with Los Angeles heading home, it will get the last change and hopefully some better matchups for Panarin, Kopitar and Kempe.

“I think you saw it when we played (the) Edmonton (Oilers) at home (last postseason)," Smith said, "especially on face-offs and O-zone draws. I can decide, is 'Kopi' going to go against that guy? What line is he going to go against? What set of (defensemen) are going to play against 'Bread' (Panarin)? That’s a big difference.

“Colorado has the No. 1 pair for Team Canada in the Olympics (defensemen Devon Toews and Cale Makar) and they’ve got them out there against those guys overtime. I’m going to find shifts, for sure, where they’re not going to see those guys. We should be able to create more offense.”

If the Kings get the matchups, perhaps Panarin can make a bigger impact, much like he did after joining Los Angeles. He had 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) in 26 regular-season games for the Kings. 

“He can make plays and he can make plays under pressure," Smith said. "He’s one of those star guys in the League that certainly helped us get here. There were a lot of pieces that fit into this team getting here and he was a huge piece.

“He gave us that scoring, gave us that confidence, gave us a little bit of swagger that we had a big boy. Then all of a sudden, here comes Kempe and all these other guys behind him. It just fit really well and it was great to have him.”

Panarin is “just dynamic,” in the words of Los Angeles forward Alex Laferriere. 

“Our power play is a lot better with him, too," Laferriere said, "just the way he sees the ice, the way he controls the puck. It’s fun to watch being out there with him."

Before Panarin's arrival, the Kings were tied for 29th in the NHL with 2.54 goals per game and 29th with the man advantage (16.0 percent).

In the 26 games since his debut Feb. 25, Los Angeles was tied for 19th in the League with 3.00 goals per game and was 20th on the power play (20.0 percent).

“Not only is he a great player on the ice, he’s a great addition to the locker room, too," Laferriere said. "He’s been an unbelievable guy to get to know. He has so much experience in this league and it’s been fun to get to know him.”

Between moving from New York and a busy game schedule following the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, Panarin hasn’t had much time to check out Los Angeles. That will come. What he knows is he likes where the Kings are and that he’s a part of them. 

So much so, he waived his full no-movement clause to join Los Angeles.

“I feel pretty good, actually," he said, "When I played with the Rangers, obviously I don’t know much about (the Kings), and I was picking a team with a feeling more than anything else. I’m kind of happy because we have a great second line, too. 'Moors' (Trevor Moore), 'Laff' (Laferriere) and 'Q' (Quinton Byfield), it’s great to have them."

Panarin led Los Angeles in scoring in their final 20 regular-season games with 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists), and Kempe was second with 20 (13 goals, seven assists, with Byfield (16 points; 11 goals, five assists), Moore (15 points; six goals, nine assists) and Laferriere (15 points; five goals, 10 assists) right behind.

"They helped a lot the last 20 games of the season, they played really well," Panarin said. "I mean, you need two top lines for sure, and that’s helped a lot. I’m just happy.”