Adrian Kempe had the Los Angeles goal and David Rittich made 27 saves. Crosby picked up his 50th point of the season 14:09 into the first period when he got a piece of Matthew Grzelcyk's shot from ...

Los Angeles is playing its second of a five-game road trip while Detroit is wrapping up a three-game homestand on Monday night.

As one of their stars nears his season debut, the Los Angeles Kings hope to improve their play on the road as another lengthy trip awaits. The Kings begin a five-game road trip Saturday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who aim for a season-high fifth consecutive home victory.

Columbus is 17-11-5 at home and 27-33-8 in 68 all-time meetings vs. the Kings. The Jackets are 6-3-3 in the last 12 at NWA. The home team is 11-2-3 in the last 16 games of this series. Adrian Kempe leads the Kings with 24 goals and 44 points. Anže Kopitar leads the team with 31 assists. He also has 42 points in 46 games against Columbus.

The Los Angeles Kings are in town and have practically owned the Florida Panthers over the last several seasons. Just last Wednesday, the Kings scored twice in the third to squeeze out a 2-1 win in Los Angeles.

The Kings won the first meeting with the Red Wings, 4-1, on Nov. 16 behind two goals from Adrian Kempe. David Rittich only needed to make 17 saves in a game Los Angeles dominated.

The Pacific Division is fun this season. A new leader in the Pacific Division has emerged, as the Edmonton Oilers have a 32-15-3 record with 67 points.

Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey takes a look at the games that are scheduled and offers insight and analysis to help predict who will be victorious in head-to-head matchups.

The Florida Panthers will celebrate some milestone nights on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings. Not only will Dmitry Kulikov play in his 1,000th NHL game, but Paul Maurice will coach in his 1,900th game.

THROUGH GAMES OF THURSDAY, JAN. 30, 2025

DETROIT -- Going for a sweep of their three-game homestand before departing on a four-game Western road trip, the Detroit Red Wings will play the Los Angeles Kings at Little Caesars Arena on Monday night.

Columbus spent the last four games in galaxies far, far away, but the Jackets are happy to return home to face Los Angeles