Los Angeles Kings season opener: Date, time, TV

The Los Angeles Kings start off their new season at home against the new-look San Jose Sharks. Check below for more.

So the grueling summer has finally waned and it’s time to look beyond the beach days to something a bit cooler. Yep, hockey is back baby!

The Los Angeles Kings will head out on their new campaign a little bit later than everyone else — the season really begins Wednesday but your LA squad plays Friday — but the match-up is worth the extra couple days wait.

Why? Because the San Jose Sharks are coming to town. It’s a divisional showcase right off the bat and we are way too stoked for this, for a plethora of reasons. But first let’s take a gander at what your Kings did over the course of the heat wave.

The first order of business, and this was a theme across the NHL, was to make sure perennial Norris candidate Drew Doughty remained with the team for the rest of his career. And before July 1 even struck, he had signed a massive eight-year extension. Doughty was scheduled to be a free agent come 2019.

The next task? To add some goal scoring. The Kings ended 2017-18 ranked a ho-hum 16th in goals for, which did them no favors as they were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round of the playoffs. Los Angeles scored only three goals in the series.

Insert grandfather Ilya Kovalchuk, who hasn’t played in the NHL since 2013 with the New Jersey Devils. Los Angeles signed him as a free agent in the hopes of kicking the offense into gear, and if the clip below is any indication, Kovalchuk might just be a dose of medicine.

https://twitter.com/LAKings/status/1043001618130587648

Los Angeles Kings vs. San Jose Sharks

Date: Friday, Oct. 5

Time: 10:30 p.m., EST.

Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California

TV: FSW, NCSA

Stream: Fubo.TV

The Kings might want to start worrying a tad, though. They were blanked in their final two preseason games, went 1-6-1 overall, and the Sharks are coming to feast. Maybe you haven’t heard, but San Jose isn’t quite the same as last season.

Outside of the John Tavares news in early July, the Sharks trading for two-time Norris winner Erik Karlsson sent waves through the rest of the Western Conference. For everyone else within the Pacific Division, you are on notice. That goes for Los Angeles, who will test out the Brent Burns/Karlsson/Marc-Edouard Vlasic combo immediately.

San Jose finished last year top ten in goals against but middled on offense and on the powerplay. So far, Karlsson is helping right the ship in the latter’s regard.

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1046573176157868032

But preseason aside, which matters as much as watering a dead houseplant, this opening contest is one to look forward to. Doughty a stated is a Norris winner, while Anze Kopitar recently won his second Selke Trophy. Oh yeah and Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick has been a Vezina finalist. Not only are we in for a doozy of a game, but tossing Karlsson into the mix means this series just got a whole lot more interesting for a lot more years.

Want more coverage throughout the regular season? Check us out on the hub at FanSided NHL, or follow us on Twitter @FanSidedNHL! Have any comments or suggestions? Send them my way @CL_Kohuss.