Kings Realm · The Kings Realm

358: We’re So Back

October 13, 2025·1 hr 4 min·5 clips

The LA Kings podcast hosts crack open beers to celebrate a chaotic season opener and declare, 'We're so fucking back.'

1. Kings Realm episode 358, 'We're So Back,' covers the opening two games of the LA Kings' 2025-26 NHL season: a 5-2 opening night loss to the Colorado Avalanche and a 6-5 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights. 2. Hosts Dennis Wilson, James Whitlock, and Jordan Heckman record at the start of the new season with Jordan opening two beers and declaring 'we're so fucking back' after the Kings' comeback win. 3. The episode's central novelty is the Kings' alternate jersey surprise reveal: the team appeared to warm up and exit normally before walking out in brand-new alternates that most fans did not know were coming. 4. James calls the alternates 'sick,' Dennis describes them as 'pedestrian, very plain,' and Jordan says he hates the helmets, comparing them to RoboCop — all three reactions are at odds despite watching the same reveal. 5. The jersey pricing discussion establishes the Premium version costs $250 for a blank or $229 for a Kopitar nameplate on NHL.com, while the Authentic on-ice version is $499. 6. The Avalanche game recap: Martin Necas scored twice and Sam Malinsky and Artturi Lehkonen added goals in the second period; Kevin Fiala scored a power play goal for LA at 15:06 of the third in the only Kings highlight. 7. The Golden Knights game recap: the Kings went up 3-1 on power play goals from Kempe and Byfield plus an own-goal by Jeff Malat off his backside, before Pavel Dorofeyev scored a hat trick to put Vegas ahead 5-3. 8. Brent Clark scored to make it 5-4 with six minutes left off a well-timed Quinton Byfield pass, and the Kings tied it before winning the shootout when Kempe, Trevor Moore, and Kopitar all scored while Jack Eichel and Dorofeyev missed. 9. Jordan notes Kevin Fiala appeared to deviate from the scouting notes on Golden Knights goalie Aiden Hill by going left when the previous two shooters had gone right and succeeded. 10. Dennis delivers general notables: Kopitar is in his 20th season with one franchise, joining only five other non-North American players to do so including Ovechkin; Drew Doughty is the seventh defenceman to skate 18 seasons for a single team. 11. A discussion begins about who will be the Kings' second-line centre when Kopitar retires, prompted by a voicemail from Thomas in Bellingham; Jordan argues Phil Danault fits better on the third line and the Kings will need an external acquisition. 12. The hosts review the 2026 free-agent centre class including Kevin Hayes, Anders Lee, Nick Schmaltz, Charlie Coyle, and Alexander Wennberg, joking that Evander Kane appearing on the list would cause the same fan backlash as the Corey Perry signing. 13. A voicemail from Smoke Show describes the opening-night atmosphere at Crypto.com Arena as 'hockey night in LA but it felt more like USC night,' and praises Lucas Carlsson throwing a Superman punch at Fogle to stick up for a teammate. 14. Jordan's anecdote about accidentally sitting in the players' families section — and loudly cheering for Trevor Moore number 12 while surrounded by player wives and kids — is the episode's most-replayed comedic moment. 15. The hosts discuss the back-to-back format of the opening games, noting both teams looked tired in the third and that the Kings' comeback showed character despite legs being gassed. 16. Trevor Moore scored in the shootout and is noted to have had 5 shorthanded goals in the 2021-22 season (nearly one-third of his 17 goals that year), with the hosts setting a bold prediction that 20% of his goals this season will be shorthanded. 17. A DraftKings Pick Six and a Rakuten Canada ad are read during the episode. 18. The episode format is a game-by-game play-by-play recap with heavy banter, a general notables segment, voicemails, and a useless-stat-of-the-week contribution from a listener. 19. LA Kings fans eager to relive the opening-night jersey surprise and the Golden Knights comeback will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners who want condensed postgame analysis without extended tangents, pricing debates, or family-section anecdotes will find the pacing frustrating.

As heard by us

A lively fan-first recap of a 1-1 Kings start, with Trevor Moore and a loose postgame feel.

The episode follows the Kings through their 1-1 start, returning to the opener loss and the win over the Knights before landing on the shift from early trouble to a cleaner finish.

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Why you'd press play

You want the Kings comeback explained like your group chat had a mic.

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