The Kings will head into the Christmas pause with a back-to-back set at home against the worst team in the East and then the worst team in the West as they begin life without Phillip Danault.

Danault was traded to the Montreal Canadiens some 30 minutes before Friday night’s trade freeze took effect, netting a second-round pick originally owned by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Monday, the Kings will welcome those Blue Jackets, who’ve lost 11 of their last 14 games, to sink to last place in the Eastern Conference. Worse still, they lost all-world defenseman Zach Werenski during the dying embers of a 4-3 loss to the Ducks on Saturday after he blocked Troy Terry’s shot with his ankle.

Tuesday, they’ll square off with the Seattle Kraken, who had lost 10 of their past 11 games — their one victory came against the Kings in overtime on Dec. 10 — before breaking their freefall with a 4-2 win in San Jose on Saturday. They’re in a points tie for last place in the Western Conference despite being in a wild-card spot as recently as Dec. 2.

The Kings will play both games and every one from here on out sans Danault, who remained impactful despite his woeful offensive output (no goals, five assists in 30 games). The deal left his longtime running mate, Thousand Oaks native Trevor Moore, without his right-hand man.

“Yeah, I mean, it sucks, I played with Phil for a long time, he’s been my center for a long time, so it’s a tough one,” Moore told reporters. “I knew his family really well, his kids, so it stings, but I’m happy for them to go back home and all that kind of good stuff. I wish him the best.”

For now, Danault will be replaced by committee, his minutes distributed to a combination of Alex Turcotte, Samuel Helenius and Alex Laferriere. Turcotte, 2019’s fifth overall pick, should have the opportunity to shine brightest.

“I’m confident in myself,” Turcotte told reporters. “I’m just going to go out there, work as hard as I can, do the best that I can, hopefully produce more and show them what I’ve got.”

The Kings had lost four straight and six of their last eight before Adrian Kempe’s two goals and Anton Forsberg’s 31 saves stole two points from the Lightning in Tampa Bay on Thursday. That sent them into three days of downtime, including two practices.

They’ll try to springboard into a matchup with Columbus, who may or may not have Werenski in the fold. Though there was no update postgame at Honda Center, The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline later shared that Werenski escaped serious injury and should be considered day-to-day. He is the only defenseman in the NHL to lead his team in scoring this season and is on pace to break winger Artemi Panarin’s franchise single-season points record.

The Kraken have had injury issues of their own and a woeful attack. Their 2.52 goals per game is the lowest in the NHL – the Kings are nearly as famished at 2.56 per game – and their standout performers are hard to identify. Former Kraken winger Morgan Geekie, now a Boston Bruin, has more goals (25) than any Kraken skater has points (they’re paced by Chandler Stephenson’s 21 points).