While Friday night marked the unofficial return of hockey to Southern California, with the Kings hosting this year’s NHL Rookie Faceoff, LA’s offense must not have received the memo. After giving up a power play goal to the visiting Vegas Golden Knights in period one, coach Marco Sturm saw his team surrender another goal with the man advantage in the final frame of regulation. Despite dropping the contest 2-0, there was still plenty to talk about after the game.
These thoughts are not ranked in any particular order; they’re just more a collection of notes we jotted down before, during, and after the game.
10 Tidbits from Game 1
1. Two Out of Three
Let’s begin with goaltending, because if you’re looking for one of the more solid stories of the night, it was what was going on in the crease. As noted several times throughout the summer, LA has done a fine job (and rather quickly) of rebuilding their goaltending pipeline. Even with Hampton Slukynsky away at college, the other two netminders currently forming a potentially potent trio were present and accounted for.
Erik Portillo started the game and played 40 minutes. Coming off a stellar rookie season in the AHL, coach Marco Sturm wasn’t exactly sure how locked in the 6-foot-6 Swede would be after not playing competitively since May, yet any such worries were quickly erased. The 24-year-old prospect kept the Kings in things early and finished his night by stopping 10 of 11 shots.
For the third period, 2024 draftee Carter George came on in relief. He stopped nine of 10 shots faced.
“Both goalies were excellent,” said Sturm during his postgame scrum. “Ports was outstanding. Very happy for both of them. [Portillo] had a really good start, good first period; he stopped a 2-on-1, he stopped the breakaway. I was very happy with his performance.”
2. Coming in Cold
After the game, George shared a few thoughts with Mayor’s Manor on his first Rookie Faceoff experience:
“It’s a little bit challenging,” he said. “It’s not like you’re starting, not getting into it right away; you’re on the bench a little bit. But that’s what a backup’s job is to do, right? Going into games when you need to. It’s something I’m kind of learning right now, how to go into games like that. I think it’s just a big learning curve for me, learning how to go into games, especially late in the third period. I found I had a lot of fun out there, though, and I enjoyed it.”
Having a pregame plan at least helped provide a little bit of comfort.
“Knowing when you’re going in and not just randomly, ‘Hey, you’re in.’ — you have a little more time to prepare mentally, and I think that definitely helps going into it, knowing what to expect,” George continued.
He went on to explain that he looked over the Vegas roster beforehand and only recognized about five names, so he wasn’t really sure what to expect once he took the ice.
“It’s kind of tough because I didn’t know more than half the names on their team,” he noted. “So, you just try and pick up tendencies in the first two periods of the game and try to see what they like to do, stuff like that. You kind of just have to trust your instincts and trust your abilities that you can make saves.”
3. Camp Invitee Corner
It’s worth giving a quick shoutout to at least one of the camp invitees. Cole Davis saw time on the fourth line and was rather impressive. A teammate of Kings first round pick Liam Greentree in Windsor, the 5-foot-10 winger is coming off a 20-goal rookie campaign in the OHL last year. Sturm must have been equally impressed, as Davis even saw time on special teams as the game wore along.
Davis finished the night with three shots on goal and didn’t show any fear, consistently buzzing around from the outside and then darting into the slot at will.
4. The Other Spitfire
Leaving the Sphere in Las Vegas a few months back, Kings management really liked the player they ultimately selected at No. 26. Mark Yannetti, Director of Amateur Scouting, talked extensively about Liam Greentree — and the process of trading down to get him — during a recent visit to Kings Of The Podcast.
Greentree assessed his Rookie Faceoff debut during a one-on-one with Mayor’s Manor after the game:
“I thought I played more of a different game [compared to] what I usually play,” he said. “You know, hitting people and getting pucks deep. I think that’s something I haven’t really done in the past, but it’s something I’m doing now. I think it’s more of a professional game. I had those flashes, but I think I played a hard game, as well.”
What’s brought about the change, was it something the coaching staff asked of him, or was it more of a personal strategy that he came up with?
“I think it’s something that I’ve been working on myself and something that I want to do better; play a tougher game and I think that’s how you’re supposed to play hockey,” Greentree shared. “Obviously, I have my skill and there’s times and places for that. But, when I’m in the D-zone, the neutral zone, forechecking, I think it’s better for me to play harder hockey.”
“Plays like that make you feel good,” he said, referencing the tweet. “Getting out here for the first game and getting comfortable, that’s a big thing for me.”
Even though Greentree was only credited with that one shot on goal, it was everything else he was doing that made such a positive impression on those watching.
“I liked Greentree,” said Sturm without even being asked about the 6-foot-3 forward. “I thought he was pretty solid.”
5. Three Standouts
Portillo and Koehn Ziemmer were the two clear standouts from our perspective. Any number of guys could have been added to the mix as the third man in.
6. Captain and His Helper
Franky Pinelli was the obvious choice for captain, as he had the most experience with the Reign among everybody on the roster. Brandt Clarke was the lone alternate of the night. While it’s certainly happened before, we couldn’t remember a Kings game where there were just two players wearing letters.
What’s even more interesting is this was believed to be Clarke’s only game of the tournament. So who wears it next time? And if history holds true, Pinelli will only play two games. Who will serve as captain in the other game?
7. All Hail Sir Clarke
We could easily write 1,000 words here on Clarke. Not only did he hold court with the media following the game, but Sturm called him the best player on Friday — in part, for a very specific reason. Basically, he didn’t try to wow the crowd with a seven-point night.
“A lot of times, when we talk about Clarkie, it’s about everything on the ice,” Sturm stated. “I also think it’s very, very important — and it was very important for us — how is he gonna be off the ice, right? He’s not a bad kid, but, ‘Does he have a good summer? Does he come in ready? Does he treat rookie games like a regular game?’ I would start with that stuff first. He played his game today, that’s why I liked it. He was not too risky; he was very solid. He didn’t cheat the game. Those are the kind of things we were looking for in [these] type of games. He could have gone totally different, but he didn’t. And I think that’s a really good sign.”
Sturm also added, “You could tell he had a good summer and he’s grown up. He’s becoming a man, and you can already tell, [right from] the first few days here.”
8. Getting Back to Z
Ziemmer appeared to have the best (and bulk) of the offensive chances throughout the game. Not only did he lead all Kings players with five shots on goal, but he was also seemingly around the opposing goaltenders net all night long.
When the 2023 draftee was on the ice for a shift, he was highly noticeable, making plays with and without the puck.
9. Proud to be an American
Soon after his last visit to LA in July, defenseman Matthew Mania attended Team USA’s summer evaluation camp for the upcoming World Junior Championship. That’s a rather impressive feat for a player selected in the fifth round, as that’s usually a camp of killers and early-round NHL Draft picks. It’s an honor that speaks to his improved play with Sudbury the past two seasons.
He also didn’t come away from the experience empty handed.
10. Name That Tune
It’s always a good time when Dieter Ruehle is in the house. And a special tip of the cap for at least one of the songs he played.
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