From one nation’s capital to another, the Kings have moved from Ottawa to Washington D.C. for their next game. Tonight brings stop five of a six-game trip away from Los Angeles, and one that’s been rather successful up to this point.
For coach Jim Hiller, he’s witnessed his team rattling off four straight wins, running their road points streak up to 10 games now. With only the Capitals and Sharks left to go, this could be a rather historical trip. However, the Kings will need to overcome some short-term adversity to keep things rolling on the road.
Although the Kings are absolutely dominating on the road right now — including posting the best away record in the league heading into play tonight — they’ll now be without their leading defenseman for the next few weeks. Drew Doughty, who took a point shot to the foot midway through the second period in Ottawa, is likely to miss a few weeks. While not confirmed, it appears to be a toe-related issue on his left foot, not something connected to his surgically repaired ankle.
In the short term, Hiller will place Brian Dumoulin up on the top pairing (playing on his off side) with Mikey Anderson, and allow Jacob Moverare to draw in on the third pair.
Regardless of how things play out in Washington vs. Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals, we’ll have to see what Hiller and GM Ken Holland opt to do defensively once they return to the West Coast on Tuesday. Using Moverare is certainly a bridge solution that can work for a few weeks. However, that also only leaves the Kings with six healthy defensemen on the roster. It would only be natural to assume Doughty will be placed on injured reserve soon and an extra blueliner will be called up from the Reign.
If they go that direction, the most natural candidate would be prospect Angus Booth. While he’s only a second-year pro, he’s arguably been Ontario’s best defenseman when healthy — which has really been his only issue. After missing some time at the end of last season, Booth came into camp this year ready to go and eager to advance his stock even further within the organization.
Unfortunately, Booth was injured again during training camp and has missed 10 of the team’s first 15 games. However, he has been back in the lineup for Ontario’s most recent three contests.
Beyond him, we wouldn’t consider prospect Jakub Dvorak ready just yet. He’s only 20 years old the youngest rearguard on the Reign roster) and still sorting things out. Fellow prospect Kirill Kirsanov would be an interesting choice. While only playing his first season in North America, the 2021 NHL Draft pick is 21 years old and has professional experience in his native Russia. He’s also played in every Reign game this season and has been rather impressive defensively. Other candidates include Samuel Bolduc, who joined the Kings organization on a two-way contract this past summer. Everybody mentioned here is a left shot, which is another reason why Dumoulin and Joel Edmundson are the most likely options to fill in on the right side in Doughty’s absence.
Up front, Andrei Kuzmenko remains an option to draw back in. If not tonight, then almost surely on Thursday vs. San Jose. The 29-year-old forward has sat out the past few games after having a slow start to his 2025-26 campaign.
Statistically Speaking
— The Kings have points in 10 straight road games this season. With 24 points overall through 19 games, they’re also slightly ahead of their pace from last season. LA currently holds a 10-5-4 record vs. last year’s 10-6-3 effort.
— Kevin Fiala has four goals and five points (4G, 1A) in his last three games against the Capitals, dating back to Jan. 7, 2024.
— The Kings have successfully killed off 24 of their last 26 penalties over their last 10 games vs. Washington for a penalty kill percentage (PK%) of 92.3%, dating back to 2019-20 season. It’s the second-highest PK% against Washington over that span (San Jose, 92.9%).
What You May Have Missed
For months there’s been talk of an Adrian Kempe contract extension. Now it’s finally done, in the form of an 8-year deal, worth $85 million. When new GM Ken Holland was brought in this summer, the biggest task on his to-do list was to re-sign Kempe and ensure he becomes a King for life. Bringing this to a conclusion has proven to be a great day for both the organization and the individual. From a kid drafted by Los Angeles to the superstar he is today, Kempe has earned every penny he’s going to get. And you can bet he’ll be buying some team dinners in the near future to celebrate.
For some insight on the details and process, be sure to check out this article:
Here’s also a great article from last year, with Doughty and Kopitar talking about Ovechkin:
Kings aiming to slow Ovechkin's historic march toward Gretzky goal mark | NHL.com
With 9 goals to go, 'I still don’t want him to score against my team,' Doughty says
www.nhl.com
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Capitals
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Armia – Kopitar – Kempe
Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Foegele – Danault – Moore
Malott – Turcotte – Perry
Anderson – Dumoulin
Edmundson – Clarke
Moverare – Ceci
Kuemper
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) Helenius, Kuzmenko and (D) Doughty
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 4:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised locally by FanDuel Sports. Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app.
Get to know new Kings play-by-play voice John Kelly by checking out his interview here. He tells some interesting stories about joining the Kings broadcasts and what it was like calling games against them for most of his career.
Across the Ice
Washington is coming off a 3-2 loss to New Jersey on Saturday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
McMichael – Strome – Ovechkin
Protas – Sourdif – Wilson
Beauvillier – Lapierre – Leonard
Duhaime – Dowd – Frank
Fehervary – van Riemsdyk
Chychrun – Roy
Sandin – Chisholm
Thompson
NOTE: Dubois is injured and will not play.
On This Day in Kings History
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