Finally, Saturday’s contest in Carolina marks the end of a nightmare road trip for coach Jim Hiller and his Los Angeles Kings. Unfortunately, one key aspect of a nightmare is that you never know when it will end. That same sentiment seems to describe the mojo surrounding LA’s hockey team right now. They’ve lost four straight games, gone eight periods without scoring a goal, and their once firm grip on a playoff spot is quickly evaporating.
All is not in ruins, though. When they’re in sync, Hiller’s club has proven to have one of the best defensive groups in the entire NHL and a forward squad capable of scoring enough goals to win most nights. Somehow, the entire team has gone cold at the same time.
Regardless of how this game turns out, there will be plenty of decisions for Kings management to contemplate when they return to SoCal tomorrow with only three games remaining before the NHL’s two-week break. Could a trade come before a league-wide pause on February 10 for the 4 Nations tournament? Or will the Kings attempt to regroup for a second-half push that features a heavy home-game schedule — a place where they own a dominant 15-3-1 record?
At least one of the crazy social media narratives from earlier this week can be put to bed:
While David Rittich played stellar two nights ago, we’re expecting to see Darcy Kuemper back in tonight to try to right this ship. Regarding other aspects of LA’s lineup, about the only thing of note at this time is yesterday’s update on Mikey Anderson:
Hiller is set to meet with the media about an hour before game time. Perhaps further clarity regarding Anderson will be available then, along with confirmation of Brandt Clarke rejoining the lineup.
Conversely, Carolina also appears to facing many questions heading into action tonight:
Statistically Speaking
— Warren Foegele, who was selected by Carolina in the 2014 NHL Draft, scored three points (1G, 2A) in a pair of games against his former team while he was a member of the Oilers last season.
— Adrian Kempe enters tonight’s matchup with three points (2G, 1A) in his last three games vs. Carolina, dating back to Jan. 31, 2023.
— Drew Doughty played 27:43 in his second game back from injury, his highest time-on-ice in a regular season contest since April 4, 2024, at San Jose.
— The Kings are 15-21-5-3 against the Hurricanes on the road all time
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Hurricanes
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Turcotte – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Danault – Moore
Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Jeannot – Lewis- Thomas
Gavrikov – Doughty
Edmundson – Spence
Moverare – Clarke
Kuemper (starter)
Rittich
Likely scratches: (F) n/a (D) Anderson, Burroughs, Englund
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 4:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised locally by FanDuel Sports Network. Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app (which is the new home for Kings radio this season, they’ve moved off of the iHeart platform).
More on the ongoing TV situation here.
Across the Ice
Carolina is coming off a 3-2 victory over Chicago on Thursday. Here is how they lined up for that contest:
Rantanen – Roslovic – Blake
Robinson – Kotkaniemi – Svechnikov
Martinook – Staal – Jarvis
Jaaska – Suzuki
Slavin – Burns
Orlov – Chatfield
Gostisbehere – Walker
Kochetkov
On This Day in Kings History
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