Old home week continues in Canada for coach Jim Hiller’s squad. First, it was a stop in Montreal, where several former Canadiens helped power the Kings to a 5-1 victory on Tuesday. Now, the tour touches down in Toronto, where a bevy of Ontario-born players will get to faceoff with their local team from childhood.
And swirling in the middle of Toronto’s hockey-centric tornado, Hiller and the Kings are providing several of the key storylines heading into tonight’s matchup. For starters, the Kings are cruising on the road. They’ve won the first two contests since leaving SoCal on another extended road trip and earned points in eight straight games when playing as the visitor.
As if that isn’t enough, Hiller has decided to scratch forward Andrei Kuzmenko. Signed to a one-year ‘show me’ contract extension over the summer, it’s been a slow start for the 29-year-old Russian. With only three goals in his first 17 games this season, he hasn’t shown the flash and creativity that immediately endeared him to LA after arriving from Philadelphia at the Trade Deadline.
This will be a delicate balance. Every player responds differently to various coaching tactics. Some require (and actually thrive) with the tough love approach — see Drew Doughty and Darryl Sutter. Others need a little more finesse and patience. Perhaps there are similarities to Kuzmenko and Kevin Fiala. Not only can they be similar players on the ice, Hiller went through his own ‘journey’ with Fiala last season. There was an incident in San Jose that led to him being scratched. In many ways, it turned out to be the pivot point in their relationship. Hiller often praised Fiala in the months that followed and would even go on to boast that No. 22 was going to have a huge second-half — which he did.
It wasn’t coddling, it was coaching. And it was leadership at its finest. Hiller was able to push the right buttons and really get the most out of Fiala.
Can he do the same thing with Kuzmenko?
There’s at least one other log that should be added to this fire. Following the aforementioned deal that brought Kuzmenko to the Kings, he essentially shared that he felt let down by several previous coaches and other organizations, i.e. those who didn’t understand him or didn’t properly support him. This narrative was in response to people asking what happened to his offense after a brilliant 39-goal campaign during his North American debut in 2022. That first season was followed by a steep drop off in Vancouver, Calgary, and Philadelphia. Kuzmenko also credited Hiller with fixing his confidence almost immediately after suiting up in Los Angeles.
Will history strike twice? It’s definitely something to keep an eye on in the weeks ahead.
Now, back to tonight’s game.
LA is set to take on a struggling Maple Leafs team, and one without their captain. Auston Matthews was injured against Boston recently. While it’s not believed to be anything too serious, he will be sitting out vs. the Kings. Overall, Toronto has dropped three straight games and is off to a mediocre start to the season; and all of this comes after losing Mitch Marner to free agency this summer.
Despite the never-ending buzz surrounding the boys in blue, it’s the Kings who have a little momentum on their side. There’s no doubt Tuesday was their best game of the season — and one that, if replicated, will make LA a tough team to beat on any given night.
For all the ups and downs this season, amidst all the uncertainty and struggles on home ice, the Kings sit alone in second place in the Pacific Division heading into tonight’s puck drop. Fortunately for Los Angeles, they have been a wrecking ball on the road, and they should have plenty of confidence and motivation heading into a game that appears to be very winnable on paper.
Statistically Speaking
— LA is currently riding an eight-game point streak when playing away from Crypto.com Arena. Only the New York Rangers (7-1-1; .833 PTS%) have a better road points percentage (PTS%) this season than the Kings’ .800 PTS%.
— Anze Kopitar has never scored a goal in Toronto. How crazy is that stat? He has three goals in 27 career games vs. the Maple Leafs; they’ve all come in Los Angeles. This will be his last chance during the regular season.
— Local boys: Quinton Byfield (Newmarket), Warren Foegele (Markham) and Jeff Malott (Burlington) all skate into familiar territory being natives of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Meanwhile, Drew Doughty (London), Cody Ceci (Ottawa), Brandt Clarke (Nepean) and Corey Perry (Peterborough) give the Kings seven Ontario-born skaters on their 23-man roster. Plus, Jim Hiller and associate coach D.J. Smith served as assistants together for the Maple Leafs from 2015-19.
— More Toronto factoids: Only Seattle (8) and San Jose (8) have more Ontario-born players on their active roster than the Kings’ seven.
— Perry has nine points (3G, 6A) in his last 11 games against the Maple Leafs, dating back to the 2021-22 campaign.
— Joel Edmundson scored on a 96.75 mph slap shot on Tuesday night in Montreal, surpassing Seattle’s Brandon Montour (96.40 mph on Nov. 1) for the hardest shot recorded on a goal this season, per NHL EDGE.
What You May Have Missed
Back in 1993, the Kings and Leafs played what was arguably the greatest 7-game playoff series in NHL history. See here for more:
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Maple Leafs
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 – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Kuemper (starter)
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) Helenius, Kuzmenko and (D) Moverare
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
Toronto is coming off a 5-3 loss against Boston on Tuesday. Here is how they lined up in that matchup: Note that the status of Auston Matthews is unknown heading into play tonight.
Knies – Matthews – Robertson
McMann – Tavares – Nylander
Joshua – Roy – Maccelli
Lorentz – Domi – Blais
Rielly – Carlo
Benoit – McCabe
OEL – Myers
Stolarz
On This Day in Kings History
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