It’s a busy week for the Kings as there are four games on the schedule to round out this seven-game road trip before the Christmas break. It all begins on Tuesday night with LA will facing off against ‘Psycho Sid’ Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
If you’re not familiar with the reference, see here:
What we would give to see these guys in the ring…
Join us for @WWE night tomorrow: https://t.co/Qx1OtCKQkG pic.twitter.com/4Zmv5rpVtA
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 16, 2024
Coming off their most dominant win of the season against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden a few days ago, the Kings aim to keep pace in the Pacific Division. Of late, it seems the top three teams — composed of LA, Vegas, and Edmonton — are almost incapable of losing games. With at least four teams among the group finding their stride with the halfway mark of the season quickly approaching, it’s become of the NHL’s powerhouse divisions.
In order for coach Jim Hiller’s squad to stay hot and continue collecting points, they just need to maintain the way they’ve been playing over the past few weeks. Ever since the well-documented (and disastrous) loss to San Jose just before Thanksgiving, there has been a collective 180-degree turn within the group. What was an inconsistent team for the first 20 games or so, is now a dangerous and top team in the Western Conference. As discussed on the latest Kings of the Podcast episode, it now becomes about solidifying their playoff position for a potential home ice advantage in Round 1.
Lineup wise, Trevor Moore is expected to miss Tuesday night’s contest due to a lingering upper-body injury. It will be interesting to see how Hiller deploys his goaltenders this week with four games in six days, including a back-to-back coming up this weekend.
Statistically Speaking
— The Kings have points in nine of the last ten meetings against Pittsburgh, posting a record of 6-1-3.
— Adrian Kempe continues to pile up the points, having scored a goal and recorded an assist during three of his last four games.
— Kevin Fiala is set to skate in career game No. 600 on Tuesday night, becoming the fifth Swiss-born player to reach that mark.
— The Kings are 30-43-10-3 all-time against the Penguins on the road.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Penguins
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Turcotte – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Byfield – Jeannot
Fiala – Danault – Laferriere
Thomas – Helenius
Anderson – Gavrikov
Edmundson – Clarke
Moverare – Spence
Burroughs
Kuemper
Rittich
Likely scratches: (F) Lee, Moore (D) Englund
Injured Reserve: Doughty, Kaliyev, Lewis
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 (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
Pittsburgh is coming off a 3-2 loss to Ottawa on Saturday. Here is how they lined up for that contest:
Rakell – Crosby – Rust
Bunting – Malkin – Tomasino
O’Connor – Glass – Beauvillier
Nieto – Lizotte – Acciari
Pickering – Letang
Pettersson- Karlsson
Graves – Grzelcyk
On This Day in Kings History
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