Wake up! There’s a Kings game on this morning.
As they’re prone to do when playing in the Eastern Conference over a weekend, coach Jim Hiller will need to have his team ready for a matinee affair in Pittsburgh on Sunday at 11am Pacific, aka 2pm local.
Yes, LA’s favorite hockey team finds themselves back on the road for another extended road trip. Perhaps it’s a good thing though, as away from Crypto.com Arena seems to be the only place they’re getting regulation wins so far this season.
For whatever reason — and much like last season, just in the opposite direction — they’ve been a different team away from Los Angeles, and it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Despite the record discrepancy, all that matters to Hiller and his squad is what’s in front of them, which happens to be Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.
In hopes of bringing some energy back to the lineup, Warren Foegele is set to make his return from an upper-body injury that has sidelined him for a few weeks. This should only deepen a lineup that has been starving for production from several key players over the first month of the season.
Very rarely do so many individuals struggle at the same time, but that’s where LA is coming into play this afternoon. No doubt Hiller is looking for more from his veteran and experienced forward group.
Statistically Speaking
— Behind the bench, Pittsburgh features Mike Stothers as an assistant coach. He has strong ties to the LA organization, having coached the team to their only Calder Cup Championship. During his time in Ontario, he helped guide the early careers of several former Kings, including Adrian Kempe and Mikey Anderson. Listen to some of his stories here.
— Anze Kopitar has 25 points in 27 career games against the Penguins.
— Sidney Crosby has 26 points in 25 games against the Kings in his career.
— Los Angeles is 5-3-2 in their last ten matchups against Pittsburgh.
What You May Have Missed
On this week’s KOTP episode, they looked at Brandt Clarke’s recent usage, trade rumors involving the Flyers, coach Jim Hiller promoting Joel Armia to the top line, Warren Foegele’s injury status, how the depth chart at center may look once Anze Kopitar retires, is Andrei Kuzmenko in the doghouse, why Mikey Anderson is back up on the top defensive unit, Drew Doughty’s latest milestone, where Adrian Kempe might ultimately land in Kings history, Edmundson vs. Dumoulin, and much more. Give it a listen here:
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Penguins
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Armia – Kopitar – Kempe
Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Kuzmenko – Danault – Moore
Foegele – Turcotte – Perry
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Kuemper (starter)
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) Helenius, Malott and (D) Moverare
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 11:00 am 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
Pittsburgh is coming off a 2-1 loss to New Jersey on Saturday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
Rust – Crosby – Kindel
Novak – Malkin – Mantha
Hayes – Koivunen – Tomasino
Dewar – Lizotte – Heinen
Wotherspoon – Karlsson
Shea – Letang
Graves – Clifton
Silovs
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