Officially on a positive streak, the Kings will look to keep up their winning ways when they take on the Buffalo Sabres tonight, one of the hottest teams in the league.
Perhaps a long road trip could not have come at a better time for Los Angeles. Despite how poorly they’ve played at home, coach Jim Hiller’s squad appears to be a rather different team on the road over the past few months. And things are starting to click at a little higher rate than they were just a couple of weeks ago, thanks in large part to the emergence of a solid fourth line.
Ontario Reign fans are likely not surprised, yet others may not be as familiar with what Sammy Helenius, Jeff Malott, and Taylor Ward have done at the AHL level. Now grouped together on the Kings, this trio is on fire — and they’re being rewarded with more and more ice time. The only problem with how well that line is playing is how tough it makes it to slide other individuals into the top nine.
Things could get even more complicated in the days ahead.
On top of Kenny Connors possibly getting a look next time out (and that could certainly change based on a variety of factors, including if the Kings continue winning), there’s another big-time name lurking on the sidelines. Anze Kopitar has been skating and appears ready to return soon. How will that impact things? Even with the ongoing questions at center, Hiller and crew will have to take things one day at a time for now. Plans go out the window quickly with so many roster pieces in flux. For now, up front, it’s status quo in Buffalo.
Statistically Speaking
— Helenius and Malott each carry a career-long three-game point streak into Thursday’s matchup while Ward has goals in two of his last three games, all dating back to Jan. 20 against the Rangers.
— Joel Armia has five goals and nine points in 11 career games against the Sabres at KeyBank Center. Armia was selected by Buffalo 16th overall in the 2011 NHL Draft but never played a regular season home game for the club.
— Andrei Kuzmenko scored his team-leading sixth power play tally of the season Tuesday night in Detroit. The goal also stood as his third game-winning goal of the campaign, trailing only Adrian Kempe (5 GWG) for the most team-wide.
— Alex Laferriere has two goals and four points over his last four road games, dating back to Jan. 10 in Edmonton. His eight goals and 15 points on the road place second and third on the team, respectively.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Sabres
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Perry – Laferriere – Kempe
Moore – Byfield – Foegele
Fiala – Armia – Kuzmenko
Malott – Helenius – Ward
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Kuemper (starter)
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) Connors and (D) Moverare
Out Until Further Notice: Turcotte
Injured Reserve: Kopitar
How to Watch the Game
Puck drop is set for 4:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised by FanDuel Sports. Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app.
With the television landscape changing at a rapid pace, we have all the latest news regarding some current FanDuel issues here — including how some teams cancelling contracts impacts LA’s plans for the balance of their 2025-26 season.
Across the Ice
Buffalo is coming off a 7-4 victory over Toronto on Tuesday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
Benson – Thompson – Tuch
Zucker – McLeod – Quinn
Doan – Ostlund – Helenius
Kozak – Krebs – Malenstyn
Samuelsson – Dahlin
Byram – Power
Metsa – Kesselring
Pekka Luukkonen
On This Day in Kings History
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