Tonight, the Kings finally return home after a successful 4-1-1 road trip. Waiting for them will be Marco Sturm and his Boston Bruins for a showdown at Crypto.com Arena.
Despite it being their primary building, coach Jim Hiller haven’t spent much time there yet this season. Sitting less than a week away from Thanksgiving, the Kings have only played seven games on home ice. Unfortunately, they’ve only recorded one win when playing in front of their most loyal followers. However, their dominant road record has kept them afloat in the playoff race.
To be a legitimate Stanley Cup Contender — this team’s stated goal — they need to start winning on home ice. Thus, Hiller’s group will look to feed off of some home cooking tonight, with six of their next seven games at home. And they’re only road game in that stretch will be a bus trip to Anaheim next Friday afternoon.
Kicking things off will be a Boston team playing without Charlie McAvoy after he suffered an upper-body injury and was unable to travel. This game will also feature several former Kings making a return to Los Angeles, including forward Tanner Jeannot, goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, and Sturm behind the B’s bench.
Statistically Speaking
— In last night’s shootout loss to San Jose, captain Anze Kopitar scored his 303rd even-strength goal (EVG) and will tie Dave Taylor (304 EVG) for the third most in Kings franchise history with his next such tally. Only Luc Robitaille (344 EVG) and Marcel Dionne (369 EVG) have scored more at even-strength in an LA uniform.
— More Kopitar: He has 21 career points in 29 games against the Bruins, including a goal in his most recent matchup vs. Boston (coming on March 23, 2025 at Crypto.com Arena).
— Alex Laferriere has earned three points (2G, 1A) in four career matchups against the Bruins.
— More Laferriere: He has recorded 288 hits since his debut on Oct. 11, 2023, the most hits among all Kings skaters in that span. Through the Kings’ first 21 games this year, his 51 hits are
the most on the team, while his 13 blocked shots trail only Trevor Moore (15) and captain Anze Kopitar (18) for the most among Kings forwards.
— Quinton Byfield takes the ice tonight in downtown Los Angeles carrying a three-game point streak (1G, 3A) against the Boston Bruins, dating back to Feb. 17, 2024. He’s also currently tied with Adrian Kempe (13 A) for the most assists by a Kings skater.
— Since 2017, the Kings have had one home win against the Bruins, and that came last year.
— Overall, LA is 5-4-1 in their last 10 head-to-head matchups against Boson.
— Sturm suited up for the Kings briefly in 2010-11, a rather brief stop during his 1,000 games played in the NHL. He returned as LA’s assistant coach from 2018-22, then spent three seasons as bench boss for AHL Ontario (2022-25).
— Sturm’s Bruins enter tonight with the NHL’s fourth best power play, converting at 20-of-73 (27.4%).
What You May Have Missed
For an in-depth look at Brandt Clarke’s situation, be sure to check this out:
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Bruins
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Kuzmenko – Kopitar – Moore
Fiala – Byfield – Kempe
Foegele – Danault – Laferriere
Armia – Turcotte – Perry
Anderson – Dumoulin
Edmundson – Clarke
Moverare – Ceci
Kuemper
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) Helenius, Malott and (D) N/A
Injured Reserve: Doughty
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 7:30 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
Boston is coming off a 4-3 loss to Anaheim on Wednesday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
Geekie – Khusnutdinov – Pastrnak
Steeves – Zacha – Blümel
Jeannot – Minten – Kastelic
Viel – Kuraly – Eyssimont
Zadorov – Aspirot
Lindholm – Jokiharju
Lohrei – Peeke
NOTE: Swayman is expected to start tonight.
On This Day in Kings History
MORE LA KINGS NEWS:
Follow @mayorNHL
Continue reading...