If nothing else, these next two games are going to look a little different on the ice.
No, not the level of play and/or output of goals — that won’t be known until later tonight.
However, for this weekend’s home-and-home series, the Kings and Ducks won’t be engaging in their typical uniform matchups, as reported here.
Tonight will be LA’s first color rush game in several decades. They’ll be in their home black kit, while the Ducks are scheduled to skate in their all-orange kit — something they typically only wear when playing in front of their home crowd in Anaheim.
Tomorrow will look even more unusual, as the Kings will wear their black crown jerseys, while the Ducks will counter with their road whites — yes, even though they’ll be the home team at Honda Center.
As for the game itself tonight, what can you expect? Well, for starters, Joel Armia is back.
Beyond that, LA enters play tonight with a largely similar narrative of late; the Kings need goals, and they need a win.
Coming off an overtime loss against the Pacific Division leading Golden Knights on Wednesday, frustration is mounting.
Fortunately, there is a great opportunity in front of coach Jim Hiller’s group over the next two nights, as they prepare to face the Ducks in consecutive contests — in two different buildings.
Both clubs are fighting for a playoff spot, making the next 36 hours pivotal for each side suiting up for a double dose of the Freeway Faceoff.
Perhaps what makes this even more interesting is the fact both clubs are quite beat up at the moment. The missing pieces in Los Angeles are rather significant — including Anze Kopitar and Corey Perry. On the flip side, Anaheim was missing three of its top scorers in their last game on Tuesday: Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, and Troy Terry were all out. While Terry has been practicing, it remains to be seen who is ready to suit up tonight in Downtown Los Angeles.
Putting the focus back on LA, playing well is simply not enough anymore. It’s time for wins. The schedule has been tough, no doubt. Yet enough is enough, and this group knows that. There’s a massive opportunity facing the Kings tonight and tomorrow, it’s time to see how they respond.
Statistically Speaking
— Brian Dumoulin registered his second multi-point game (two assists) of the season on Dec. 27 vs. Anaheim.
— Drew Doughty sits one point shy of 700 in his career (163G, 536A) following 163rd career goal in that same game vs. the Ducks a few weeks ago.
— Alex Laferriere scored his first career hat trick on Dec. 27 vs. Anaheim.
— When Andre Lee was recently called up from AHL Ontario, he was the team leader in goals (15), points (27), and power-play goals (7). He was also just named to the AHL All-Star Game.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Ducks
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Malott – Laferriere– Kempe
Foegele – Byfield – Armia
Fiala – Turcotte – Kuzmenko
Lee – Helenius – Ward
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Kuemper (starter)
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) N/A and (D) Moverare
Injured Reserve: Kopitar, Moore
How to Watch the Game
Puck drop is set for 7:30 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 the latest FanDuel issues here — including how some teams cancelling contracts impacts LA’s plans for the balance of their 2025-26 season.
Across the Ice
Anaheim is coming off a 3-1win over Dallas on Tuesday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
Kreider – McTavish – Strome
Killorn – Granlund – Sennecke
Johnston – Poehling – Harkins
Nesterenko – Washe –
LaCombe – Trouba
Zellweger – Gudas
Mintyukov – Helleson
Dostál
On This Day in Kings History
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