After a successful road trip that kept the Kings in the playoff race, they are back home looking to keep the momentum going.
New bench boss DJ Smith has his team cooking. When he took over two weeks ago, things looked pretty bleak around Los Angeles. Injuries and heartbreaking losses had plagued the group for months. However, a change in voice and a drastic shift in intensity on the ice have Los Angeles right back in the mix for a playoff spot.
Despite this revamped hope for the remainder of the season, there is still plenty of business to take care of to ensure the Kings make it to game 83. Every single night is a must-win, and while the group has found plenty of success lately on the road, that now needs to transfer to home ice.
Crypto.com Arena has not been kind to these Kings all season. When the Flyers and Kings hit the ice tonight, it will take a full 60-minute effort of playoff-style hockey to flip the script for LA to collect another two points.
Lineup-wise, the status of Adrian Kempe remains unknown. Smith continues to relay that it is a day-to-day lower-body injury, but for Kempe to be sitting out for these important games is not a good sign, obviously. Further, Joel Armia skated in a red no-contact jersey in an optional practice yesterday. While things are progressing there, he is not projected to be ready for action tonight.
After practice yesterday. Smith was asked about Kemp, along with Mathieu Joseph starting on the line with Kopitar and Panarin:
“We have four good lines,” said LA’s bench boss. “Some nights it’s gonna be Laughton’s line or it’s gonna be Helenius’s line that carries us. So when a guy gets hurt, I think sometimes the big rush is to make sure you take care of the top guys right away — and certainly you have to do that. But what expense? I think Q’s line has been as good as any line we’ve had. So to take Laferriere away or Q away and then have to break up all your lines, that kind of makes it hard.
“I watched Mathieu Joseph play with Tim Stützle — for short periods — and he’s able to do it. And hopefully we can have a little placeholder there till Juice can get back. But at the same time, I think the other lines are going really well, so I’m not willing to break them all up.”
Possible Player Additions
We mentioned this a few days ago, yet felt it was worth noting again because this story is timely. LA is currently believed to be working on signing several college free agents. Below is a potential list of likely candidates, including a deep dive on several key players:
Statistically Speaking
— Artemi Panarin has scored 51 points in 38 career games played against the Philadelphia Flyers, producing at a pace of 1.34 points-per-game-played (P/GP) this is tied with Phil Espositofor the 13th-highest against the Flyers in NHL history.
— Quinton Byfield scored his fifth career overtime goal on Jan. 31 in Philadelphia, making the 23-year-old one of just nine players in Kings history with as many overtime goals. No other player in franchise history has scored more than twice in the extra frame before turning 24 years old.
— Byfield skates into tonight’s contest a six-game point streak against the Philadelphia Flyers, dating back to Jan. 24, 2023.
The all-time scoring leader in LA Kings history, captain Anze Kopitar skates into his final regular-season meeting with the Kings’ 1967 expansion cousins having recorded three separate two-goal outings over his last six meetings with the Flyers: Jan. 24, 2023, Dec.19, 2024, and Dec. 29, 2024––his most recent home game against the club.
— Trevor Moore hosts the Philadelphia Flyers for just the third time in his career as a member of the LA Kings, having recorded four points in his first time welcoming the club from the Keystone State to DTLA on Jan. 1, 2022.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Flyers
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Panarin – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Byfield – Laferriere
Turcotte – Laughton – Wright
Malott – Helenius – Ward
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Kuemper (starter)
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) Joseph< and (D) Moverare Injured Reserve: Armia, Fiala, Kuzmenko (injury status updates here)
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.
Across the Ice
Philadelphia is coming off a 3-2 victory over Anaheim on Wednesday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
Bump – Dvorak – Konecny
Grebenkin – Zegras – Tippett
Barkey – Cates – Michkov
Grundstrom – Couturier – Glendening
Sanheim – Ristolainen
York – Drysdale
Seeler – Andrae
Vladar
On This Day in Kings History
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