Another game, another opportunity for the Kings to finally get their first win on home ice.
This won’t be a simple rinse and repeat situation, though. LA coach Jim Hiller has some potentially interesting plans in store for the visiting Winnipeg Jets.
This is a game that already would be filled with intrigue and interest, as it’s not only another Western Conference powerhouse visiting Crypto.com Arena, but a club who also brings a roster featuring several familiar names. Former Kings Gabe Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, and Tanner Pearson will be recognizable to LA fans who tune in hoping to see their favorite team skate to a victory.
It’s no secret that Hiller is looking for some sort of spark from his team. Thus, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise to see a shift in both the forward lines as well as the defensive pairings. As discussed just a few days ago in a similar pregame article, Hiller needs more from forward Andrei Kuzmenko. Despite scoring the Kings only goal in Saturday’s contest, Kuzmenko has been reassigned to the third line during practice this week; playing alongside Phil Danault and Trevor Moore. Replacing him on the top line looks to be Joel Armia, who has quickly become one of Hiller’s favorite players.
On the defensive side, look for the pairings to return to the alignment from the first three games of the season, with Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci reuniting on the third pair. While some of the logic here makes sense — i.e. to get Mikey Anderson more playing time and/or the hope that more time within the Kings system has allowed Ceci and Dumoulin to become more confident and comfortable in their game — there was another way to accomplish most of that. Anderson could have gone back up with Drew Doughty on the top pair. Joel Edmundson could have dropped down to play with Ceci on the third pair, thereby creating the pair talked about during training camp:
Despite tonight’s likely alignment, we’re still thinking Hiller eventually gets back to that Dumoulin -Clarke idea. When exactly? We’re not sure quite yet.
Regardless of how the lineup shakes out tonight, everything needs to be just a little better for LA to beat contending teams like Winnipeg.
The Kings need their special teams, goaltending, and scoring need collectively improve — and consistently — for them to finally start collecting wins on home ice.
Statistically Speaking
— Warren Foegele skated in a red jersey today.
— Tonight marks Corey Perry’s 1,400 NHL game. He just snapped his five-game point streak (5G, 2A) last time out.
— Special teams could be a challenge for LA when facing Winnipeg tonight. The Kings could currently describe their power play (25th in the league) and penalty kill (24th) as works in progress. Meanwhile, the Jets rank top 10 in both categories.
— Doughty leads the team in TOI/GP at 23:50 minutes. He also sits third on the team in blocked shots (13) and second in takeaways (5).
— Adrian Kempe leads the team in points with 15 (5G, 10A), and in hits (31). He also still sits one goal shy of 200 in a Kings uniform. When he scores that milestone marker, he’ll become the 10th player to reach that number in franchise history (and the first since Dustin Brown did it on Nov. 26, 2014). How many of the other eight players can you name? Answer below.
— More Kempe: He factored on both Kings’ goals in their last matchup vs. the Jets on Oct. 11.
— Anze Kopitar is just 10 goals away from 450, and 25 points away from being the all-time leader in Kings history.
— Answer: Nine players have scored 200 goals in a Kings uniform: Robitaille (557), Dionne (550), Kopitar (440), Taylor (431), Nicholls (327), Brown (325), Goring (275), Gretzky (246), and Simmer (222). Kempe enters play tonight at 199.
What You May Have Missed
Kings Of The Podcast Ep. 250: Milestones and Memories LINK
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Jets
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Armia – Kopitar – Kempe
Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Kuzmenko – Danault – Moore
Malott – Turcotte – Perry
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Kuemper (starter)
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) Helenius and (D) Moverare
Injured Reserve: Foegele
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
Winnipeg is coming off a 5-2 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
Connor – Scheifele – Vilardi
Namestnikov – Toews – Iafallo
Niederreiter – Barron * – Pearson
Koepke – Ford – Lambert
NOTE: Morgan Barron suffered an injury on Saturday and is not expected to play tonight.
Morrissey – DeMelo
Stanley – Pionk
Fleury – Miller
Comrie
On This Day in Kings History
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