
In what has been an emotional couple of weeks in Los Angeles due to devastating wildfires, the Kings return home Monday night from a long road trip. They’ll attempt to bring some relief and a temporary distraction for those in Southern California when they welcome Sidney Crosby and the Penguins to Crypto.com Arean for what will be final meeting this season between the two teams.
Before the official action even begins, though, there are expected to be several pregame celebrations. For starters, the team announced a special tribute to the LA Fire Department with a new design at center ice.

Further, while nothing has been officially announced at the time of this article being published, we’re assuming there will be a pregame ceremony honoring Trevor Lewis — where he will finally receive a silver stick in honor of his 1,000th career game. It’s been rescheduled twice now (once due to injury and once due to the wildfires canceling a game vs. Calgary). For more on Lewis’ journey from being a first round draft pick to where he is today, be sure to read what Dean Lombardi, Mike Stothers, and Mark Morris had to say about him here:
As for the game itself, Kings coach Jim Hiller will likely be looking for a cleaner 60-minute effort from his club tonight following a sloppy showing in Seattle just two nights ago. Luckily for him, his squad has been dominant at home all season, where they’ve posted a league-best 14-2-1 mark.
Lineup-wise, we are not expecting any big changes unless Hiller chooses to let David Rittich get a game in to allow Darcy Kuemper to get some rest. Forward Alex Laferriere is expected to still be absent for a bit longer, and Drew Doughty is still a ways off from making his season debut.
Statistically Speaking
— Among goaltenders who have played at least twenty games this season, David Rittich and Darcy Kuemper rank first and second as far as goals allowed goes (Rittich 47 GA, Kuemper 48 GA).
— Adrian Kempe has eight goals in his last four contest against the Penguins.
— Jordan Spence has registered points in both of his previous two games against Pittsburgh.
— The Kings have points in each of their last five games against Pittsburgh on home ice (4-0-1) dating back to Jan. 12, 2019.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Devils
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Turcotte – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Byfield – Jeannot
Fiala – Danault – Moore
Lewis – Helenius
Anderson – Gavrikov
Moverare – Spence
Edmundson – Clarke
Burroughs
Kuemper (starter)
Rittich
Likely scratches: (F) Laferriere, Thomas and (D) Englund
Injured Reserve: Doughty, Lewis, Moore
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm Pacific Time and will be televised locally by FanDuel Sports Network. Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app (which is the new home for Kings radio this season, they’ve moved off of the iHeart platform).
More on the ongoing TV situation here.
For those live in attendance, the LA Kings Booster Club will offer their popular ‘Puck for a Buck’ contest — featuring Jordan Spence for this game. Just $1 could win you an autographed puck from an NHL star. Visit their table outside sections 317-318 on the upper concourse for more information.
Across the Ice
Pittsburgh is coming off a 4-1 loss to Winnipeg on Saturday. Here’s how they lined up for that contest:
Rakell – Crosby – Rust
Bunting – Malkin – Beauvillier
O’Connor – Hayes – Tomasino
Lizotte – Glass – Acciari
Pettersson – Letang
Grzelcyk – Karlsson
Graves – Pickering
Blomqvist
On This Day in Kings History
On January 19, 2006, Luc Robitaille surpassed Marcel Dionne as the greatest goal scorer in @LAKings' history with 551 goals. Robitaille scored his 15th career hat trick, and Mattias Norstrom recorded five points in an 8-6 win over the Atlanta Thrashers.#LAKings #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/bDxDsb2byy
— The Kingstorian (@Kingstorian) January 19, 2025
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