Is tonight the night?
When the puck drops tonight at Crypto.com Arena, the Kings will be looking to get their first win on home ice this season as they welcome former head coach Todd McLellan and the Red Wings to town.
Saying the Kings don’t have a win on home ice through almost a month of the regular season sounds worse that it really is, though. They’ve only played at home three times. Most of their early schedule has been spent out on the road. Thanks to a successful 4-0-1 trip away from SoCal, the Kings return home tonight sitting in a playoff position. Even so, they are indeed the only team in the league to not have a win at home this season. It’s just something that adds a little extra weirdness to what’s already been an odd first 11 games of the young campaign.
It could also be argued that given how dominant they were on home ice last year, it is just bizarre that Jim Hiller and his group have not found success at home as of yet.
“We talked ad nauseam last year about our home record — how well we had played and what a difficult building that was to come into,” Hiller said following today’s morning skate. “We have a pretty good road record so far. We have to get our home game going, and it starts with one good game. I don’t think we’ve played really one good, complete game. Pittsburgh was good, but we broke down a couple times, and they buried their chances. So, we need to have a good 60-minute hockey game. That likely means it’s tight, and it’s a close game and we’re battling. That’s just generally how we have to play.”
Looking at things in totality, the Kings are rolling as of late. On the aforementioned road trip, it wasn’t always pretty; nor does it have to be if you’re collecting points along the way. Putting aside a nine-round shootout loss in Nashville, there’s even a good chance LA wins all five of those games. That’s all in the rear view now, though.
All that matters at the moment is a four-game homestand kicking off tonight. As discussed during this week’s Kings of the Podcast episode, the schedule is not getting any easier for this club. It’s been non-stop playoff-caliber teams for 11 games, it seems. Luckily for GM Ken Holland, early results say the Kings may be up for the challenge.
First up, the Red Wings.
“They don’t cheat, they don’t take a lot of chances,” Hiller said when asked about tonight’s game against Detroit. “So, you’re going to have to earn your opportunities. They don’t give them to you easy. That, for us, has been a bit of a problem over the last couple games. We’re going to have to forecheck. We’ve talked about this for the last few games, and we haven’t done a great job at it. We’re going to have to forecheck. We’re going to have to earn our chances.”
Statistically Speaking
— Quinton Byfield has four points (3-1=4) over his last four games vs. Detroit, dating back to Jan. 4, 2024.
— Anze Kopitar sits one point (19-32=51) shy of tying Wayne Gretzky (14-38=52) for the fifth-most points against Detroit by a Kings skater in team history.
— Adrian Kempe is 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.
— Brian Dumoulin earned his first point (0-1=1) as an LA King on Tuesday night at SAP Center.
— The Kings carry a seven-game home point streak (6-0-1) against the Red Wings into Thursday’s contest, dating back to March 15, 2018. Overall, the Kings are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games vs. Detroit at Crypto.com Arena, dating back to the 2014-15 campaign.
— 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
Warren Foegele, out with an upper body injury, is not expected back anytime soon.
Kings Of The Podcast Ep. 250: Milestones and Memories LINK
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Red Wings
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Kuzmenko – Kopitar – Kempe
Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Armia – Danault – Moore
Malott – Turcotte – Perry
Dumoulin – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Anderson – Ceci
Kuemper (starter)
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) Helenius and (D) Moverare
Injured Reserve: Burroughs
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm Pacific Time and will be televised locally by ESPN. 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
Detroit is coming off a 5-2 victory over St. Louis on Tuesday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
Finnie – Larkin – Raymond
DeBrincat – Kasper – Appleton
Copp -Compher – Berggren
Rasmussen – van Riemsdyk
Chiarot – Seider
Edvinsson – Sandin-Pellikka
Bernard-Docker – Johansson
Hamonic
Gibson
On This Day in Kings History
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