
With just two games on the schedule this week, the Kings had a rare opportunity to rest and thoroughly prepare for a pair of tough opponents coming to town. First order of business is the Dallas Stars, who are once again seen as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender this season.
There’s good news and bad news for Los Angeles as they get set for puck drop tonight. Let’s start with the bad: Dallas has dominated games in recent years, with the Stars having won eight of the last 10 meetings; and they swept all three matchups last season. Heading into play tonight, the Kings will have to bring their ‘A-game’ if they want to put an end to that streak.
Flipping to the good news, the Stars are seemingly two different teams at home and on the road. As the away team they are just 6-6-0 this season compared to their dominant 10-2-0 record on home ice. For Jim Hiller and the Kings, the focus should be to jump on them early and hope they don’t see the home version of the Stars dangerous lineup.
On the injury front things seem to be heading back towards normal between the pipes, if you will. Darcy Kuemper is nearing a return from his second injury this season (and even practiced with the regular group yesterday). We’re not expecting him to make his return tonight, yet look ahead to the weekend for a further update.
Up front, Trevor Lewis is going to out for at least a month:
Statistically Speaking
— The two teams are neck and neck when it comes to goals against per game. LA is allowing 2.68 (ranked 5th in the NHL), just behind Dallas at 2.54 (4th).
— While the Kings penalty kill ranks 16th in the league (80.0%), the Stars currently sit fifth-best with a PK% of 82.6%.
— Stars forward Wyatt Johnston is riding a four-game point streak against the Kings (3G, 2A).
— Kings forward Alex Laferriere skates into tonight with a modest three-game point streak (2G, 3A), including multi-point efforts in two of those contests.
— Vladislav Gavrikov continues to be the backbone of LA’s defense. He’s averaged 23:43 of time-on-ice (TOI) per game and accumulated a +12 plus/minus rating, leading the Kings in both categories through the first 25 games of the season. Among skaters logging at least 20:00 of time-on-ice per game played, only six players League-wide have accrued as high of a plus/minus rating as Gavrikov (+12) has, and no skaters have done so while playing as many minutes each night.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Stars
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Moore – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Byfield – Jeannot
Fiala – Danault – Laferriere
Lee – Helenius – Turcotte
Anderson – Gavrikov
Edmundson – Clarke
Moverare – Spence
Rittich (starter)
Portillo
Likely scratches: (F) Lewis (D) Burroughs, Englund
Injured Reserve: Jones, Kuemper, Thomas
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised locally by TNT. 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 Andreas Englund 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
There will be a major hole in the Stars lineup for several months due to surgery needed for Tyler Seguin:
Stars General Manager Jim Nill provides an update on Tyler Seguin: pic.twitter.com/IpVtTwy9Km
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 4, 2024
Dallas is coming off a 2-1 victory over Utah on Monday. Here is how they lined up for that contest:
Robertson – Hintz – Johnston
Marchment – Duchene – Seguin
Benn – Steel – Dadonov,
Bäck – Bourque – Blackwell
Heiskanen – Lyubushkin
Harley – Petrovic
Lindell – Lundkvist
DeSmith
On This Day in Kings History
On December 4, 1968, Eddie "The Jet" Joyal scored his first career hat trick in a 3-1 win versus the Philadelphia Flyers. Joyal led the @LAKings in scoring in 1968-69 with 33 goals and 52 points in 73 games.#LAKings #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/dy4WsM64tc
— The Kingstorian (@Kingstorian) December 4, 2024
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