In what’s already been a rollercoaster week, there’s still more hockey to be played. The Kings are only half-way through a stretch of four games in seven days. How can the first pair of contests even be evaluated? They lost to statistically one of the worst teams in the league and followed it up with a dominant victory against the NHL’s top team. The answer will likely be defined largely by whatever happens over the next 36 hours, as coach Jim Hiller is prepping his club for a back-to-back set that begins later today in Anaheim.
For all involved, the hope is Wednesday’s performance against Winnipeg was the start of something positive. A consistent stretch of good hockey has been missing this season and — as Hiller pointed out in his postgame presser — how the team played against the Jets should be the blueprint of what’s possible when everybody is on the same page.
Adding the typical madness of a Kings-Ducks game, goaltender Erik Portillo is expected to make his NHL debut at Honda Center. He joins a long list of promising Kings prospects who made their debut vs. the Ducks, including Anze Kopitar and Quinton Byfield.
All eyes will be on Portillo when he takes the net today, as many have extremely high hopes for the young netminder. Could this be the franchise’s goalie of the future? Only time will tell.
Mayor’s Manor editor John Hoven took a look into the situation recently via an article below (including some interesting quotes):
We are not expecting Hiller to make any other key lineup changes given his newly configured alignment put on a clinic against the Jets two nights ago. One storyline to keep an eye on, though, is Phil Danault. The shutdown center finally found the back of the net on Wednesday and perhaps there is even a little chemistry building between him and Alex Turcotte. If Danault starts to heat up, that would be just what the doctor ordered for this Kings team to win consistently.
Hear what Danault had to say about things in these two clips:
Finally, coming off American Thanksgiving, it’s a great time to look at the current Western Conference standings. History suggests, teams in playoff positions at the time of the holiday are highly likely to end up seeing a Game 83. That’s good news for LA because they’re currently holding down third place in the Pacific Division. Nothing is ever set in stone, but even through the hills and valleys of the first seven weeks of the season, Hiller’s squad remains in a decent spot, as they aim to make the postseason for a fourth consecutive season.
Statistically Speaking
— In 90 career games against the Ducks, Kopitar has produced 31 goals and 57 assists, along with a plus-18 rating.
— The Kings are 9-1-0 in the last ten meetings against the Ducks.
— Both clubs have found success when scoring first this season; LA is 8-2-3 and Anaheim is 8-3-3.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Ducks
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Foegele – Kopitar – Kempe
Jeannot – Byfield – Moore
Fiala – Helenius – Laferriere
Turcotte – Danault – Lewis
Anderson – Gavrikov
Edmundson – Clarke
Moverare – Spence
Portillo (starter)
Rittich
Likely scratches: (F) Lee (D) Burroughs, Englund
Injured Reserve: Jones, Kuemper, Thomas
* note: Andre Lee was recalled on an emergency basis today, with Akil Thomas moving to IR
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 12:30 pm Pacific Time and will be televised locally by Fan Duel Sports. 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.
Across the Ice
Anaheim is coming off a 5-2 victory over Seattle on Wednesday. Here is how they lined up for that contest:
Zegras – McTavish – Killorn
Vatrano – Strome – Terry
Gauthier – Lundestrom – Leason
Johnston – Harkins – Colangelo
Mintyukov – Gudas
Dumoulin – Helleson
Lacombe – Zellweger
Gibson
On This Day in Kings History
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