
If familiarity breeds contempt, perhaps here we are. When the Kings and Sharks faceoff at the SAP Center on Tuesday night it will mark the 178th meeting between the clubs all-time, a league-high for San Jose.
Perhaps adding even more fuel to the conversation is the fact LA currently holds a nine-game point streak against their Northern California foes (8-0-1), dating back to March 17, 2022. Should coach Jim Hiller’s squad pull out another two points tonight, it would tie the 8-0-2 mark they currently hold against Chicago, the longest active streak on LA’s books at the moment.
Additionally, this marks the first game of a back-to-back set, which will conclude with a game back at Crypto.com Arena vs. Vegas on Wednesday. Both games are rematches of contests played last week — with each having a different outcome for the Kings.
For now, we’ll take Hiller’s recent comments about not over analyzing wins at face value. His team is 5-2-2 on the season and looking to keep things rolling against a potentially tired Sharks team, as they played in Utah last night (winning their first game of the season).
Reality is, LA has taken care of the teams below them in the standings thus far. Despite winning those contests, they haven’t been pretty at times. Most would even agree that the Kings have yet to play a complete 60-minute game this season. This includes their most recent game vs. the Sharks, where they let the opposition have life in the third period, largely off of unnecessary penalties.
While management continues to play a patient waiting game, it would be helpful if the top-6 forwards started showing up offensively. There’s also an issue in the faceoff circle that needs to be addressed. Again, though, holding a 5-2-2 record without the team’s top defenseman certainly meets the standard of ‘keeping your head above water’ until Drew Doughty returns.
In fact, there are even some positive underlying numbers for the Kings, something we broke down in an article yesterday:
Statistically Speaking
— The Kings have struggled on the road against the Sharks, they bring a 32-44-3-9 record all time at the Shark Tank.
— It’s too early for predictions, but Brandt Clarke has seven points through nine games this season. That is more than a 63-point pace when projected to a full season, which would be good for sixth all time amongst Kings defensemen. It would also surpass Drew Doughty’s career high in points which was 60 in 2017-18.
— Anze Kopitar is in the midst of yet another milestone hunt, as he is two assists away from 800. He currently sits 35th in NHL history for assists.
— Adrian Kempe has four points (3G, 1A) in his last five games against San Jose, dating back to Dec. 27, 2023.
— Be leading at the breaks. LA holds a 4-0-1 record when leading after 20 minutes and a 3-0-1 record when leading after 40 minutes this season.
— Expect lots of shots on goal. When looking at the average numbers, there isn’t much of a difference. LA has averaged 30 SOG this season. Meanwhile, San Jose has allowed opponents an average of 33 SOG per game. However, the Sharks have given up a whopping 142 SOG in the first period. By contracts, the Kings have only taken a total of 81 SOG in the opening frame.
— Finally, we have a fun stat to track this season. Our MM graphics team had an almost uncanny ability to randomly select a player for our daily lineup article last year, and then said player would seem to score a goal. Thus far in 2024-25, the Kings have played nine games, and the player featured has scored three times, for a 33% conversion rate. A goal from Quinton Byfield tonight would push it up to 40%.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Sharks
If there are any key changes during morning skate or pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Byfield – Kopitar – Kempe
Fiala – Danault – Moore
Foegele – Turcotte – Laferriere
Lee – Thomas – Jeannot *
Anderson – Gavrikov
Edmundson – Clarke
Jones – Spence
Rittich (starter)
Kuemper
Likely scratches: (F) Lewis (D) Burroughs, Englund
* We had Kuemper projected as the likely starter, leaving Kuemper (the Kings No. 1 goalie) to play vs. Vegas on Wednesday. However, with the info below, we’ve now placed Akil Thomas on the fourth line in place of Trevor Lewis. That one-for-one swap has not been confirmed just yet.
Akil Thomas will make his season debut tonight in San Jose.
Looks like David Rittich in net for the @LAKings as well.
— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) October 29, 2024
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised by ESPN. 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
San Jose is coming off a 5-4 win over Utah on Monday. Here’s how they lined up for that contest:
Eklund – Granlund – Toffoli
Gushchin – Wennberg – Zetterlund
Goodrow – Kunin – Grundstrom
Smith – Sturm – Kostin
Walman – Ceci
Ferraro – Rutta
Thrun – Benning
Blackwood
On This Day in Kings History
On October 29, 1998, the @LAKings reacquired left wing Eric Lacroix from the Colorado Avalanche for Roman Vopat and a sixth round draft pick. In his second stint with the #LAKings, Lacroix recorded one assist and 12 penalty minutes in 27 games.#GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/7FrANB9Mth
— The Kingstorian (@Kingstorian) October 29, 2024
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