After facing a barrage of games over the first six weeks of the season, Kings coach Jim Hiller is perhaps hoping the NHL schedule makers haven’t lulled his team to sleep this week. With just three games on tap over a 10-day period, this can’t feel very familiar to his group.
When the puck drops on Wednesday night it will mark the first time LA has played since Saturday and won’t play again for another three days. That’s a stretch like nothing they’ve experienced thus far during their 2024-25 campaign. How will the extra time off impact their start? We’ll find out soon enough.
To prepare for the visiting Buffalo Sabres tonight, Hiller has put the team through a pair of practices earlier this week — something they haven’t had much time to do since training camp back in September. Adding some much-needed rest to that practice time could prove beneficial tonight.
Special teams continue to be an area of focus and concern for the coaching staff. Numbers suggest LA is one of the better teams at 5-on-5, especially defensively. Conversely, the power play remains a bit of a puzzle. Since joining the Kings organization, Hiller had crafted the power play into an area of strength. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case this season, with a 15.5% conversation rate ranking in the middle of the pack among all NHL clubs.
In their most recent matchup, Hiller changed up personnel on both units. Most notably, there were five forwards on the top unit, which pushed Brandt Clarke to the second PP unit. In addition, Quinton Byfield was placed at net front in hopes that would lead to more touches for the young center who has struggled to put the puck in the net through 19 games this season.
Shifting focus back to tonight’s showdown with the Sabres, David Rittich is expected to get the nod in net, as Darcy Kuemper remains on IR. While rookie Erik Portillo is up with the team, we’re not expecting him to be considered for a start until next week’s back-to-back set.
In some good news, the return of Alex Turcotte to the top line has been a welcomed addition. That spot in the lineup has been a revolving door so to speak, but there’s no denying the energy and spark Turcotte has brought when playing alongside Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe.
Statistically Speaking
— Trevor Moore continues to find the scoresheet, as he is in the midst of a career-long eight-game point streak (2G, 8A).
— Adrian Kempe has scored two goals in each of his past two games. The franchise record for most consecutive games with multiple goals is four, set three times by Charlie Simmer (1980-81: 8-2=10), Luc Robitaille (1987-88: 10-7=17), and Bernie Nichols (1988-89: 9-5=14).
— Moore and Kempe also lead the league in short-handed goals since Feb. 8, 2020. Each have 11 to their name.
— Anze Kopitar scored a hat trick in the most recent matchup against the Sabres, coming on opening night in Buffalo.
— Defensive duo Vladislav Gavrikov (+12) and Mikey Anderson (+10) respectively have the third and fourth highest plus/minus ratings among Western Conference blueliners, trailing only Jake Middleton (+14) and Brayden McNabb (+12).
— Buffalo is allowing an average of 3.39 goals per game, which ranks 23rd in the NHL. At just 2.84, LA is 11th best among the league’s 32 teams.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Sabres
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Turcotte – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Fiala
Foegele – Byfield – Laferriere
Jeannot – Helenius – Lewis
Anderson – Gavrikov
Edmundson – Clarke
Moverare – Spence
Rittich (starter)
Portillo
Likely scratches: (F) Thomas (D) Burroughs, Englund
Injured Reserve: Jones, Kuemper
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 7:30 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.
For those live in attendance, the LA Kings Booster Club will offer their popular ‘Puck for a Buck’ contest — featuring Kyle Burroughs 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
Buffalo is coming off a 5-2 loss to Philidelphia on Saturday. Here’s how they lined up for that contest:
Peterka – McLeod – Tuch
Benson – Cozens – Quinn
Kulich – Krebs – Zucker
Malenstyn – Lafferty – Aube-Kubel
Bryam – Dahlin
Power – Bryson
Gilbert – Clifton
Levi
On This Day in Kings History
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