For the first time this season, the Kings get set for matinee action at Crypto.com Arena, as the Utah Hockey Club arrives in town for a Western Conference showdown.
Saturday afternoon will also be the first time these two teams meet in regular season play. Utah has looked fairly competitive early on thus far, bringing a 4-3-1 record into play. Some forecasts have them slotted as a bubble team this year, meaning LA could be battling Utah for a wildcard spot over the next 70+ games.
The similarities between both squads go even deeper. Each side is dealing with significant injuries to their blueline. Former Kings rearguard Sean Durzi is out for roughly six months with a shoulder injury, in addition to Utah teammate John Marino remaining sidelined. Of course, Drew Doughty hasn’t seen game action since his first preseason contest last month.
As far as where things stand with coach Jim Hiller’s team before puck drop today, that remains a bit of a mystery. For example, take their most recent game on Thursday against the Sharks. For the opening 20 minutes, it was the Kings dominating play and securing a 3-0 lead. At that point, it appeared as if they had figured things out and were ready to play solid hockey on home ice. Then, over the next 40 minutes, they seemed to go on cruise control and nearly let things slip away in the final minutes of regulation — largely via repeated trips to the penalty box.
The bottom line here is that the Kings have yet to put together a complete team effort for 60 full minutes. In spite of a myriad of twists and turns already faced this season, the Kings hold a 4-2-2 record through eight games. Even so, Hiller’s team still has plenty to prove in the coming weeks. Specifically, they are patiently waiting for their top-6 forwards to make an impact offensively.
A possible bright side for this afternoon’s action is the likely return of goaltender Darcy Kuemper. He has been absent for almost two weeks with a lower body injury, yet was activated off of injured reserve a few days ago and backed up David Rittich in Thursday’s win. Getting their starting netminder back could provide LA with an extra boost of energy for their second home contest.
It doesn’t appear as if forward Akil Thomas will draw in today. Coming off a win in their most recent outing, the Kings will most likely roll out the same lineup.
In an effort to explore various lineup combinations that could potentially jump start the offense, improve special teams play, and address the faceoff challenges, a variety of ideas were heavily debated on this week’s Kings Of The Podcast episode, available here:
Statistically Speaking
— This is the first time these two teams will meet in regular season play. Utah HC becomes the 43rd different team, and 32nd different franchise to date, the Kings have faced in their 50+ years of NHL history. Further, the Kings hold a 19-9-4 record all-time in first-time games against a new franchise.
— Forwards Trevor Moore and Phillip Danault each recorded multi-point performances in the Kings’ last inaugural matchup against a new franchise when they helped power a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Jan. 15, 2022.
— Trevor Lewis is set to skate in his first career game against Utah Hockey Club, the new team hailing form the NHL veteran’s hometown of Salt Lake City. Lewis (982 GP) is one of five Utah-born players in NHL history (four skaters and one goaltender) and needs one goal to become the second 100-goal scorer among that group, following Steve Konowalchuk (171).
— Forward Quinton Byfield has been a point-per-game player in his seven combined appearances against Utah’s goaltending tandem of Karel Vejmelka (4 GP, 1G and 3A) and Connor Ingram (3 GP, 3A).
— Vladislav Gavrikov is averaging a team-leading 24:04 of ice time, which also places 16th-highest league-wide (min. 6 GP). Gavrikov (plus-5) is one of only four players in the NHL to log an average 24:00 or more while maintaining a plus/minus rating of plus-5 or better. The other three players on that list are: John Carlson (WSH +9 26:22), Josh Morrissey (WPG +6 24:20), and Quinn Hughes (VAN +5 25:02).
— Sure, eight games on the season is a small sample size, these numbers are still interesting: the Kings have scored a total of six goals each in the first and second periods. Yet, they’ve potted 13 in period three. They’re shot totals have also increased from P1 to P3, ramping up from 75 to 82, and then 89. Conversely, they’ve given up the fewest shots during the final game of regulations, decreasing from 77 and 79 (in P1 and P2) down to 62 in P3.
— 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 eight games, and the player featured has scored three times, for a 38% conversion rate. A goal from Trevor Moore today would push it up to 44%.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Utah HC
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 – Lewis – Jeannot
Anderson – Burroughs
Gavrikov – Spence
Edmundson – Clarke
Kuemper (starter)
Rittich
Likely scratches: (F) Thomas (D) Englund, Jones
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 1:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised locally by FanDuel Sports Network. 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 Jordan Spence 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
Utah is coming off a 5-1 loss to Colorado on Thursday. Here’s how they lined up for that contest:
Keller – Hayton – Schmaltz
McBain – Cooley – Guenther
Crouse – Kerfoot – Doan
Maccelli – Stenlund – Yamamoto
Sergachev – Kesselring
Cole – Lamoureux
Valimaki – Kolyachonok
Vejmelka
On This Day in Kings History
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