Preview 11/23 – Kings Talk Power Play + Portillo/Copley, Breaking Down Buffalo, Kopitar at Quarter Mark

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Kings wrap up a three-game homestand this afternoon when they host the Seattle Kraken in a Saturday matinee at Crypto.com Arena.

HEAD TO HEAD: The Kings posted a 2-1-0 record against the Kraken last season, with the teams splitting the two games played in Los Angeles.

Forward Trevor Moore led the Kings with four goals from three head-to-head games, while forward Kevin Fiala added three points (1-2-3) from three games played. No player around the NHL had more goals against Seattle than Moore, as he tied with Zach Hyman and Jeff Skinner in the league.

KING’S VITALS: The Kings wrap up a three-game homestand this afternoon, which is included in a seven-of-nine-game stretch here in Los Angeles.

For the third game in a row, goalkeeper David Rittich expects to get the start between the pipes. Rittich has faced Seattle three times during his NHL career, posting a 2-1-0 record with a .917 save percentage and a 2.29 goals-against average.

The Kings didn’t hold a morning skate today with the early puck drop, so here’s an estimate of today’s adjustment, based on yesterday’s practice –

Turcotte – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Byfield – Laferriere
Moore – Danault – Fiala
Jeannot – Helenius – Lewis – Thomas

Anderson–Gavrikov
Edmundson–Clarke
Moverare – Spence
Englund – Burroughs

Rittich / Copley

As of yesterday’s practice, it doesn’t look like there will be any changes for the Kings on the backend, with Andreas Englund and Kyle Burroughs pairing up again during yesterday’s practice. If the Kings make a change, I would expect it to come on the fourth line, with Akil Thomas checking in. The fourth line didn’t have their best game on Wednesday, and the Kings went down to 11 forwards in the third period. with Samuel Helenius the odd player out, while Trevor Lewis played just two shifts. With Thomas’ versatility, it could be something the Kings consider with one of these two players.

In net, expect a trade at the backup goalkeeper position. Erik Portillo has been assigned to the AHL and will play tonight for the Ontario Reign against San Diego. Pheonix Copley will be up as the backup goalie tonight, behind Rittich. The move seems designed to get Portillo a game while the schedule is soft for the Kings. Starting Monday, the Kings will play four games from six days, including a back-to-back. Not positive about the projected distribution, but the Kings could recall Portillo as soon as tomorrow and he could make his NHL debut sometime next week. Regarding goaltender Darcy Kuemper, no update at this time, according to Jim Hiller.

SEATTLE VITALS: The Kraken are on a short two-game trip to Southern California with the Kings this afternoon and the Ducks Monday night in Anaheim.

Per Emereld City Hockey, here’s how the Kraken matched up Wednesday night against Nashville –

Here is our projected #SEAKraken line-up for tonight’s match against #Pres

Shane Wright a healthy scratch again. Daccord starts. pic.twitter.com/eXqe6PUBtX

— Emerald City Hockey (@EmeraldCityHky) 21 November 2024

Goaltender Joey Daccord pitched a 24 save shutout Wednesday night and is expected to get the nod between the pipes again tonight.

Forward Daniel Sprong was reacquired from Vancouver earlier this month and scored his first goal back with the Kraken on Wednesday against the Predators.

Story of the Day – Power Play continues
You may not agree with him, but Jim Hiller believes the King’s power play is close. So do the players who play on it.

“We created a lot of chances,” forward Alex Laferriere said. “We didn’t get a lot of reps until the last game so it was good to get some touches. I think the chances were there and (we were) a bounce away from going in. I think it’s going to go in eventually, and then it’s just going to keep piling on.”

Wednesday’s loss to Buffalo was certainly frustrating as the Kings lost 1-0 on a night where they failed to convert on five power play opportunities. Make no mistake, there was no satisfaction with the result. You can have chances for days, but if they don’t hit the back of the net, it’s ultimately for nothing. The same applies to the power game as a whole. Still, I wouldn’t expect to see any changes on that unit in terms of personnel.

The Kings will move forward with……extenders. Five forwards on the top unit is the expected lineup again when the Kings visit Seattle this afternoon.

First, it’s not like things were humming along with the old look. Since burying Ottawa three times back in Game 3, the Kings have scored just five power-play goals, one of which came on an empty net. One could seek out various personnel changes, but those that were made were made to jumpstart a unit that was not producing. Despite everything that didn’t quite work against Buffalo, the chances created were better than in previous games.

“There’s going to be one of those games, I hope it’s (today),” Hiller said when asked about getting a power-play goal and opening the floodgates. “There will be such a battle because on our chances our shooting percentage on our chances is extremely low, unsustainable……they will have some catching up. We all revert to the mean at some point, sometimes it takes longer than others, but it’s going to happen.”

Yesterday’s skate saw the Kings work on the power play again, with the same adjustment we saw on Wednesday. Adrian Kempe runs the point with Alex Laferriere on the left and Kevin Fiala on the right. Anze Kopitar was in the bumper position while Quinton Byfield was in the front.

Speaking to Kopitar, he admitted he had never played as part of a five-forward lineup before. Like Hiller and Byfield, however, he reiterated his confidence in Kempe, who has served as a defender at various times this season, even at 5-on-5.

“Obviously, he’s very responsible and a great skater, so I’m sure the coaches feel comfortable putting him back. We’ll (keep trying) that and hopefully it works out and we can continue to do that .”

Carry on we will, at least this afternoon as the Kings look to make a breakthrough against Seattle.

3 to look for –
– I left Wednesday’s match thinking it wasn’t a good match. Both ways. Wasn’t that the Kings were dominated. They were overall the better team. Just a game I wasn’t very happy to see.

The postgame quotes suggested the Kings felt differently. Got me thinking, what did the stats say?

At 5-on-5, the Kings actually had one of their most dangerous games of the season. When you break down chances on a per/60 basis, to account for game-to-game differences in penalty time, the Kings had their second-highest number of high-danger chances. It was also a top five game in scoring chances.

What it wasn’t, however, was a top game in terms of shots on goal. Which suggests what? The Kings had ample opportunities in and around the net, in the most dangerous areas of the ice, but those chances did not hit the net. Lack of polish, lack of composure, maybe just a little bit of luck……I guess that’s the million-dollar question. Try to piece together the differences between what many of you felt and what the team felt.

Where I land is that the Kings were satisfied with the scoring chances and the high-danger chances. They had many of them, as the numbers show. They just didn’t put nearly enough of them online, let alone online. I suppose the proof will be in the pudding. Get the same chances going forward but do more to hit the net, does that change how we would see a similar game? Time will tell.

– Didn’t think yesterday’s article was the place for quotes, but here are Anze Kopitar’s thoughts on the team’s first quarter of the season.

“Given the schedule we had, I think we can be pretty happy with the record,” he said. “With the games, the performances and everything, I think there’s room for improvement, which I always think there is. All in all, we can be pretty happy. We’re definitely in the mix, which is what you want have by Thanksgiving time, so I think we’re in a good place. The games can definitely get better, but there’s still a long way to go, so we’re going to keep improving.”

A little up, a little down.

The record is solid enough, and it is probably an expression of the way the team has played. As Kopitar acknowledges, there is room for improvement at the level of play behind the plate. Hasn’t been perfect by any means, but the Kings have taken care of business at a high enough level to be in a playoff spot a week away from Thanksgiving. It’s where you want to be at this time of year. If they can improve in certain areas while continuing their level of what has worked, they will cement that playoff spot. If it goes the other way, it will be a steep hill to climb. 62 games to find out.

– Finally, a small update on defender Caleb Jones. He’s back skating on his own in a no-touch red jersey. Currently skating with Arthur Kaliyev early in the day before the Kings hit the ice as a team.

Jones remains out with an upper body injury, but a good sign to see him progress. When the time comes, Jones would give the Kings nine defensemen, meaning someone would have to go to Ontario. But we’re not there just yet.

13.00 today between Kings and Kraken.