9/30 Preview – Potential game group + Chromiak ELC, McLellan on opportunity & playing in front of fans

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (1-1-0) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (1-1-0)
WHAT: NHL PRESEASON GAME – Frozen Fury
WHEN: Thursday, September 30 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Vivint Arena – Salt Lake City, UT
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: TNT – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The LA Kings are back in action this evening in Salt Lake City, with the return of Frozen Fury. The Kings will host the Vegas Golden Knights this evening in the first of two games between the two clubs in the next 48 hours.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings and Golden Knights are set to face off tonight in Utah, followed by a rematch tomorrow evening at T-Mobile Arena. Tonight’s game is broadcast nationally on TNT, with tomorrow’s game on NHL Network. Forward Anze Kopitar led the Kings last season with seven points (2-5-7) from eight games against Vegas, but the captain is not expected to play tonight. Forward Phillip Danault, who could make his Kings preseason debut tonight, was a part of the Montreal team that eliminated Vegas in last season’s conference finals.

KINGS VITALS: In the first two games of the preseason, the Kings elected to dress two, separate groups of 20 players in each game, giving 36 skaters and four goaltenders a taste of exhibition action in a de-facto split-squad scenario.

With the first trip of the season now in play, meaning an overnight between Utah and Vegas, the Kings will not travel with two full squads, meaning that we will likely see at least some players play a back-to-back, with the expectation being guys on the roster bubble that we’ll see in that situation.

“We won’t take 40 players with us this weekend, probably 6,7 [forward] lines, eight or nine defensemen, three goalies and that’s in,” Todd McLellan said. “We’ll play the two games, come back and make some decisions.”

More on the decisions below.

As they have for the past few days, the Kings skated in two groups this morning, though those groups did not signal game group and non-game group. Several players from Group A were off early, while selected veterans such as Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Viktor Arvidsson remained on the ice later. A few from Group B also departed early, giving us a group of 12 forwards, six defenseman and a goaltender who we could expect to see this evening in Utah.

A projected game group for tonight is listed below, including the potential preseason debuts for Danault and defenseman Alex Edler, as well as the first start of the preseason for Garret Sparks, who was the first goaltender off for the Kings this morning.

F: Tkachev, Kempe, Iafallo, Andersson, Wagner, Kupari, Vilardi, Lizotte, Lemieux, Danault, Byfield, Kaliyev
D: Roy, Walker, Bjornfot, Edler, Maatta, Strand
G: Sparks

Sparks skated with Group A and headed off first, while Cal Petersen and Jonathan Quick remained on the ice with the group of players who remained on later. The expectation is that Sparks will play tonight for the Kings in his second overall appearance, after he relieved Jonathan Quick midway through Tuesday’s game in San Jose.

Additional players will travel with the team that will not play tonight, with the expectation that we will see several changes for Friday, but not a full group.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS VITALS: Similar to the Kings, the Golden Knights enter tonight’s game with a 1-1-0 preseason record, which stems from a 4-2 loss against San Jose on Sunday, and a 4-3 win over Colorado on Tuesday evening.

Also similar to the Kings, expect to see the Golden Knights roll out a partial veteran lineup, but not a full-on Opening Night preview. Per David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review Journal, here’s how Vegas aligned this morning.

UPDATE – Thought we had a Vegas lineup, but it turns out the non-game group was reported earlier. TBD on what we’ll see from the Golden Knights, but it won’t be these players.

Preseason Notes
– McLellan was sure to clarify that the group traveling to Utah and Vegas is not a definition of camp cuts. Players who aren’t playing today and tomorrow could still be with the NHL group come Sunday, while it’s possible that others who will play won’t be. What he did say, however, is that this is an opportunity for those who are traveling to show what they can do.

“That does not mean that individuals who are not traveling are forgotten, they’re not,” he clarified. “When we come back, there’s a chance that some of them can get back into the lineup, we’re just not going with that many players. We’re going to give some guys an opportunity now, to show their game, and the clock is ticking on all of us. It’s time to step up.”

The Kings have a scheduled off day on Saturday, with the AHL’s Ontario Reign opening camp on Sunday afternoon, following the return of the NHL group earlier in the day. We’ll expect to see some clarity regarding the roster between now and then.

– Tonight will mark the first time the Kings have played in front of a full-capacity crowd, in an NHL-sized arena, since March 2020. With more than 18 months in between, they’ve seen anything from empty buildings to a few thousand fans to half-ful buildings in Arizona, Colorado and Vegas at the end of last season.

The magnitude of a normal feeling was not lost on Head Coach Todd McLellan, who had the following to say about playing in front of the fans tonight.

“I think everybody is looking forward to that. It was March 2020, the last time we played in front of a full crowd. Last year, we got a bit of a taste of it, playing in Vegas when they opened up their building to a larger group, and it was a lot of fun. You forget about the impact of the fans, whether at home or on the road, can have on the game, and how much energy it brings to the building. I’m sure our guys are going to be excited about that, as the fans will be, coming back and watching.”

– The Kings announced earlier today that they have signed forward Martin Chromiak to an entry-level contract. Chromiak, 19, was a standout for the Kings at the 2021 Rookie Faceoff in Arizona to open the season, and created a few chances for himself in his NHL preseason debut on Monday in Arizona. A solid, first NHL camp for the young forward, who leaves with a contract in hand. Chromiak’s deal is an entry-level slide candidate with his return to the OHL.

Chromiak was assigned from the training-camp roster to the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs yesterday and will play this season with Kingston. As a returning player, Chromiak is expected to be a key part of Slovakia’s team at the World Juniors this winter.

Kings and Golden Knights, bringing the fury, later on tonight!