11/8 Preview – Quick In + Projected Lines, Quick on Campbell, Toronto Trevor, Winning Streaks

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (5-5-1) @ Toronto Maple Leafs (7-4-1)
WHAT: NHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME
WHEN: Monday, November 8 @ 4:30 PM Pacific
WHERE: Scotiabank Arena – Toronto, ONT
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: Bally Sports West – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The LA Kings are back on the road, as they begin a four-game trip this evening against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings visit Toronto for the first time since W̶a̶y̶n̶e̶ ̶G̶r̶e̶t̶z̶k̶y̶ ̶s̶c̶o̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶e̶e̶ ̶g̶o̶a̶l̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶1̶9̶9̶3̶ the 2019-20 season. The teams split their two meetings during that campaign, each winning at home, in a pair of low-scoring games. The game at STAPLES Center saw no goals scored, with the Kings winning 1-0 in a shootout behind 36 saves from Jonathan Quick. Alex Iafallo scored the lone goal here in Ontario in a 3-1 defeat, with Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown tallying assists.

KINGS VITALS: Coming off a successful five-game homestand, the Kings hit the road in search of their first away win of the season. Standing at 0-3-1, that victory eluded them on their season-opening trip, with four games in Canada serving as the next opportunity to get a victory.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick was off first this morning and Todd McLellan confirmed that he will be between the pipes tonight in Toronto. Quick enters the action with victories in consecutive starts and brings a 6-4-1 career record versus the Maple Leafs. In those contests, Quick has a .922 save percentage and a 2.32 goals against average, in addition to one career shutout.

Looking at the lineup, this morning’s skate did not indicate any changes from what we saw in practice yesterday. Adrian Kempe took rushes alongside Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown, with Andreas Athanasiou skating next to Alex Iafallo and Phillip Danault. The Kings changed into these combinations during Friday’s game against New Jersey, in an effort to spread speed throughout the lineup, and look set to continue the same way this evening in Toronto.

In terms of extras, expect to see forwards TJ Tynan and Lias Andersson out, along with defenseman Austin Strand. Andersson did make the trip to Canada and skated for the second consecutive day in a non-contact jersey. While not expected to play tonight, he remains an option for the team later in the trip.

Here’s how the team aligned during the rushes portion of this morning’s skate –

Kempe – Kopitar – Brown
Iafallo – Danault – Athanasiou
Grundstrom – Kupari – Moore
Lemieux – Lizotte – Kaliyev

Edler – Clague
Maatta – Roy
Bjornfot – Anderson

Petersen
Quick

MAPLE LEAFS VITALS: The Maple Leafs enter tonight’s game on a tear, with five straight victories following a slow start to the season.

The expectation is that we’ll see goaltender Jack Campbell in net for the hosts. The former King has played against every team but two in the league – Los Angeles and Seattle – and will make it 31 foes faced this evening. More below on Campbell from Quick and McLellan below.

Per Toronto’s team account, here is how they lined up last time out against Boston on Saturday –

Bunting – Matthews – Nylander
Kerfoot – Tavares – Marner
Engvall – Kampf – Kase
Ritchie – Spezza – Simmonds

Rielly – Dermott
Muzzin – Brodie
Sandin – Liljegren

Campbell
Woll

Speaking on the Maple Leafs, Todd McLellan had the following to say about their offensive depth, and ability to create in transition –

“They do a lot of things well, their transition game is as good as anybody’s in the league,” he said. “If you’re careless with the puck, it’s going up and it’s going up fast. They have creative players and creative players with skill, and they have finishers. They have. Good mix of offensive weapons up front, so they can make you pay. Their power play seems to be clicking a little bit now and I think, when your top players have confidence, as I’m sure theirs do, it creates a handful for the opposition.”

Soups On, Cooks Quick-ly
For a couple of years, it was Jonathan Quick and Jack Campbell as the tandem between the pipes for the LA Kings.

While Campbell has since moved on to the Maple Leafs, via a trade during the 2019-20 season, the relationship between the two goaltenders remains strong, as evidenced from speaking with Quick about his goaltending partner.

Quick was extremely complimentary of Campbell and his work ethic, along with his package of abilities. Campbell was a notoriously hard-working player during his time with the Kings organization, something that has likely not left him. Quick was happy to see the man nicknamed “Soupy” succeed.

“Soup is going to work as hard as he can for you, for his teammates, he’s extremely athletic and competitive,” Quick said. “I’m happy for him, I enjoy watching him play and seeing him do well…especially in this city, it’s a tough place to play and he’s handling it really well. You’re happy for him, absolutely.”

The topic of Campbell and Quick brings up another interesting point, of whether teammates stay in touch much beyond past playing for the same team.

Quick said that he and Campbell “text often” and have kept in touch since the trade now nearly two years prior. Goalie partners have a special relationship, being usually just a tandem of two on a team of 23, and that’s something that’s carried on through the years.

“You always try to with former teammates, and it’s a unique position playing goalie, right, you try to keep in touch with a lot of the guys, whether they’re goalies or not,” Quick said. “Soup, for a few years, we had a really good relationship.”

Speaking to Todd McLellan this morning, he was equally complimentary of Campbell, and the work that Quick put in as a mentor and a teammate to help Campbell, similar to what he’s doing now with Cal Petersen.

“The ultimate teammate,” McLellan said of Quick. “You’re not a winner like he is without them and he did a real good job with Soupy in Los Angeles, and when it was time to hand it off to Cal Petersen, he’s done the exact same thing for Cal. I think that bodes well for everybody that’s been involved, Soupy, Cal and Jonathan. I read Soupy’s quote, that’s nice that he recognized it, but Soupy did a lot for himself as well. He got himself organized, he’s going in the right direction with his commitment to the game. We’re happy he’s been able to come here and do what he’s done for the Leafs.”

Moore Homecomings

On the other side of the trade that sent Jack Campbell to Toronto was Trevor Moore, who came to the Kings alongside a pair of draft picks. With Toronto, Moore went up and down between the NHL and AHL over four and a half seasons with the organization, before he found a home with Kings following the trade.

Moore is currently still in search of his first point this season, but it hasn’t been for lack of trying. Moore is creating shot opportunities at right around the highest rate of his career, and is allowed by far the fewest chances of his career. His scoring chances and high-danger chances are at the highest rates throughout his time in the NHL, they just haven’t gone in for him, or those around him, thus far.

“He’s been really good for us, he’s a very important part of our team,” McLellan said, of Moore. “The only negative in his world right now is that he hasn’t been able to get on the scoresheet, but it’s not from a lack of chances, or effort. It’s there every night. He’s a real good part of our team. Energizer, penalty kill, power play when we need it, passion for protecting pucks, his ability to do that rubs off on others, so he drags people into the game. He’s been an important piece.”

From Moore’s point of view, he feels that things are close, and he’s hopeful to break the scoreless run tonight against his former team, though he noted that he doesn’t judge his own game on offensive statistics. Moore contributes in several areas, as McLellan noted, and in some ways the points are a bonus.

“Hopefully close, it’s been a little bit of a slow start for me here,” Moore said this morning. “I’ve never tried to judge my game on offense, I just feel that if I play my game, the offense will come with it. I feel good about my game, I feel confident, and hopefully things will start going in.”

Moore went on to praise Toronto Head Coach Sheldon Keefe for the influences that he had on his game.

Keefe was Moore’s coach at the AHL level with the Toronto Marlies and played a big role in his development. He called Keefe a coach who thinks the game very well and connects well with his players, while adding that his coaching played a big role in his development into an NHL forward.

“A lot. When I first came into the American League, I was battling to stay in the lineup and he worked a lot with me, he was hard on me, he’s someone who was really important to my hockey development. He’s someone that I’m happy to see do well.”

Four Straight – What’s Gone Well
Lastly, hear from two of the team’s leaders, Anze Kopitar and Alex Iafallo, on what they feel the team has done well on this current four-game winning streak.

Kopitar – I think special teams have improved, our PK, and we’re getting timely goals, really. It’s not like we played poor hockey when we were on the six-game losing streak, it was mostly one-goal games minus the one in St. Louis that got away from us. Other than that, we were doing some pretty good stuff, we just needed a perfect game to get out of the funk, then confidence builds up a little bit. It’s easier in that regard.

Iafallo – Shoot and get it back. I feel like we’ve been pretty aggressive with that. Getting shots through from the point, just working hard in the offensive zone and just moving the puck forward during breakouts. It gives us a lot more chances going forward. When we keep everything simple, clean, they’re not creating the chances against, it’s going to help push things forward in the offensive zone and give us some more chances.

Kings and Maple Leafs, tonight at 4:30 Pacific!

Due to an unavoidable stop, today’s game preview will be slightly delayed…..I will take no questions at this time. pic.twitter.com/1ZK63qWULT

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) November 8, 2021