12/28 Preview – Turcotte/JAD in, Kupari out w/ non-COVID illness, Quick expected, protocol lists, prepping for Vegas

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (14-11-5) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (20-12-0)
WHAT: NHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME
WHEN: Tuesday, December 27 @ 7:30 PM Pacific
WHERE: Crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: Bally Sports West – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Kings are back in action this evening, as they host the Vegas Golden Knights to begin a seven-game homestand at the newly re-named Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings and Golden Knights last met on opening night, as the Kings powered their way to a 6-2 victory on home ice. On that night, Anze Kopitar led the hosts with a hat trick and five points, while defenseman Drew Doughty had a four-point night (1-3-4). Dustin Brown (1-1-2) and Alex Iafallo (0-2-2) each had multiple points in the win. Throughout NHL history, no player has collected more points against Vegas than Kopitar’s 26 (11-15-26).

KINGS VITALS: It feels so good to be back!

The Kings return to action for a real, live NHL game for the first time since December 19 in Washington, nine days prior. It’s the first game back in Los Angeles since Saturday, December 11, meaning it’s been two and a half weeks since we’ve seen a home game. Good, good, good to be back.

In terms of personnel, as always we’ll wait and see to know for sure. On each of the last three Kings gamedays, on the road, the Kings lost a player to COVID Protocol between morning skate and the game, so saying anything definitively would be foolhardy. With that being said though, the expectation at this time is that Alex Turcotte is expected to make his NHL debut this evening, centering the team’s second line with Viktor Arvidsson and Trevor Moore. More on Turcotte here from earlier today. Forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan, recalled earlier today from AHL-Ontario, is also expected to play, in place of Rasmus Kupari, who is out tonight with a non-COVID related illness.

In addition to Turcotte and Anderson-Dolan, the Kings activated forward Martin Frk and defenseman Jacob Moverare to the active roster, bringing the team to the maximum 23 players allowed on the active roster.

Here’s how the team lined up during morning skate today –

Iafallo – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Turcotte – Arvidsson
Andersson – Anderson-Dolan – Grundstrom
Lemieux – Lizotte – Kaliyev
Frk

Anderson – Doughty
Wolanin – Roy
Bjornfot – Durzi
Moverare

Quick
Sparks
Petersen*

In net, the expectation is that Jonathan Quick will be back between the pipes this evening, as he was the first goaltender off this morning. All-time, Quick is 4-7-1 against the Golden Knights with a .885 save percentage and a 3.75 goals-against average. The 35-year-old netminder has yet to face Vegas this season, however, with Cal Petersen making the start in the only prior meeting.

Speaking of Petersen, he skated with the team today for the first time since entering COVID Protocol in Carolina. Petersen has not yet been re-added to the active roster, and Garret Sparks did skate with the team, but a good sign that he’s back with the group.

Among the skaters, as noted, Turcotte is expected to play tonight. In terms of personnel, three changes are anticipated from the group that played in Washington prior to the holiday break. As noted above, Anderson-Dolan and Turcotte are expected to play, while defenseman Drew Doughty has also cleared COVID Protocol and is expected to play tonight. Exiting are Dustin Brown, Olli Maatta and Kupari. Other than those two moves, the other 15 skaters are holdovers from the game against the Capitals, a 3-2 comeback victory for the Kings.

Those not available for tonight due to COVID Protocol include Petersen, Maatta, Brown, Quinton Byfield and Phillip Danault. Additionally, forward Andreas Athanasiou remains out of the lineup with a lower-body injury, expected to sideline him through the rest of the 2021 calendar year.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS VITALS: The Golden Knights enter tonight’s game with eight wins from their last 10 games, though one of those two defeats came in their most recent game before the NHL’s Holiday Break, a 4-3 loss against Tampa Bay on December 21. Like the rest of the league, Vegas hasn’t been in action since that game.

As is the case with the Kings, the Golden Knights will have a group of players and coaches out of action tonight due to COVID Protocols. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and forward Evgeny Dadonov are the big names in protocol, along with Head Coach Peter de Boer, while forward Mark Stone and goaltender Robin Lehner are injured and defenseman Alec Martinez is out on long-term injured reserve

Forward Max Pacioretty and defenseman Nicolas Hague are “game-time decisions” per Vegas assistant coach Steve Spott.

Per David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review Journal, here’s how the Golden Knights lined up during yesterday’s practice –

Line rushes

Marchessault-Karlsson-Smith
Carrier-Stephenson-Janmark
Brooks-Roy-Kolesar
Rondbjerg-Leschyshyn-Amadio
Patrick

Theodore-Whitecloud
McNabb-Coghlan
Hutton-Miromanov
Hague

Brossoit
Thompson#VegasBorn

— David Schoen 🗞🏒 (@DavidSchoenLVRJ) December 27, 2021

With Lehner out, goaltender Laurent Brossoit was the first netminder off this morning, putting him in line for his fifth career appearance against the Kings. From the previous four, Brossoit is 1-2-0 with a .889 save percentage and a 3.35 goals-against average. On the season, Brossiot is 6-3-0 with a .904 save percentage and a 2.72 goals-against average.

As with the Kings, and as with any lineup at this point, we wait and see.

Notes –

Good Day For A Debut
Covered HERE in more depth, today is expected the feature the highly-anticipated NHL debut for Alex Turcotte. Selected fifth overall by the Kings during the 2019 NHL Draft, Turcotte has progressed nicely, following one season at the University of Wisconsin and his first as a professional, with the AHL’s Ontario Reign, during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign.

Now, with a strong start to his second go-around at the AHL level, Turcotte is in line for his debut later on today.

“Just being out there, practicing with [the Kings], I know I can play at this level and play my game,” Turcotte said today. “I think, for tonight, I’m just trying to have fun, keep it simple and work hard, not try to do too much. Just try to make smart plays and take it from there.”

Speaking with McLellan, he talked about a desire for Turcotte to simply play his style of hockey, referencing that no one can expect a perfect performance on night one. No need to overthink, just go out there and play.

“He’s had two good practices, he’s been in the organization long enough to know how we want to play and now it’s just playing,” he said. “I think, sometimes, if I go meet with those individuals prior to a game, I get them wound up even more. He doesn’t have to be perfect, he just has to play his game. In fact, if he makes a few mistakes, we’ll help him and he’ll feel better about improving as he goes forward.”

For a full look at Turcotte heading into tonight’s game, see this story from earlier today.

Still tickets available to check out Turcotte’s debut here!

Mixing and Matching
When it comes to putting together a lineup for tonight, the Kings do have some options, but are also without multiple key figures.

Dustin Brown has been a staple at RW1 this season, with Phillip Danault a staple at 2C. Combine that with the absence of Rasmus Kupari this evening, who has typically centered the third line as of late, and the Kings are certainly down a few of their normal options. How does that all play into the through process of how to line up tonight?

“We look at the opposition and determine what they might have, first of all, especially on home ice and how we might have to play our lines and how they might match up,” McLellan said. “Secondary, it’s combinations and pairs, we talk a lot about how that might work. When you get down as many players as we are, you put guys together and hope it might work.”

Tonight’s lineup will feature Alex Iafallo back with Anze Kopitar and that’s an easy combination to trot out there. Iafallo has flanked Kopitar for the better part of the last four seasons, moving away for the first time on an extended basis this year, as Iafallo found a nice fit with Danault.

With Danault and Brown both out, however, the timing was right to make that move.

“When the lines are mixing, it’s always nice to get put together with a guy you’ve had success with before and had good chemistry with before,” Kopitar said. “It might take us a shift, or two or three, but I know what he’s all about and he knows what I’m all about.”

In terms of the other lines, keeping the trio of Brendan Lemieux, Blake Lizotte and Arthur Kaliyev together was a natural fit, considering the chemistry and success that unit has had. For the other lines, McLellan has seen Grundstrom, Anderson-Dolan and Andersson together in some form, while Turcotte takes Danault’s space this evening.

Overall, a “put it together and see how it goes” situation.

“I know that Lias, Grunny and JAD, who will be a line tonight, they’ve played together in the past, not all the time, whether it was with us or the American League,” McLellan said. “`Lizzo’s line will stay the same and Turc’s been practicing with his line. There’s really no other way to explain how we get to it. How we end and how we start may be totally different, but we’ll see how it goes.”

Coaching Carousel
Lastly, and this has been discussed, but expect to see Ontario assistant coach Chris Hajt on the bench for the Kings this evening. Hajt has joined the team for practice each of the past two days, and with both Marco Sturm and Trent Yawney in protocol, he will get the opportunity this evening. Whether the Kings run with two or three behind the bench remains to be seen, with goaltending coach Bill Ranford, as well as video coaches Samson Lee and Derik Johnson also options for the Kings.

Kings and Golden Knights, set for 7:30 PM this evening. Game Thread to follow as the Kings hit the ice in DTLA!