2/25 Preview – Possible Lineups + Renewing The Rivalry, Pushing the PK, McLellan on Kaliyev

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (27-17-7) @ Anaheim Ducks (25-19-9)
WHAT: NHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME
WHEN: Friday, February 25 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Honda Center – Anaheim, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: KCOP My-13 – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Kings return to action this evening in Anaheim, the second in a stretch of four games in six nights.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings bring a 0-0-1 record against Anaheim this season into tonight’s contest, stemming from a 5-4 shootout loss in Los Angeles back in late-November. Forward Alex Iafallo led the Kings with two goals on that night, while Anze Kopitar and Matt Roy each tallied two assists. Forward Adrian Kempe also scored in that game and has seven goals from his last eight games played versus the Ducks, including five from four games played last season at Honda Center.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings conclude a stretch of 10 of 11 games away from home this evening in Anaheim, in the midst of a stretch that sees the team play 14 of 17 games away from Crypto.com Arena through the second week of March.

The Kings held an optional morning skate today in El Segundo, and a highly optional one at that, before the team travels to Anaheim in advance of this evening’s game at Honda Center. A unique routine when the Kings play the Ducks on the road, with an earlier than usual skate, a team bus to Anaheim and a few hours in a day room at the hotel, before heading over to the rink at normal time for an away game.

“There’s routine for being on the road and then there’s routine for the Anaheim games,” Todd McLellan said this morning. “It hasn’t changed in a long time, so the veteran players get it, they know what it feels like. The young players, there are very few that have not experienced it, we played them a lot last year and some of them were involved. If you’re young, you’ve likely done this many times throughout your career, in juniors or college, where you bus on the day of the game. Lets’ face it, we’re not busing from here to Seattle, we’re going down the road real quick.”

Goaltender Cal Petersen has played the last two games, both in Arizona, which points to Jonathan Quick getting the nod this evening in Anaheim. Quick did not take this morning’s optional skate, meaning he is tonight’s likely starter by past precedent. Throughout his career, Quick is 24-13-9 versus the Ducks, with a .910 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against average.

With such a small group on the ice today, the team naturally did not take line rushes. Forward Carl Grundstrom could check back in tonight for the Kings after he rotated in during rushes with the third line yesterday during practice. Grundstrom hasn’t played since January 24 in New York.

Defenseman Jacob Moverare is also available for the Kings, while forward Lias Andersson has rejoined the group in a regular jersey but is still on injured reserve as of this writing.

DUCKS VITALS: Anaheim is a team of ups and downs, entering tonight’s game off of back-to-back wins, following four straight losses, following five games unbeaten in regulation, following six games winless in regulation, following……you get the gist.

Expect to see goaltender John Gibson back between the pipes, after Anthony Stolarz got the nod in Friday’s win over San Jose. Gibson had started six straight games, and nine of ten, before the game against San Jose. All-time, Gibson is 14-7-0 against the Kings, with a .922 save percentage and a 2.23 goals-against average.

Per Anaheim’s team account, here’s how the Ducks lined up last time out –

The Captain is back! Here's who we fly with. #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/ggFYrGf8KN

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) February 23, 2022

Anaheim is currently without defenseman Josh Manson and forward Max Jones, both of whom are on injured reserve as of this time.

Notes –

Renewing The Rivalry
The Kings and Ducks met eight times last season, but those meetings were between the teams that were last in the division and tied for second-to-last. While still a bit more intensity than your average game, there were really no extra stakes on the line by the end of the season rolled around.

Fast forward less than 12 months and the scope has drastically changed. The Kings sit in a playoff position by two points entering tonight’s action. The Ducks are on the outside looking in by just two points. Naturally, that makes tonight’s showdown at Honda Center a massive affair. Compared to last season, the standings give it that much more flair than in years past.

“Even last year, when we were out of the playoff hunt and were playing against [Anaheim], it’s still that added, extra element,” defenseman Mikey Anderson said this morning. “If you look at the standings right now, we’re two points ahead of them so it’s a four-point game, we’re either four ahead of them or we’re tied. Standings-wise, it’s that much more motivation to throw on top of the extra intensity that there already is.”

Since Todd McLellan and his staff took over in 2019, the two seasons that followed saw both LA and Anaheim towards the bottom of the Pacific Division, outside of the mix for a playoff berth. That has all changed over the first 50 or so games here in 2021-22.

Both organizations have drastically improved, making tonight’s matchup an important one, as most will be down the stretch. All divisional games, and conference games when you factor in the hunt for a wild card spot, have that much added value to them. Two, or three, important points are on the line when the puck drops this evening at Honda Center.

“The growth of both organizations is really good for this area, for hockey, for the fans,” McLellan said. “The situation we’re in, and I can’t speak for the team, is that there’s a lot of hockey left, but these games are important. They’re within our own division, within the conference, you start to talk about jockeying for position, although there are 60 points, or more, still available with three-point nights, that’s a lot of points. The rivalry has been great over the years and I’m sure it’s going to continue that way as these two teams grow.”

The playoff picture is certainly starting to shape up, with the Western Conference nowhere near decided.

The top four teams in the conference have separated themselves, leaving two playoff berths in the Pacific Division, and two wild-card spots, still up for grabs. The Kings are one of six teams in a playoff spot, or within two points of one of those four playoff spots, with three more teams still less than ten points out. It’ll be a fight to the finish, with the Kings well aware of the packed push for the postseason.

“If you look at how tight everything is, we were talking about this the other day, you can win four games and you stay in the same spot, but the second you lose one, you drop out of a playoff spot,” Anderson added. “Whether it’s getting one point, two points, it seems to make a world of difference. When Todd talks about having moments, you have to limit the moments that cost you and try to have a few more that got the right way for us. At the end of the year, those are the plays that make a difference and right now, it’s just about racking up as many points as we can.”

Pushing That PK
Four games in since the All-Star break and the Kings have allowed just one power-play goal in that span.

We’ve beaten to death the narrative that special teams were the biggest focus in the second half of the season, and with three power-play goals, compared to just one allowed on the PK, it’s been a good start in that area.

Looking specifically at the PK, there’s been a more aggressive mindset, at least via the eye test, over the last few games. Trevor Moore spoke about it after the win in Arizona on Wednesday, which ended with a huge 6-on-4 kill in the dying minutes. Blake Lizotte, who had a crucial shot block on that kill, and Mikey Anderson spoke about the changes in advance of today’s game.

Anderson – “I think there’s more [aggression]. I think it’s based off of opportunities too, you’ve got to read when it’s a good time to pressure and when it’s a good time to rely on the structure, to trust that it’s going to get the job done. I think that’s a big thing for us right now, trying to find that line of when it’s the right time to be aggressive and force them to make a really good play. At the end of the day, if we do everything we can, pressure hard, and they make an outstanding play, you tip your hat, but that’s one of the areas we’ve been trying to get better at.

Lizotte – “We take a lot of pride in our penalty kill and before the break, our numbers weren’t where we wanted them to be. We changed a few things, trying to be a little more aggressive on loose pucks, when players are in vulnerable positions, we like to pressure them and make a good play to beat you. It’s the best league in the world, they’re going to make good plays sometimes, but the best we can do is make it harder on them and it’s seemed to be successful so far.

Lastly, hear from Todd McLellan in a lengthy answer on the continued development of winger Arthur Kaliyev. McLellan touched on Kaliyev’s improvement and strides away from the ice, and in those other areas on the ice. Kaliyev still projects as a goal-scoring winger, but he’s taken strides in several other areas to develop into an everyday NHL’er at this stage in his career.

We all evaluate Arthur on what happens on the ice, that’s where, ultimately, he will be evaluated, but not a lot of people get to see his work away from the rink. How he’s transformed himself from a junior-body mentality, ‘I’m going to shoot the puck in the net a lot, to I’m going to be a complete player.’ He’s worked really hard in the gym, he’s proud of his gains there, it’s showing on the ice. I think he wins a lot more board battles now, 50-50 pucks, he’s able to skate longer in shifts, he’s able to haul people around with his big body, there’s more physicality to his game. We talk about, boy, it would be nice if he had 20, 30, 40 goals, he’s a rookie, he’s just figuring things out. he shoots the puck a ton, I think he leads all rookies in shots on goal, that’s a great thing and with his ability to shoot it, his shooting percentage is going to go up eventually. In my mind, Arthur has become a well-rounded, trusted player.

Good on ya, Arty!

Kings and Ducks tonight at 7 PM from the Ponda. Should be a large crowd of Kings fans making the trip down, hope to hear you there!