4/2 Preview – Same Lineup Expected + Following A Day Off, Iafallo’s Details, Byfield Video

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (37-23-10) @ Winnipeg Jets (33-26-10)
WHAT: NHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME
WHEN: Saturday, April 2 @ 4:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Canada Life Centre – Winnipeg, MB
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: Bally Sports West – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Kings conclude a short trip to Canada this evening with their final meeting of the season against the Winnipeg Jets.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings and Jets have faced off twice so far this season, a pair of 3-2 finals in favor of Winnipeg. Forwards Adrian Kempe, Carl Grundstrom and Rasmus Kupari have scored this season against Winnipeg, with eight players bringing a point into tonight’s action from the first two games.

KINGS VITALS: Following yesterday’s off day in Winnipeg, the Kings returned to action this morning with an optional team skate earlier today.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick was the lone Kings netminder on the ice during morning skate, pointing to Cal Petersen as the expected starter this evening in Winnipeg. Petersen is 0-1-1 in his career against the Jets, with a .860 save percentage and a 3.99 goals-against average. The 27-year-old was between the pipes the last time the Kings were in Manitoba, a 3-2 overtime defeat back in November.

Without a full morning skate today, the lineup for this evening isn’t fully known at this time, though Todd McLellan indicated this morning he is not expecting any changes. The Kings added forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan on an emergency basis yesterday, with the forward remaining on the roster as of this morning. The same situation occurred in Calgary, with that decision coming all the way down to warmups in Calgary. Anderson-Dolan was sent back to AHL-Ontario immediately following the submission of the roster. A situation to keep an eye on heading into tonight’s game.

For reference, here’s how the Kings lined up on Thursday in Calgary –

Tonight's @LAKings Line Rushes –

Iafallo – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Vilardi – Byfield – Kupari
Grundstrom – Andersson – Kaliyev

Maatta – Spence
Bjornfot – Durzi
Edler – Stecher

Petersen
Quick

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) April 1, 2022

JETS VITALS: Winnipeg has won nine of its last 13 games heading into tonight’s action, keeping themselves on the outside edge of the playoff hunt entering tonight’s action.

Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is the expected starter this evening, his second start of the season versus the Kings. All-time against the Kings, Hellebuyck is 4-4-0 with a .907 save percentage and a 2.88 goals-against average.

Per the Winnipeg team account, here’s how the hosts lined up last time out against Toronto –

Here are your @betwaycanada lines and starting lineup for tonight! #GoJetsGo | #WPGvsTOR pic.twitter.com/iDzKHxaLHr

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) March 31, 2022

Winnipeg is without the duo of Kyle Connor and Nate Schmidt this evening, with both players in COVID Protocol. Forward Cole Perfetti is the team’s only player on long-term injured reserve as of this writing.

Notes –

Back At It
Running On Fumes.

That’s where Todd McLellan assessed the group after a hard-fought win over Calgary. Rightfully so, right? As noted yesterday, the Kings played 16 games in March, one shy of the most in the NHL. With that in mind, the team hasn’t done a whole lot of skating since, with a full off day yesterday and a light skate this morning, for those who opted to get on the ice.

“We’re going to find out how good the day off was, sometimes off days can work against you, but we needed it,” McLellan said. “We needed to refuel, I think the guys got a lot of rest yesterday, real quick skate this morning, but the tank is going to be empty for all of these teams from now through the end of the season. It’s just the way the schedule is made up, the travel and the pressure to be winning games can take a little bit out of you as well. As I’ve said before, it’s a real good things for our group to be going through.”

As McLellan noted, off days can go one way or the other. We’ve seen the Kings come out storming after a day off, and we’ve seen them drag a bit too – see the Seattle game last weekend. That’s the ongoing balance at this time of the season, when everyone is logging games left and right and there’s little time to waste.

Speaking with Alex Iafallo this morning, he used a lot of the buzzwords that the Kings have driven home throughout the season. Getting everyone involved early and playing Kings hockey was the message to success early tonight.

“Get everybody involved, making sure that we’re playing fast, crisp, getting in on the forecheck right away and keeping the puck out of our d-zone,’ he said. “We’ve been focusing on trying to get more shots and staying aggressive, so being on pucks, staying aggressive and staying on them.”

I-a-fallo The Leader
Everyone in the building – outside of the 16,000+ wearing red, that is – was excited to see Alex Iafallo snap his goal drought on Thursday in Calgary.

It couldn’t have come in a bigger moment, either. Iafallo got the Kings on the board early in the second period in the eventual 3-2 shootout victory, snapping the 23-game drought without one. In that time, Iafallo has done his best to continue to do the right things that will eventually lead to more offense, while not hurting the team in doing so.

Todd McLellan has, on multiple occasions, noted that Iafallo has been good about not “cheating” as he puts it. He’s not taking that extra step towards potentially creating an odd-man rush that creates an issue defensively. He’s not sacrificing at one end to try and jumpstart things at the other and that’s something McLellan has seen, even in dry times offensively.

“Just trying to help out, in every aspect I can, I try to play good defensively, in every zone, trying to set a good example, especially for these young guys coming in,” Iafallo said. “They’re looking for things to improve their game, that’s what I did when I was younger, just trying to be a good leader on the ice.”

Iafallo was once the younger player on the other side of the coin, looking towards the veterans in the room to help show him the right way to do things. Now, a leader himself and an assistant captain, Iafallo is doing his best to pay it forward, so to speak.

He knows that the goals and assists haven’t been there, even though the chances have been and he’s continued to provide and contribute in the other areas that he always has.

“I know there’s been a large group – fans, media, whoever it might be – that were on Alex for not scoring, and rightfully so, but sit and watch the rest of the game and he does a lot of things well,” McLellan said. “As he’s doing those things, that provides the kid line, or anybody else as a young forward, with a visual of how things need to get done on most nights. That’s called leadership.”

McLellan called Iafallo a “visual leader” and someone who he wants the younger players in the room to watch. He’s not a “pom poms” guy in the room, he leads more by example and quietly, but his details and his process are ones to model.

“It’s definitely huge for them to see it the right way, so I just try to play the right way,” Iafallo added. “Coming in, when I was young, I was looking for little things that the older guys would do to improve their game each day. That’s what I’ve been trying to do, when I haven’t been scoring much, to play in each zone as best as I can.”

Byfield Feature

Lastly, check out this behind-the-scenes interview with Quinton Byfield, in the latest production from the Kings.

An exclusive interview with Byfield, speaking about his journey through the ranks and eventually into the NHL, where he’s begun to establish himself as a full-time player at this level.

Alright Insiders, one more here in Canada before we head home for LAKI Suite Night in Los Angeles! Hopefully it’s on the heels of five points from possible six here, but a challenging test awaits the Kings tonight in Winnipeg.