4/19 Preview – Same Lineup Expected + Playing With A Lead, One-Goal Games, Freeway Faceoff

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (40-27-10) @ Anaheim Ducks (30-33-14)
WHAT: NHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME
WHEN: Tuesday, April 19 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Honda Center – Anaheim, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: ESPN – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The stretch run continues this week for the Kings, as the team heads to Honda Center for the final time this season.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings enter tonight’s matchup with a 1-0-1 mark against the Ducks so far this season, including a 4-1 victory in their only prior trip to Honda Center back in February. Powered by a three-point night in Anaheim, forward Adrian Kempe leads all skaters with four points (3-1-4) from the two games played this season against the Ducks. Overall, Kempe has nine goals from his last nine games played against Anaheim, including seven from his last five games in Orange County.

KINGS VITALS: It’s the second of four straight games in Southern California, the only one on the road, as the Kings visit the Ducks this evening.

As was the case on Saturday, goaltender Jonathan Quick was not on the ice this morning, with Todd McLellan confirming that he will make his fourth consecutive start this evening. All-time versus the Ducks, Quick has a 25-13-9 record, a .911 save percentage and a 2.40 goals-against average, numbers enhanced by 24 saves on 25 shots in the previous meeting.

As has also been the case as of late this morning’s skate was optional, with the exception of Quick and a few of the veteran players who have taken the option regularly this season. With today’s skate in mind, as well as yesterday’s practice combinations, here’s a look at how the Kings could align at Honda Center this evening –

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

Edler – Roy
Moverare – Durzi
Maatta – Spence

Quick
Petersen

That would be the same group that defeated Columbus on Saturday evening, which Todd McLellan indicated is the plan, assuming everyone comes out of today’s skate healthy and ready to go.

Should the Kings decide to – or be forced to – make any changes, they have a large group of options currently at their disposal. Forwards Lias Andersson, Quinton Byfield, Carl Grundstrom and Gabe Vilardi, as well as defensemen Tobias Bjornfot, Troy Stecher and Austin Strand are all available to play this evening if called upon.

DUCKS VITALS: Though coming off of their own win over the Blue Jackets, by a 6-4 final on Sunday, the Ducks have struggled through their closing run this season, with losses in 16 of their 19 games entering tonight’s game.

Goaltender John Gibson picked up the win over the weekend, and assuming he gets the start again this evening on home ice, he brings with him solid career splits against the Kings. All-time, Gibson is 14-8-0, with a .918 save percentage and a 2.36 goals-against average.

Per the Anaheim team account, here’s how tonight’s hosts lined up on Sunday against Columbus –

Here's who we fly with tonight. #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/KifOVZWIAU

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) April 17, 2022

Forwards Max Jones and Jakob Silfverberg are both in injured reserve and are not expected to play tonight against the Kings.

Comfort With A Lead
The Kings played with a one-goal lead for the majority of the game on Saturday against Columbus. After a two-goal opening period, Columbus cut its deficit in half less than a minute in the second period, with the score remaining 2-1 the rest of the way home.

“I liked our start, I thought as the game went on, at times we were too passive, but that’s called experience at this time of the year,” Todd McLellan said this morning. “Guys are feeling it and every game we play in this stretch run gives us a little bit more of an opportunity to grow through those moments.”

Speaking with Alex Iafallo and Blake Lizotte, both players generally agreed with the sentiment. Iafallo indicated the need to be a bit more aggressive and try to find that insurance goal, to create a larger cushion, with Lizotte admitting there is a line between being too passive and perhaps too aggressive in those situations.

Something the Kings will hope to be playing with again over these final five games, a situation they’ve been in regularly this season.

AI – We could have been more aggressive, but trying to hold that lead for that long, there are going to be some points in the game where you’ve got to talk it out, communicate to push harder and harder. We’ve got to learn that, in the next few games here. We’ve just got to try and get a larger lead next game.

BL – After [the Columbus goal], our team didn’t panic, or tighten up, stray from the game plan. There is that fine balance, you don’t want to go into a shell and just chip every single puck you get, but at the same time, make smart decisions around the blueline. That’s ultimately what wins games in the third period.

Speaking of One-Goal Games……
On that topic, tonight’s matchup squares off two of the NHL’s top three teams in terms of number of one-goal games played. Anaheim is tied for the league lead (with Dallas) with 37 one-goal games played this season, with the Kings just one shy at 36.

I noted the other day that only Dallas has fewer victories this season by 3+ goals than the Kings, among teams currently in a playoff position. LA is also the only team in the league with 18 or more one-goal wins and double-digit overtime/shootout losses.

Speaking with McLellan this morning about two of the league leaders in one-goal games played, he indicated that he can’t speak to that stat from an Anaheim point of view, but from his team’s angle, it reflects how the Kings have been built, and how the team has been successful this season.

“From our perspective, it probably reflects our identity,” he said. “When we’re playing the way we are capable of, and capable of and need to play, we’re in tight games. That’s just the way it is. There haven’t been many games where we’ve been on the runaway side positively, and when we do have them, we talk about it, boy it’s nice to have the four-goal lead, because it doesn’t happen often. It’s more likely that it gets away on us on a negative side. I think the fact that stat exists from our perspective is a sign of identity and the way that we play.”

The Kings are exactly even in terms of wins and losses in one-goal games – 18 wins and 18 defeats (eight in regulation, 10 with a point).

As noted above, the Kings are comfortable in those situations. They’re certainly familiar with those situations. While you can say what you will about standings or the schedule, the fact of the matter is, the Kings don’t have a tendency to blow teams out in many situations. It’s been tight, contested games more often than not, with the Kings needing to find a way to hold onto a narrow lead, or overturn one, on most nights.

What makes the difference in those situations? In the one-goal win over Columbus, McLellan referenced the power play as something that could have made that victory a little bit more comfortable but failed to do so. Over these five games, the Kings will get opportunities on the man advantage to impact a game and despite an unproductive season in that area, there’s no better time than the present.

“We need the power play, as I told them, over the next five games, it’s going to be on their tape at some point,” McLellan said. “We haven’t had an exceptional year when it comes to the power play, but the 10, 11 guys that get to play are going to have to perform. It could be middle of the game, it might be late in the third, as it was against Columbus and we didn’t get much done in that situation.”

Freeway Faceoff Familiarity
There are not many secrets in this rivalry.

With last season’s COVID schedule, the Kings and Ducks have played against each other 10 times over the last 14 months, a total that will increase to 12 by the end of the week.

“I think both sides, there’s that rivalry there for sure, the teams are 40 minutes apart,” Blake Lizotte said. “We’ve played each other quite a bit over the last couple of years, with COVID I think it’s been 10 times since last year, the animosity is higher than maybe most. I think most guys enjoy it, even though it’s an away game, we get a bus down there after morning skate, go in right from there. Those games are always fun to play.”

The uniqueness of an Anaheim game – beyond the natural elements of a distance-based rivalry – comes from the routine. The Kings skated this morning at Toyota Sports Performance Center and took a team bus to Orange County earlier today. From that point on, it feels like a normal game day with a meal at the hotel in Anaheim, and pregame routine unchanged and then a bus to the rink.

“I haven’t sensed that it’s a big issue for anybody,” McLellan said. “You still get there, you get to eat, have your afternoon routine and then play. I don’t think it has a huge impact and it certainly shouldn’t have a huge impact on how we play.”

In terms of how the Kings play, getting off to a good start in this game will be key.

We saw it against Columbus, with the Kings jumping out to a 2-0 lead, and in what should be a charged up atmosphere tonight in Anaheim, the same type of start is desired.

“We’ve got to come out hard, right from the start,” Iafallo added. “Push the pace, in each zone, and a lot of talk out there. Get a lot of chances off the bat and stay on them, be prepared from the drop of the puck. Making small passes, getting the puck in and attacking their defense. Simple things like that help the team to get prepared and push momentum throughout the period.”

A big one, Insiders! Exciting to see one of these games with some real meaning here for the Kings. 7 PM puck drop on ES-PN!