Preview 4/23 – No Changes Expected + Task At Hand, Athanasiou’s Addition, Getzlaf Thoughts

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (42-27-10) vs. Anaheim Ducks (30-34-14)
WHAT: NHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME
WHEN: Saturday, April 23 @ 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: It’s the final home game of the season in Los Angeles, as the Kings host the Ducks in another edition of the Freeway Faceoff.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings have earned at least a point from the first three head-to-head matchups this season, with 2-0-1 mark against the Ducks so far this season. Forwards Adrian Kempe (4-1-5) and Anze Kopitar (1-4-5) lead the Kings with five points apiece this season versus Anaheim. Kempe has 10 goals from his last 10 games played against the Ducks and has scored in each of the three games played so far this season.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings conclude the home portion of their regular-season schedule this evening as they host the Ducks on Fan Appreciation Night. The Kings cannot clinch a postseason berth this evening but can move to within two points of doing so with a victory tonight.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick is set to make his sixth consecutive start this evening. Quick has assumed the starting role as of late through his performances, with three consecutive victories entering tonight’s action, including a 29-save win over Anaheim on Tuesday. Quick is 26-13-9 all-time versus the Ducks, with a .912 save percentage and a 2.37 goals-against average. Dating back to the 2018-19 season, Quick is 7-1-1 versus Anaheim with a .933 SV% and a 1.87 GAA, all top three against a single opponent in that span.

Following a full-team practice yesterday, this morning’s skate was optional for the Kings at Toyota Sports Performance Center.

LA opted to make two lineup changes between games on Tuesday and Thursday, with the duo of Carl Grundstrom and Quinton Byfield checking in at the forward position, in place of Brendan Lemieux and Rasmus Kupari. Those changes appear consistent with this morning’s groupings of those on the ice, so we’ll expect to see the same lineup there.

With the full group not on the ice, no specific line rushes, but here’s how the group lined up on Thursday, with the expectation of a similar alignment today –

Athanasiou – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Iafallo – Lizotte – Brown
Grundstrom – Byfield – Kaliyev

Edler – Roy
Moverare – Durzi
Maatta – Spence

Quick
Petersen

Kupari and Lemieux are available should the Kings opt to make a change, as are forwards Lias Andersson and Gabe Vilardi. On the backend, defensemen Mikey Anderson, Tobias Bjornfot, Troy Stecher and Austin Strand skated but are not expected to play. Anderson continues to recover from an upper-body injury and has practiced for nearly a week now, but is not an option tonight versus the Ducks.

DUCKS VITALS: Anaheim enters tonight’s game with 17 losses from its last 20 games played with a 3-12-5 record in those contests. In all 17 losses, the Ducks scored 3 or fewer goals, allowing 4 or more goals times 12 in that span.

No reports from Anaheim on which goaltender will get the nod between the pipes this evening. Should the Ducks go back to John Gibson, who was in net when these two teams met on Tuesday, he brings with him a 14-9-0 career record against the Kings, with a .919 save percentage and a 2.34 goals-against average. Should the visitors turn to Anthony Stolarz, he’s made four career appearances against the Kings, with a 0-2-1 record, a .917 save percentage and a 2.34 goals-against average.

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

Here's who we fly with tonight. Sam Carrick is out with a lower-body injury and Urho Vaakanainen is out with a non-COVID illness. #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/XHoEg8lR0B

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) April 20, 2022

Forward Sam Carrick (lower-body injury) and defenseman Urho Vaakanainen (non-COVID illness) missed the last game, but have not been ruled out for tonight. Forwards Jakob Silfverberg and Max Jones are on long-term injured reserve and won’t play tonight.

Close, But Not There Yet
The Kings are close to the postseason. You can almost feel the postseason. But the Kings are not yet in the postseason.

Two wins from their final three games will get them there, starting tonight against Anaheim. One win and two points dropped from Vegas would also do it, but that creates an out of their control situation. The Kings can’t win two games tonight and Vegas doesn’t play, so there’s no opportunity to punch a ticket this evening. The Kings can only win the game in front of them and they’ve put themselves into a good position headed in.

“It feels good, three games left, but I feel like we’re in a good position,” forward Adrian Kempe said this morning. “Obviously it’s going to be tight until the end, but this is what you play for all year. These games are the most fun games to play, we have an important game tonight and if we can come up with a good result there, we put ourselves in a better position. We’re in a good spot, but the job isn’t done.”

Kempe knows the task at hand, both in the larger picture of the next six days, but also over the upcoming 60 minutes.

Ducks – Kings games are typically tightly contested, regardless of the standing of both teams. The Ducks are also playing for their captain, who will faceoff against the Kings tonight for the final time in his career. More on that below. Kempe, however, is focused on the task at hand and the game tonight against the Ducks.

“Not as many games left and we’re in the best position out of the three teams (Kings, Golden Knights, Canucks],” Kempe said. “We have some tough teams left, teams that maybe aren’t in the playoffs but maybe they can risk it more. Against Anaheim too, we know it’s always a tight game, we’ve got to stick with the gameplan we’ve had, play a solid 60 minutes…that’s what we need tonight.”

Win your games, good things will happen. The Kings can create a dormie situation here tonight and that’s exactly what they intend to do.

Athanasiou Addition
We’ve talked about the consistency of the third line since they were united now six games prior, and now we can talk about the new-look first line over the last three games, which has coincided with Andreas Athanasiou’s return from injury.

The line scored twice against Chicago on Thursday, with Athanasiou tallying on a breakaway, in addition to Anze Kopitar’s deflection goal. They also scored on Tuesday in Anaheim through Adrian Kempe, with the line totaling three goals from three games since Athanasiou returned from injury.

Speaking with Kempe today, he’s enjoyed Athanasiou’s game since he’s returned, playing together on a line for really the first time.

“He’s been great ever since he’s come back,” Kempe said. “I haven’t really played with him since he been here, maybe just a couple of games, but he’s done a great job. He’s super skilled, super fast and makes a lot of plays, draws a lot of penalties. It’s fun to play with him and he fits really well onto that line, creates a lot of chances. You definitely notice, ever since he’s come back from his injury, that he wants to prove himself, especially being on the top line. He’s done a great job and he’s fun to play with.”

While in terms of shot attempts, that line has been more or less even, it’s been the more dangerous areas where they’ve controlled things, despite the smaller sample size.

That combination of men whose names start with A have controlled nearly 59 percent of scoring chances and more than 65 percent of high-danger chances. They’ve also allowed just one goal at 5-on-5 over those nine periods.

Athanasiou has proven to be an exception to McLellan’s usual thought process with players getting back into action. He’s shown an ability to come right back in and play, with his speed and skill shining through.

“It definitely is and we’ve somewhat singled out AA when it comes to his return, it might happen quicker, because he has that skillset, that free-flowing, fast, good hands skillset, where he can get it back quickly,” McLellan said. “There are others that play the game a bit different and it might take a little bit longer, they physicality and the ability to play in traffic, I think it takes some of those individuals a little bit longer, but the way that AA is built, he gets it back quicker and it helps our team. I think it’s evident on Kopi’s line right now.”

McLellan called Athanasiou an X-Factor down the stretch, admitting that he has the ability to be among the top players in the NHL. With the Kings in search of production from that top line, in a short sample size, Athanasiou has provided it. He’s motivated from both an individual and a team perspective, with a huge opportunity in front of him down the stretch.

“He is that talented, he has that much skill and ability,” McLellan added. “We’ll see how it goes, it’s important for him as an individual to play well right now, not just for the team.”

Getzlaf’s Last Games
Lastly, tonight marks the final game of Ryan Getzlaf’s career against the Kings, with the long-time Anaheim centerman set to play in his final NHL game at home tomorrow.

Since Getzlaf entered the league in the 2005-06 season, no player has collected more even-strength points against the Kings than he has. He’s in the Top 3 in that span – along with the San Jose duo of Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau – in terms of both assists and points. Tonight, he’ll face long-time rivals Kopitar, Brown and Quick for the final time, his 79th appearance in total versus the Kings.

A tremendous career for Getzlaf, a career that’s spanned more than 1,100 games and seen more than 1,000 points amassed. He’s a Stanley Cup champion, a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, a three-time NHL All-Star and a one-time All-NHL Team honoree. A great career, that’s worthy of a round of applause tonight.

Kopitar on Getzlaf
We’ve obviously had some good battles over the course of what, 16 years now? Yeah, the amount of respect I have for him is huge, he’s a Stanley Cup champion, multiple Olympic golds. The amount of work he’s done for that organization, it’s tremendous and he deserves all of the praise. When it’s time, I’m sure we’ll catch up and have a little chat about it all.

Kempe on Getzlaf
He’s up there, he’s been there forever, one of the best players in the Ducks history. He commands a lot of respect out there, him and Kopi are kind of on the same level in terms of that kind of stuff. He’s been solid for so many years, obviously it’s coming to an end, but it’s been fun to play against him, seeing the things he’s done with the Ducks over the years. Such a big part of the organization.

McLellan on Getzlaf
Hall of Fame player. I don’t sit on the Hall of Fame board, but if I had a vote, I know what I would write on my sheet. Maybe I’m a little biased, because he’s a good Saskatchewan kid too, a Western League player, but an incredible career. He’s spent it all with one team, obviously, everything that he’s done for hockey in Southern California and for the Ducks organization, championship, and all of the other things that he’s done over and above. Hall of Famer without a doubt in my mind.

Kings and Ducks, tonight at 7:30 PM! Last one of the scheduled 41 here in Los Angeles, Insiders, with more hopefully to come!