10/22 Preview – Full Team Skate in Washington + Edler Returns, Preaching Defense, Fourth Line Fury

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (3-3-0) @ Washington Capitals (2-3-0)
WHAT: NHL REGULAR SEASON GAME
WHEN: Saturday, October 22 @ 4:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Capital One Arena – Washington, DC
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: Bally Sports West – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The road trip comes to a close this evening in Washington, as the Kings visit the Capitals to complete a five-game swing.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The teams split the games played last season, with each side winning at the other team’s home arena. Defenseman Matt Roy led all Kings skaters with two points (0-2-2) from the two games played, while Adrian Kempe and Blake Lizotte each scored in Washington last season.

KINGS VITALS: Following an off-ice workout yesterday, the Kings hit the ice the morning for a full-team skate in Washington.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick was off first this morning, indicating that he will return to the net tonight for his fourth start of the season. All-time versus the Capitals, Quick is 9-6-0, with a .913 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average.

With regards to the skaters, here’s how the team set up during line rushes –

Kempe – Kopitar – Fiala
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Kaliyev – Byfield – Vilardi
Lemieux – Lizotte – Grundstrom

Anderson – Doughty
Durzi – Roy
Edler – Clarke

Quick
Petersen

The Kings appear set to welcome the return of defenseman Alex Edler this evening, who is set to rejoin the lineup for the first time since the trip opener in Minnesota. Edler took a puck to the upper lip during warmups in Detroit on Monday and has not played since. The veteran blueliner rejoined the team for morning skate in Pittsburgh and for practice yesterday, with an eye on returning to action here tonight in Washington.

“It should help a lot,” McLellan said of Edler’s return. “He’s got a defensive mindset right now, where he is in his career, he understands the game well, he’s got some size, a good reach, anticipates plays well. I would consider us a much better defensive team any time he’s in the lineup.”

For Edler’s part, he’s not trying to do anything too crazy in his return to the lineup. His presence should go a long way towards helping to solidify things defensively.

“I’m just trying to play very solid defensively, that’s when we’re good, when we take care of our own end and you can create a lot of offense just by playing good defense,” Edler said. “We’ve just got to focus on that and make sure that we’re taking care of that part of the game.”

More on the defensive side of the game below.

From this morning’s line rushes, forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan and defensemen Jacob Moverare and Sean Walker were on late following morning skate, indicating that they may be out this evening. Will be confirmed closer to game time.

CAPITALS VITALS: Washington returns home tonight after a 5-2 defeat in Ottawa last time out on Thursday evening.

Former Kings netminder Darcy Kuemper, signed by the Capitals as a free agent over the summer, was the first goaltender off this morning and is expected to get the start for Washington. All-time versus the Kings, Kuemper is 8-6-3, with a .929 save percentage and a 2.11 goals-against average.

Per Sammi Silber of Washington Hockey Now, here’s how the Capitals lined up this morning –

Lines at Capitals morning skate:

Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Sheary
Johansson-Strome-Oshie
Protas-Eller-Mantha
Snively-Dowd-Hathaway

Orlov-Carlson
Fehervary-Jensen
Gustafsson-TVR

— Sammi Silber (@sammisilber) October 22, 2022

Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has scored 11 goals versus the Kings during his historic career, his third-lowest total among the Original 30 teams. Former Kings center Nic Dowd is expected to be in the lineup this evening for the Capitals.

Notes –

Getting Down With Defense
The Kings have communicated a clear message, starting from the leadership and working its way down – defense wins hockey game.

“Yeah, that’s definitely something I’m talking about all the time, we’ve got to play good defense,” Drew Doughty said. “We’re leaving the goalies out to dry at times, they’re making big saves, sometimes they’re going in, but we’ve got to be better defensively. I know guys want to get their points and play offense but that’s not how you win games in my opinion. We’re not a team that’s going to win games 6-5, we need to be a team that’s giving up two or three goals a night and that’s the most that we’re giving up. I’m not the only one preaching that, everyone’s preaching that, it’s something we know we need to fix.”

Speaking with Todd McLellan this morning, he acknowledged the positive angle of his leader on the blueline talking about the importance of strengthening defensively. However, his main point on the matter was that it’s one thing for the leaders to say it, but what’s more important is that those listening are taking what’s said and putting it into execution.

“You used the word preach, so when you go to church, the preacher is important, but the people sitting in the pews are the ones that really make the church up and you either believe it or you don’t,” McLellan said. “Drew can continue to do that, I can do that, everybody else in there can have an opinion, but the church-goers have to buy into it. I’ve said this in the past, the DNA of defending and taking pride in that has been a big part of this team’s run to cups, a big part of its rebuild. I don’t think that’s gone away but I think it has to show up a little bit more.”

The Kings spent yesterday reviewing video as a team, looking at both positives and negatives, with the former focusing on forechecking and turning pucks over and the latter touching more on the defensive side of the puck. Against an opponent with several capable weapons offensively, a good challenge awaits the Kings tonight, as they look to sure things up defensively.

Fourth-Line Fury
The last two games have shown us what we remembered from the LA Kings fourth line from last season. When it’s a 4-0 scoreline at the intermission, there’s not a ton to say, so I took at look at the breakdown of chances, by line, through 40 minutes.

If Natural Stat Trick is to be believed, the trio of Brendan Lemieux, Blake Lizotte and Carl Grundstrom read 17 shot attempts for and 3 against from 6:16 in time on ice at even strength. That’s a good-looking ratio, not to mention the zero goals against. Though the third period brought the percentage down slightly, the trio finished the game +8 in scoring chances and +7 in high-danger chances, on top of +15 in shot attempts.

McLellan praised each player individually on Thursday, as one part of the team that was a standout positive on a night that lacked a ton of them. Lizotte brought his usual “intensity” to go alongside Lemieux, who has skated well over his last few games to match his physicality. Carl Grundstrom missed the game in Minnesota but offers a heavy forechecking element to that line, with a willingness to bang bodies and a desire to play along the boards and below the goal line. Despite the puck possession early, the Kings were not overflowing with Grade-A chances, though the turnover and pass from Grundstrom to Lizotte early was perhaps the best of the bunch, one that could have turned the game around as a part of an imposing spell of hockey.

Chatting with Lemieux and Grundstrom this morning, both players preached the simplicity and energy the line played with on Thursday –

Lemieux – I think it’s simplicity to be honest with you. We’re just playing simple, we know where each other is on the ice, we’re not looking to do anything cute. We’re playing the game the way a fourth line is supposed to play it, which is simple and making things hard on the other team.

Grundstrom – I thought we skated well, we helped each other out and we got pucks to the net. [Energy and forechecking] is huge for our game, we’ve got to keep doing that to be successful.

As McLellan finished his post-game media availability on Thursday by saying that if this trio can keep playing the way that they’re more than capable of, with the same level of energy and effectiveness as they did last night, then it’s one thing the staff doesn’t need to spend much time worrying about moving forward.

That level of play last season made it difficult to label them as a fourth line. A good sign if that can be replicated here moving forward.

“I just think we played our game, we were generating opportunities, generating chances and creating momentum,” Lemieux added. “Our line’s been going good, I’m happy with the way we’ve been playing. Haven’t seen as much production early, like we did last year, but I think it’s only a matter of time with the way we’ve been playing.”

PARK & Ride
Lastly, a little more behind the scenes content from yesterday’s practice in Washington.

On-ice ➡️ Off-ice

Today’s practice in DC was just a little bit different than normal 😏 pic.twitter.com/ETyl1fthjm

— LA Kings (@LAKings) October 22, 2022

This morning, the group appeared to be energized, recharged and ready to go tonight against Washington, though as Todd McLellan said, the proof will be in the pudding. LA and Washington, coming at you in five hours time from the nation’s capital!