12/29 Preview – Copley Off First + Denver Demons, Defensive Commitment, Matchup Mismatches

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (20-12-6) @ Colorado Avalanche (19-12-2)
WHAT: NHL REGULAR SEASON GAME
WHEN: Thursday, December 29 @ 6:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Ball Arena – Denver, CO
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: Bally Sports West – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Kings are back on the road for a short trip to Colorado, as they face the defending Stanley Cup champions for the first time this season.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Forward Alex Iafallo led the Kings a season ago with two points (1-1-2) from three head-to-head matchups against the Avalanche. Forwards Phillip Danault, Adrian Kempe and Anze Kopitar also scored versus Colorado in 2021-22. Colorado has won the last nine head-to-head matchups against the Kings, dating back to the start of the 2020-21 season.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings held an optional morning skate in snowy Colorado today, following a full-team practice yesterday back in California.

Goaltender Pheonix Copley was off first again this morning for the Kings, making him tonight’s projected starter against the Avalanche. Copley has faced Colorado twice in his NHL career and brings with him a record of 2-0-0, with a .921 save percentage and a 2.41 goals-against average.

Based on yesterday’s practice and today’s morning skate, here’s a projection of how the Kings could align this evening in Colorado –

Fiala – Kopitar – Kempe
Iafallo – Danault – Arvidsson
Anderson-Dolan – Lizotte – Vilardi
Grundstrom – Byfield – Kupari
Lemieux

Anderson – Doughty
Durzi – Roy
Edler – Walker
Spence

Copley
Quick

Forwards Trevor Moore and Arthur Kaliyev are not in Colorado and remain sidelined, at least for tonight. Forward Brendan Lemieux and defenseman Jordan Spence were on late for extra work this morning, a usual indication they could be out tonight, though as always we wait and see how it shakes out. Assuming that holds true, forward Carl Grundstrom could check back in tonight up front.

AVALANCHE VITALS: Colorado is back home following two games on the road, as they begin a three-game homestand tonight. The Avalanche are 6-3-1 in their last 10 and 5-2-1 over their last eight at home.

Goaltender Alexandar Georgiev is tonight’s projected starter for the Avalanche, in what would be his seventh consecutive nod between the pipes. Georgiev has faced the Kings just once in his NHL career to date and brings with him a 0-1-0 record, a .947 save percentage and a 2.06 goals-against average.

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

Game #️⃣3️⃣3️⃣#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/PzGZKsP8rY

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) December 28, 2022

Colorado is currently missing several regulars, including forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog from their top line. Forward Darren Helm is also on injured reserve, along with defensemen Bowen Byram and Josh Manson, while forwards Martin Kaut and Valeri Nichushkin are currently considered day-to-day.

Notes –
Demons In Denver
After the win over Vegas on Tuesday, Todd McLellan wondered if the way the team came out of the holiday break last season against the Golden Knights was somewhere in the back of the minds of the players who played in that game.

Could the same be true here tonight against Colorado? Ball Arena is a building in which the Kings have struggled as of late, with their last win here coming on New Year’s Eve in 2018…..heck, it was named the Pepsi Center the last time the Kings won there. The Kings were victorious once in Colorado since then, though it was in the Stadium Series played at the Air Force Academy. Whether past struggles are back of mind or not, McLellan is certainly aware of the history here in Colorado.

“We haven’t played exceptionally well in this building for a long time,” he said this morning. “Yes, their team has been built a little bit different and ours, under circumstances, was not what we wanted it to be. With that being said, we’re due for at least a good effort and a good commitment from one player to the other here in this building.”

The overall consensus in the room this morning is that, overall, this isn’t a game of “we need redemption from 9-3 in April.” The Kings are a different team, Colorado is a different team and last season’s results don’t impact this season’s standings.

“It’s two new teams now, I think we’re a completely different team and I think we have a lot of new guys, a different amount of confidence and different familiarity with each other and I think it’s the same for them,” defenseman Sean Durzi said this morning. “It’s a new season and you can’t dwell on those, can’t think about those. Obviously it would be nice to win every single night, so we’re thinking about that.”

That being said though, it’s still the defending Stanley Cup Champions in their building.

Even if the focus isn’t necessarily on the last game – or games – between these teams, it’s still a big one for the Kings. Full focus on getting two points this evening against a challenging opponent as always.

“You want to win the game here and keep our confidence going against a really good team,” forward Phillip Danault added. “We know what they’re capable of and we know what to expect as well. Big game for us tonight.”

Doing It Defensively
If there’s been one thing everyone in the locker room can agree on, it’s been the renewed commitment to defensive hockey as of late. I could tell you about it, but might as well give it to you directly from the horses mouthes –

Gabe Vilardi – Checking has been better, it’s what Todd is saying, there’s a big emphasis on that. I think you just look at the scores of our games, I think we’re giving up less goals and our PK has been much better.

Jaret Anderson-Dolan – That’s the way we need to play to get results, that’s something we talked about from the beginning of the year. We weren’t doing that as much at the beginning of the year but lately there’s more of a buy-in it seems like. It’s paying off and we’re getting big points against good teams.

Matt Roy – I think we were sick of giving up goals and everyone’s just paying a little bit more attention to detail on that. We’re just trusting everyone to do their jobs and it’s working out.

Phillip Danault – I think it explains our success. Everyone’s playing well. Goalies, defensemen, forwards, we’re all dialed in defensively and that has honestly brought up our offensive chances by not cheating.

Sean Durzi – You see guys sacrificing, you see you guys in the right spots, talking a lot and communicating and you see guys taking pride in it. I think it’s awesome when you see us not giving up many goals tonight and taking pride in that. I think that’s important.

Nice when you ask five guys the same question and the first words out of their mouths, respectively, were “definitely, for sure, definitely, absolutely and absolutely.”

A man of analogies, Todd McLellan gave us one this morning that I felt jived well with Roy’s quote about just being sick of giving up goals. Sure, it took longer than the Kings would have liked, but over the six-game point streak, that commitment has been there more consistently.

“Sometimes you need to keep getting speeding tickets, eventually after the tenth one you’ll probably slow down a little bit, it’ll finally hit home, but there are a lot of fines in that. The smart ones will slow down earlier, maybe our team needs to get a lot of tickets.”

As long as you slow down before your license is suspended? Timing being what it is, the Kings will need that process again tonight against Colorado.

Making Mismatches
There’s been perhaps no group in flux this season more than the third line.

Whether it be due to injuries, illness, unavailability, performance or a combination of all of the above, the personnel on that unit seems to change frequently, sometimes on a nightly basis. But regardless of it, the third line is a mismatch opportunity for the Kings in many ways. An effective line can either free up another line for a favorable matchup or take one themselves. An ineffective line can see it go the other way.

As of late, it’s been going the right direction for the Kings.

“It’s been a line that’s been in flux all year, for different reasons, which often affects the fourth line as well,” Todd McLellan said this morning “It seems lately that whatever we put together there they seem to get the job done at both ends of the rink and they’ve been a pretty trusted group. Regardless of who plays there, it’s a really important spot.”

Against Vegas on Tuesday, forward Gabe Vilardi scored the game’s first goal. Against Calgary before the break, that line had a hand in three goals, while they also struck for one in the win over Anaheim before that. It’s rarely been the same grouping – In fact the last seven games have seen five different combinations there. Right now, it’s been Blake Lizotte between Vilardi and Jaret Anderson-Dolan, with all three impacting Vilardi’s game-opening goal versus the Golden Knights.

“I think so, yeah, definitely,” Vilardi said of the mismatch potential. “In general, a third line, you don’t get as many minutes but you have to take advantage of the minutes you do get. “You’re not always playing against the best players on the other team. It’s the NHL, everyone is a good player out here, but you’ve got take advantage of the minutes that you get.”

The newest adjustment for that line has been Anderson-Dolan moving up onto the left wing, with Viktor Arvidsson moving back into the top six due to Trevor Moore’s injury. Vilardi said this morning that Anderson-Dolan is a guy who “can make a lot of plays that go under the radar” and he praised JAD’s hockey sense and consistency as a linemate.

Vilardi has talked about playing with workers before and now he’s got two of the team’s hardest workers in Anderson-Dolan and Lizotte on his line. For Anderson-Dolan’s part, he’s certainly embracing the enhanced opportunity, but also trying to keep things as level as possible.

“A little bit, but I just keep it even-keeled wherever you are,” he added. “You want to be in the lineup and help the team win, wherever you’re slotted, you just try to play your best. I think it’s a good combination. All three of us work hard and hopefully we can keep a good thing going here.”

A quick one on the road, Insiders, before it’s back home for one final game in 2022. Kings and Avalanche, tonight at 6 PM Pacific!