1/7 Preview – Another Division Leader + Second-Line Cycle, The “Conscience”, Edler Video

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (22-14-6) @ Vegas Golden Knights (27-12-2)
WHAT: NHL REGULAR SEASON GAME
WHEN: Saturday, January 7 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas, NV
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: Bally Sports West – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Kings are back in action in Vegas this evening, in a battle of the two highest point totals in the Pacific Division.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Four Kings have collected three points against Vegas so far this season, led by forward Gabriel Vilardi, who has scored in both head-to-head matchups. Forwards Viktor Arvidsson, Phillip Danault and Alex Iafallo each have a goal and two assists versus the Golden Knights this season. Across the NHL, no player has more points against Vegas all-time than Kings center Anze Kopitar, who has 30 (11-19-30).

KINGS VITALS: Following a full-team practice yesterday morning in El Segundo, the Kings reconvened for an optional morning skate today in Las Vegas.

Goaltender Pheonix Copley was off the first this morning, making him tonight’s projected starter against the Golden Knights, his third consecutive nod. Copley has faced Vegas once in his NHL career, as he made 23 saves in a 4-2 victory back on December 27 at Crypto.com Arena. Copley also featured in the preseason here in Las Vegas, picking up the victory back in the fall.

No formal word today on how the Kings will align this evening, with last game’s alignment shown below for reference –

Tonight's @LAKings Line Rushes –

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

Anderson – Doughty
Durzi – Roy
Edler – Walker

Copley
Quick

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) January 6, 2023

Should the Kings opt for a lineup change this evening, which is a possibility, forward Carl Grundstrom and defenseman Jacob Moverare are both options to check back in. Today was Moverare’s first morning skate with the Kings since he was recalled from AHL-Ontario back on Thursday.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS VITALS: Tonight is game two of five for Vegas on their current homestand, which was started with a 5-2 victory over Pittsburgh on Thursday. The Golden Knights have points in four straight games (3-0-1) since losing in Los Angeles coming out of the holiday break.

Have not seen a report on the Vegas side with regards to their starting goaltender for tonight, so for now, we can assume Logan Thompson will get the nod. Throughout his NHL career, Thompson is 2-1-0, with a .925 save percentage and a 2.35 goals-against average versus the Kings.

Per Vegas Communications, here’s how the Golden Knights lined up last time out –

pic.twitter.com/xA8UhfUogI

— VGK Communications (@VGK_PR) January 6, 2023

Vegas is expected to have forward Jonathan Marchessault in tonight’s lineup and could also have defenseman Alex Martinez back as well this evening. Marchessault hasn’t played since December 21, while Martinez has been out since he was injured in the game against the Kings on December 27. Former Kings forward Michael Amadio has nine points (5-4-9) over his last eight games played.

Notes –
Hit For The Cycle
Another example last game of the second line’s ability to cycle the puck in the offensive zone.

Watch how effectively that line moves around in the offensive zone, with Alex Iafallo eventually rounding the net and finding Phillip Danault for the slam dunk goal at the back post. The ability to cycle has remained a constant regardless of which of the two wingers between Iafallo, Viktor Arvidsson and Trevor Moore have flanked Danault.

“The cycle has been huge for us this year and it seems like we’re creating a lot of chances like that [goal against Boston],” Danault said. “It’s definitely one of our strengths.”

Arvidsson was the playmaker in that scenario when these teams last met, shown above, as he was the one who fed Danault for the goal. The cycle is a simple strategy on paper, but requires three players to be on the same page when executing it. That’s the second line to a T.

“The line is connected,” Todd McLellan said. “I’ve been talking about this for a while, they discuss things, they have outlet areas where if they’re in trouble, this is where the puck is going to go and there’s a tenacity to the three of them.”

From connectivity needs to be production and that line has found that.

McLellan also highlighted a particular element of their game that is strong, which is how that line used the back of the net to their advantage. On the goal against the Bruins on Thursday, Iafallo understood where he is on the ice and used the back of the net to create separation from his defenseman. As he rounds the net, he has space and sees Danault finding space of his own, resulting in the connection for the goal.

“If you get too far apart, teams step inside you and I think that they come back to the puck, just like the receiver in football,” McLellan added. “You sit there, wait for it, it’s getting picked off, but if you come back to a ball, a lot of times you’re catching it. They come back to pucks and they use the back of the net very well.”

The Conscience
Conscience is a word that Todd McLellan has used a few times this year to describe certain players and parts of their role on certain lines.

This morning, he used it to talk about center Blake Lizotte and the role that he plays with Kevin Fiala and Gabe Vilardi on the team’s third line right now. Lizotte is skating between two high-level offensive players and at that end of the ice, he fits in with those guys. His tenacity and awareness in the offensive zone are strengths and he complements his teammates well.

At the other end of the ice, however, Lizotte is the guy holding the line accountable in the defensive zone. They want to play in the offensive zone, but need to take care defensively first in order to do so.

“He would be their conscience on the line and he’s got enough cache that he can hold his line responsible for their commitment to defending and I know he does do that,” McLellan said. “There’s value in that, but on the other side, he’s been making some plays that are really good plays, smart plays offensively and we hope that continues.”

For Lizotte’s part, he knows he belongs offensively, but also puts a lot of value on the defensive side of the game. Perhaps more importantly, he takes pride in doing so.

Rarely will you see a player like Lizotte cheat, which plays well with a player like Fiala, who has a bit more gamble in his game. He’s got the results to support the process though and the Kings understand that to maximize his effectiveness, they have to let Kevin be Kevin. Lizotte is a good complement there, because of his responsible nature.

“I think naturally as a centerman you just are more defensive, it’s a bigger role to play in the d-zone,” Lizotte said. “Especially with Kevin and Gabe, they’re so offensive and not to take away from their defensive abilities, but they’re here to score goals, make plays and play offense. So for me on that line, it is more about creating energy for them, forcing turnovers and getting them the puck and also staying defensive minded.”

Looking specifically at Fiala’s on-ice metrics – and keep in mind the sample size is quite small – but in just under 40 minutes with Lizotte and Vilardi, his high-danger chances per/60 are up by more than 24 percent, while his high-danger chances against are down by more than 26 percent. It would make no sense to bottle up a player like Fiala into a defensive role, considering his gamebreaking abilities, but that’s not what this line is. In a short time together, chances are up in the right way and down in the right way. Now, in Lizotte’s eyes, it’s about burying a couple more of them.

“Kevin’s a great player so if we can give him the puck whenever we can, I think that’s a key for success for Gabe and I,” he added. “He’s a playmaker, so give it to him and get open. I think so far we’ve been able to create a lot of chances, which has been good, but just need to bury on some of them.”

Lastly, Insiders, embedding video of Alex Edler’s 1,000th Game Ceremony below for those who were not able to watch it live. Know that the game was a national broadcast and that the college basketball game preceding went long. So, in full, the ceremony is shown below.

Kings at Golden Knights, tonight at 7 PM Pacific in a big showdown!