2/11 Preview – Tonight’s Vitals, Kaliyev/Moore Activated + A Look At The Game & The Ceremony

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (28-18-7) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (26-16-9)
WHAT: DUSTIN BROWN NIGHT
WHEN: Saturday, February 11 @ 6:00 PM Pacific (Ceremony) / 7:30 PM Pacific (Puck Drop)
WHERE: Crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: Bally Sports West – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Kings are back on home ice this evening for the first of four consecutive games in Southern California, beginning tonight versus the Penguins. It’s also Dustin Brown Night, as the organization will raise number 23 to the rafters of Crypto.com Arena prior to the game.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings are 8-2-2 in their last 12 games versus Pittsburgh, including a 5-1-0 mark on home ice, though the Penguins won the first matchup this season. Over the last two years, forward Anze Kopitar has led the Kings with five points (2-3-5) from three games played versus Pittsburgh. Forward Alex Iafallo, who missed the game earlier this season in Pennsylvania, has three points (1-2-3) and a +4 rating over his last two games against the Penguins.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings held full-team practices over the last two days and chose to go with a full-team morning skate today, considering the time they’ve had off.

Fresh off a new, one-year contract extension, goaltender Pheonix Copley was off the ice first this morning for the Kings, making him tonight’s projected starter. Copley has yet to face the Penguins in his NHL career to date, with the Penguins set to become the 26th opponent he’s taken on throughout his career.

Listed below are this morning’s line rushes from Toyota Sports Performance Center –

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

Anderson – Doughty
Durzi – Roy
Edler – Walker
Moverare

Copley
Quick

Forwards Arthur Kaliyev and Trevor Moore both appear set to make their respective returns to the lineup tonight against Pittsburgh. Both players were activated from injured reserve earlier today. For Kaliyev (lower-body), it appears set to be his first game since December 20 versus Anaheim, while Moore (upper-body) has not featured since December 23 against Arizona. Good signs to get both back in the fold.

Forward Brendan Lemieux and recently recalled defenseman Jacob Moverare appear to be the odd men out tonight, based on how this morning’s skate went. Both players, along with forward Gabe Vilardi in a non-contact jersey, were on late for extra work, with Moverare joining the team fresh off a win last night with the AHL’s Ontario Reign in Bakersfield. With the two aforementioned players coming off injuries, however, always something to monitor.

PENGUINS VITALS: While the Kings are playing for the first time in 11 days, Pittsburgh is already playing its third game since the All-Star break and its second game in as many nights. The Penguins have won each of their last two games, including a 6-3 win over Anaheim yesterday evening.

Goaltender Casey DeSmith got the nod during last night’s win over Anaheim, so we’ll assume that goaltender Dustin Tokarski is between the pipes tonight in Los Angeles. Tokarski has faced the Kings three times to date in his NHL career, posting a record of 0-2-2, with a .925 save percentage and a 2.29 goals-against average.

Per Pittsburgh’s team account, here’s how the visitors aligned yesterday in Anaheim –

Lined up and ready to take on the Ducks.

Kris Letang is out tonight due to illness. pic.twitter.com/QHrxCRzFNB

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 11, 2023

Defenseman Kris Letang missed yesterday’s game with an illness, while defenseman Jan Rutta and goaltender Tristan Jarry remain out of action on injured reserve. Former Kings forward Jeff Carter is expected to be in the lineup tonight and will be a part of Dustin Brown’s pre-game festivities.

Notes –
It’s a tale of two stories tonight, Insiders – The Game and The Ceremony.

Both are important, both will be covered below.

On one hand, it’s the first game back from the All-Star break and the Kings are looking to hit the ground running. The Pacific Division’s top four teams are separated by just three points and each of the 29 games remaining serve as an opportunity for the Kings to make inroads in the standings.

On the other hand, tonight is a special night for the LA Kings organization, beyond just the 2022-23 team. It’s Dustin Brown Night, as the franchise icon will be honored with a jersey retirement and a statue prior to tonight’s game. The only American-born captain to raise the cup twice, and the first man to touch the trophy in a Kings jersey, Brown is an important part of the fabric of this organization and will be honored as such.

Touching on both below.

The Game
Four teams separated by three points for three playoff spots in the Pacific Division. Enough said about why tonight is important.

The Kings will face a Pittsburgh team that’s had its share of streaks. They’ve won seven in a row, they’ve lost seven in a row. They’ve won five in a row, they’ve lost six in a row. In a competitive Metropolitan Division, they currently occupy a Wild Card spot and in their own stretch run, they’ll present a tough test tonight for the Kings.

What is perhaps more important than the opponent, however, is the Kings.

They haven’t played a game this month, with tonight marking the return to action following the combined All-Star break and bye week. The Kings have practiced now for two days in a row, but they’ve certainly gotten significantly less action than their opponents have. Preaching a simple game off the bat, the Kings are looking to get back on track early, in a game that will require a high level of play to get a result.

McLellan focused on a few areas to look for to know the Kings are playing as intended in the early stages.

“Well, we’d love to see three or four goals go our way, and none against, but faceoffs, shift length, connectivity and making the simple passes, the passes we should be making,” McLellan said. “I don’t know if you can hear the game from where you guys sit, but even some vocal communication on the ice is usually a good sign too.”

The Kings also appear set to welcome back the duo of Arthur Kaliyev and Trevor Moore to the fold tonight. As noted above, neither player has featured since late-December and with injuries mounting at the forward position going into the break, their return to action is certainly appreciated by the group. Assuming all goes according to plan, expect to see Moore back on his usual line with Phillip Danault and Viktor Arvidsson, while Kaliyev appears set to slot onto the fourth line, with power-play time likely to accompany it.

Both players touched on their respective returns to action below –

Arthur Kaliyev

Trevor Moore

There are certainly unknowns present for the team tonight, as they navigate through their first game back. No bonus points for unknowns, though, it’s time to bring it.

“Bring it,” McLellan said simply. “Everybody has to play their first game coming out of the break, ours is now, so bring it.”

The Ceremony

First and foremost………6 PM!!!! Many Insiders are attending, be in your seats by 6 so that you don’t miss any of the on-ice ceremony.

An honor for Dustin Brown, who will deservedly take his place beside fellow Kings legends in the rafters at Crypto.com Arena, as well as outside the building surrounded by other members of the lore of Los Angeles sports history.

If you’ve read the website over the last 10 days, you’d have read what just about everyone has to say about Dustin Brown. The person, the player, the leader and the legacy, all worthy of the honor.

The Person
The Player
The Leader
The Legacy

There have been a lot of jersey retirements over the years and there are members of this team who have been a part of them. It’s different, though, when it’s a long-time teammate.

“We had a nice get together [on Wednesday] with Brownie and that’s when it really kind of hit me that it’s actually happening,” Anze Kopitar said. “It’ll be emotional for sure. I’ve been a part of Luc’s and Blakey’s, I didn’t play with Luc and I played with Blakey for a little bit, but this one, you can’t forget the 16 years we were together. It’ll definitely be special.”

Kopitar, as well as Drew Doughty and Jonathan Quick all used that word – emotion – when discussing what they’re expecting tonight. I’m sure that for most who are reading and most who will be watching, that sentiment is shared.

For all three, Dustin Brown is a brother as much as he is a franchise icon whose ceremony the players have to attend. It’s different for those three or even say Adrian Kempe or Alex Iafallo, who were teammates with Brown for five years. For others who were not here for quite as long, everyone expected to play tonight – besides Kevin Fiala and Pheonix Copley – was a teammate of Brown. That certainly makes this a different occasion than were it say a star player from the 1970’s and it adds to the emotion of the night.

“That’s a good question, I’m not sure I have the answer to that – I think there’s got to be some emotion involved,” McLellan said, when asked about how the personal relationships play into the night. “The Dustin recognition has been ongoing already, so maybe some of the emotions have been able to come out and they’ve been able to re-live the past and it’s not like he lives in New York and he’s just back for the weekend. He’s been around the rink and around the guys, I think that’s been really good, but there’s always emotion in these types of ceremonies. We’ve got a lot of things to overcome, with the ceremony and the layoff, but no excuses, we should be ready to go.”

Take in the moment. Enjoy it. Embrace it. Nights like this don’t happen very often. Fan Fest at 4, Doors Open at 5, Ceremony at 6, Puck Drop at 7:30 (ish). See many of you there for a special night!