10/3 Preview – Expected Lineup + Players Talk PK, First Things First, Blue Shield Helmets

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (4-1-1) vs. Anaheim Ducks (4-1-0)
WHAT: NHL PRESEASON GAME
WHEN: Tuesday, October 3 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: Bally Sports So-Cal (Anaheim Broadcast) – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: We’ve officially reached the final week of the preseason, with the first of three games on the docket to conclude the exhibition season. The Kings host Anaheim in their first home preseason game of 2023 at Crypto.com Arena.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings and Ducks met three times last season, with LA winning all three meetings, including the lone game played at Crypto.com Arena. Forward Adrian Kempe led all skaters in the season series against the Ducks with seven points (4-3-7) from three games played. Defenseman Drew Doughty led all players with four assists, while several players were a point-per-game or better against Anaheim.

KINGS VITALS: Below is tonight’s expected game group against Anaheim –

Byfield – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Fiala – Dubois – Kaliyev
Grundstrom – Lizotte – Lewis

Anderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Roy
Englund – Spence

Talbot
Copley

Tonight’s game group marks the return of several players into the lineup, who have not played in a game since the Global Series in Melbourne. With the Kings cutting the roster down to 26 healthy players, veterans will get back into game action here tonight against the Ducks. This isn’t necessarily the roster for opening night and there are still five skaters and one goaltender on the roster who are not playing tonight, but this is decently close, minus a few roster battles that will sort themselves out in the final week of training camp.

A good test for the group tonight to play together, against another NHL squad, in preparation for October 11.

Notes –
Players Talk PK
Time to take the test.

The Kings have put extensive work into improving their penalty kill over the last few days of practice. The Kings have worked PK practice into each of the last four days on the ice together. The penalty kill has been an important project for Todd McLellan and his coaching staff this summer. There are certainly tweaks, there are certainly changes and the group has bought into what’s been put in front of them.

As intense as a practice might be, though, there’s no replacing a game scenario and tonight will be the first opportunity for this group to implement the new concepts into a game setting.

“It’s something new, it’s just a learning curve, that’s what preseason is for,” forward Blake Lizotte said. “For the most part, we have a grasp of what we want to, but you can only work on it so much in practice, through trial and error in the real game. The next three games of preseason we’ll try and get it dialed in, but I think for the most part, we feel pretty good about where it’s at right now.”

Players have been learning and embracing the new approach to the penalty kill here over the last few days.

It’s started with work off the ice and it’s now transitioning into on-ice practice. The players first worked on the new look of the penalty kill in a very controlled situation, learning about positioning, reads and approach. They had the opportunity to see it, feel it and ask questions. The Kings have slowly picked up the pace and the intensity, working on defending against zone entries and working at defending against a power play at full speed.

“We changed the dynamic of our PK, the system as well, so it’s completely different, we’ve changed pretty much everything,” forward Phillip Danault said. “More aggressive and when is the time to do it. It’s not more complex, but it’s a good change I think.”

Still though, it’s just been against teammates to this point. Until you’ve done it in a game, it’s all just practice. The Kings aren’t expecting perfection from Day 1. Quite the opposite, actually.

This is the preseason and it’s the time to make mistakes and to ask questions, as Lizotte said. When you learn a new system, it becomes a process to work your way out of thinking through it on the ice and just executing it. Every player asked thus far is still a bit in that thinking phase still, but that is slowly working its way out of their games.

“It’s still fresh, still trying to kind of think where you should be or what you need to do, still have some mistakes happen which is going to be for a while,” defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “We can understand what’s going on and why mistakes are made and what we can do to change it, but today felt a lot better than it did the last couple of days, which is good.”

As far as exactly what the Kings are changing up, it’s not exactly something they’re going to offer up in full. But we can understand bits and pieces of what they are doing. There are structural changes, in terms of base formation. Moore believes it’s simplifying things up a bit, certain reads, understanding that there will be odd-man situations on the power play. Lizotte said similar things, knowing that when you’re a man short, you’ll give up certain things, but it’s about identifying what is most dangerous and trying to shut that down, with Danault echoing those thoughts as well. That builds off of something McLellan touched on earlier in camp, as the coaching staff has analyzed different situations and playing the percentages in certain areas.

All of that to say, it’s a work in progress. There’s no perfect way to approach a penalty kill, otherwise it wouldn’t really be an advantage for the team with the extra player. Power plays will get chances, but you can do your best to give those looks when and where you want them. The Kings have clearly prioritized improvement, however, and they’re moving towards the end goal of getting it to where they want it to be.

“We’re getting there,” forward Trevor Moore added. “Definitely not super comfortable yet, it’s changing something we’ve been doing for a couple years now. We’re getting it. Every morning, you come in here, you watch a little video and get a little better at it.”

Firsts chance to see how much has landed tonight against Anaheim.

First Things First
Tonight is a game of firsts for the newest members of the LA Kings.

Typically, by October, players would have been to their home arena as a player for the first time. This season’s Kings schedule has prevented that. For Pierre-Luc Dubois, for Andreas Englund and for Cam Talbot, they’ve played in this building before, but it’s been off the bus and into the barn. It’s a little bit different when it’s your home rink.

“Usually, you get dropped off on the bus, you walk in and away you go,” Todd McLellan said this morning. “Those are little things that can make a difference with how a player feels, night after night.”

McLellan told a story about new goaltending coach Mike Buckley, who is in the same type of boat as the players. With the flight to San Jose the other day, it was his first time flying with the team and he needed a ride to the airport, because he hadn’t been there before. It’s small things that will sort themselves out in short order, but for tonight, it’s still something new for both the players and coaches who haven’t done it here before.

Important to establish that during the preseason.

“It’s important for them,” McLellan said. “They’ve been around us long enough, they’re comfortable here, they know everybody by name, but there’s still a few things to figure out……for [those three players], they’ll get to experience that. Where’s the locker room, what’s it look like, where’s my stall, what’s the routine, but more importantly, it’s a chance for them to play with a lot of their teammates and get going.”

Even starting earlier today, the Kings held a full-team morning skate on a day when they might normally make it an optional.

That gave those players the opportunity to go through the flow of how the Kings do a morning skate, which does have some variance from team-to-team. For the veterans here, who have been with the team since McLellan was hired, they’ve done the same thing each and every morning. For say Englund, it’s his first one, since the games in Melbourne were 2 PM puck drops. McLellan believed it to be important to give those guys their first taste today, so they know what to expect when the real time comes.

“For [those players], we pretty much have a routine established for pre-game skate in the morning,” McLellan said. “We can get through it quickly, it’s repetitive, players should feel good with timing and execution, the flow of it, but the three of them haven’t experienced it yet. Today was the first time and if we do skate during the season, that’s what it will be like.”

A day of firsts for those guys, that will become seconds by this time tomorrow.

Blue Shield Partnership
Lastly, another front-office update here – The Kings have announced an expanded relationship with Blue Shield of California, which sees Blue Shield as now the official home helmet partner of the LA Kings, as well as the official home and away helmet partner of the Ontario Reign beginning with the upcoming 2023-2024 NHL and AHL seasons.

“The LA Kings are extremely proud of the relationship we have cultivated with Blue Shield and the positive impact we continue to have on our fans and the greater LA community as a result,” LA Kings President and Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille said. “Together, we’ve transformed lives and built a stronger, healthier community. We can’t wait for our players to don the Blue Shield of California logo on their helmets this coming season. The moment will again serve as a reminder of our shared dedication to a brighter and healthier future for all.”

The new helmets will debut in tonight’s game against the Anaheim Ducks, as well as Saturday’s preseason game against Vegas and the regular-season opener versus Colorado on October 11.

Kings and Ducks – First one of the season in DTLA…….see you there, Insiders!