2/13 Preview – Kings Look To Keep Rolling + Work Ethic & Energy, Hiller’s Early Focus, Rittich’s Play,

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (24-15-10) @ Buffalo Sabres (22-25-4)
WHAT: NHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME
WHEN: Tuesday, February 13 @ 4:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: KeyBank Arena – Buffalo, NY
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: Bally Sports West – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The LA Kings begin a four-game roadtrip this evening in Buffalo, as they conclude their season series against the Sabres.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Forward Adrian Kempe led the Kings with two points (1-1-2) from the first matchups of the season against Buffalo, while forwards Pierre-Luc Dubois and Anze Kopitar also scored in that game. Dubois has 16 points (7-9-16) from 14 career games played against Buffalo, his highest points-per-game pace (1.14) against any NHL opponent.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings held an optional morning skate today in Buffalo, following a full-team practice yesterday afternoon.

Goaltender David Rittich was not in net when these two teams met last month but was off first this morning and is expected to get the start versus Buffalo. Rittich has a lifetime record of 4-0-1 versus the Sabres, with a .923 save percentage and a 2.17 goals-against average.

Line rushes from yesterday’s practice shown below –

Byfield – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Fiala
Laferriere – Dubois – Anderson-Dolan
Grundstrom – Turcotte – Lewis

Anderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Roy
Englund – Spence

Rittich
Talbot

Forward Viktor Arvidsson is close to a return to the lineup, but he was among those players on late following today’s morning skate, an indication he wouldn’t be in tonight. As always, though, we wait and see, especially as it pertains to a player coming off a long-term injury. Should the Kings opt for any additional changes, forward Arthur Kaliyev and defenseman Brandt Clarke are also available for tonight’s game.

SABRES VITALS: Tonight will be Buffalo’s third game out of the break, following low-scoring defeats against Dallas and St. Louis.

Goaltender Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen was off first this morning, making him tonight’s projected starter for the Sabres. Luukkonen has yet to face the Kings throughout his NHL career to date. Luukkonen is 12-13-2 on the season, with a .909 save percentage and a 2.60 goals-against average.

Per Joe Yerdon of Bleacher Report, here’s how the Sabres lined up last time out versus the Blues –

Sabres lines today same as the other night:

Skinner-Thompson-Okposo
Benson-Cozens-Peterka
Greenway-Mittestadt-Tuch
Robinson-Krebs-Girgensons

Dahlin-Jokiharju
Power-Clifton
R. Johnson-E. Johnson

Luukkonen
Comrie

— Joe Yerdon (@JoeYerdon) February 10, 2024

Defenseman Owen Power left Buffalo’s practice yesterday and will not play tonight due to injury, with defenseman Jacob Bryson expected to replace him. Forwards JJ Peterka (2-1-3) and Jack Quinn (1-2-3) each had three-point nights, with a +4 rating, when these teams met last month in Los Angeles.

Notes –
Kings Aim To Keep Things Rolling
“The game we played at home is the same game we have to play here. It wasn’t a particularly fancy or creative game, which is difficult to do against the Oilers, but it was straightforward……that should be the same game we see here [in Buffalo].”

Pretty matter of fact from Jim Hiller.

Hiller felt that the Kings did a lot of good things, showing good energy and commitment, right off the opening puck drop. Hiller started PL Dubois’ line and felt that trio gave the Kings some energy early, which the rest of the group fed off of. One thing that Hiller liked specifically about the start of the Edmonton game focused on the energy provided by the team’s wingers. He believes the Kings have a lot of speed on the wings and he wants to see those players use it to hunt down pucks, hunt down opposing defensemen and make life difficult. It was only one game, but mission accomplished on Saturday. It’s an area he looks at early to get a sense of if the team has its legs under them.

“We want energy, we want to see our wingers in particular, we believe we’ve got really fast wingers, we want to see our wingers chasing down pucks, hunting defensemen, or in front of the defensemen when they’ve got to hunt us because we’ve outskated them,” Hiller said this morning. “I know it’s just been one game, but the Edmonton game, there were a number of times where our wingers, where did he come from, he was behind their D or he’s right on them. That, for me, is probably the best indicator of whether we’ve got our legs and if we’re doing things the way we want them right out of the gates.”

For the players, those words – energy and work ethic – are readily used around the locker room right now. We’ve heard them on repeat over the last 4-5 days, since the team returned from All-Star break. It’s in those areas the Kings felt they delivered against Edmonton on Saturday and it’s in those areas they believe they have to keep up the pace to find success tonight.

Jaret Anderson-Dolan – It was just the work ethic from everyone……the first meeting was setting the tone for [work ethic] and that’s everyone up and down the lineup. We did a good job against Edmonton, but we’ve got to keep it going.”

Trevor Moore – He brings really good energy, he’s done that for a long time as an assistant coach and he’s carried that over into being a head coach. He wants us to have that good energy, be infectious throughout the lineup, working hard and doing all the stuff he’s instilled in us. Having non-negotiable things that we’re doing, it’s been great.

There’s those words again.

For Hiller, hearing the players focusing on the same things he’s preaching is a good sign. It’s back to the identity the Kings have had and that he’s looking to help find again.

“Our identity, the LA Kings identity, and [work ethic] is certainly one of them,” he added. “You go all the way back to winning the Stanley Cups, that’s where it started and then it’s rolled right through. We got off it, so we’re saying the right things, but the things that we’re saying have been long-standing principles for the Kings.”

Rittich-Tok
Looks like another start tonight for goaltender David Rittich, who was off first this morning following morning skate.

Coming off a shutout against the Oilers on Saturday, it would be surprising if Rittich didn’t get the nod. When Jim Hiller gave his introductory press conference, he indicated that in situations like this, when rest aligns and a goaltender played well, he would likely stay in net. No reason not to believe that will be the case here tonight.

“If we play well and we win, likely, that’s where we’re going again, because we’re just in a situation where we’ve got to win,” Hiller said last week. “We talk about ice time for the forwards or the D, whoever is going that night, and if we have a particularly good game and we can win hockey games, will probably – with rest being a factor – just keep moving forward with the team that’s winning.”

Stands to reason.

Generally speaking, winning is what Rittich has done since he’s come up from the Ontario Reign, where he started his season on a strong note. Rittich has credited his time in the AHL as the base for his NHL success, noting the work he put in there and the quantity of games he was able to play.

Now, in 12 games with the Kings, Rittich has lost just once in regulation, posting a record of 6-1-3, with a .931 save percentage and a 1.90 goals-against average. Excellent numbers. He’s winning hockey games and he’s got the confidence of the guys in front of him.

“He’s come up after Cops got hurt unfortunately and Ritter came up from the AHL and he’s played really well each game,” forward Quinton Byfield said. “To have a guy like that come up and step up in big moments, it’s hard. You need a goalie to stand on his head [sometimes] and he’s been unbelievable.”

They call him Big Save Dave for a reason and he’s seemingly found those massive saves when needed most.

Looking back to Saturday, the Kings were under siege in the latter half of the second period. To come out of that stretch unscathed was down, in many ways, to the performance of Rittich, who made a key pad save on Oilers forward Corey Perry, followed by a smothering save on forward Evander Kane.

There's a reason they call him Big Save Dave. 🤷‍♂️

David Rittich picks up his first @pepsi shutout as a member of the @LAKings! 👑 pic.twitter.com/ldEgxWztnj

— NHL (@NHL) February 11, 2024

Big saves, in big moments.

“He makes the saves he should and he makes the saves that he shouldn’t as well, a lot of times,” Anderson-Dolan added. “That save against the Rangers, big win, and he had that big one in the Edmonton game as well. It’s good to see a guy come up and have success and we have a lot of confidence playing in front of him.”

For Rittich’s part, he’s not looking to talk about being the team’s starting goaltender, he’s not even looking to look beyond the game ahead of him. Rittich used the old hockey cliche’ – day-by-day – to describe his current mindset. He’s happy to be here, happy to be helping the team to win hockey games and looking forward to his next start, one big save at a time.

Four-game trip begins tonight in Buffalo. Kings not looking any further than that, with a big opportunity tonight to kick the trip off on the right foot, against a team that flipped the script on them in Los Angeles. The Sabres are 16-3-1 in their last 20 games in Buffalo against the Kings. The current iteration of the Sabres can punish mistakes and quickly. Something the Kings are well aware of heading into the game.

“They can burn you,” Hiller said. “If you think back to those goals, they were off the rush. It was us, a lot of times, turning the puck over and they’re as good as anybody. If you turn the puck over, getting up ice, activating a D, making plays off the rush, they’re as good as any team in the league. That would be something we just simply cannot do. We knew that going into that game, we got off it a bit, and once they started coming, it’s hard to [stop]. We’ve got to make sure that we don’t let them get that type of game established.”

4 PM Pacific, 7 PM local here in Buffalo, as the Kings get back at it on the road!