4/9 Preview – Clinch On The Line + Optional Morning Skate, Scoring Race, California Living

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (41-25-11) @ Anaheim Ducks (25-48-5)
WHAT: NHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME
WHEN: Tuesday, April 9 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Honda Center – Anaheim, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: Bally Sports West – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Kings and Ducks will meet twice in five days, beginning tonight at Honda Center in Anaheim, after facing off just twice this season to date.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Forwards Kevin Fiala (3-1-4) and Adrian Kempe (0-4-4), along with defenseman Drew Doughty (1-3-4) lead the Kings with four points versus the Ducks so far this season. Over the last four seasons, Kempe has 14 goals and 26 points against the Ducks, leading the NHL in goals in that span while ranking second in points, trailing only Connor McDavid’s 27.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings had a full-team practice yesterday afternoon in El Segundo, which led to an optional skate this morning in their home facility, before bussing to Anaheim later on in the day.

Look for goaltender Cam Talbot to get the nod between the pipes here this evening. Talbot has faced the Ducks 26 times throughout his professional career, including both games here this season, posting an all-time record of 17-7-2, with a .936 save percentage and a 1.94 goals-against average.

With the optional skate, the Kings did not take line rushes today. Here’s how the team lined up during yesterday’s practice, with no changes expected for tonight –

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

Anderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Roy
Englund – Spence
Moverare

Rittich / Talbot

Regarding forward Alex Turcotte, yesterday was his first practice back with the group. Turcotte was placed on LTIR last week and will be there until, at least, April 12. He was in a red, non-contact jersey and that, combined with the LTIR timeline, puts him out of contention tonight and on Thursday versus Calgary.

Forward Carl Grundstrom continues to work his way back, but also does not appear likely to play this evening.

“He’s getting there,” Head Coach Jim Hiller said. “I couldn’t tell you if it’s miles or inches, but I can tell you that he’s getting there.”

Regarding the rest of tonight’s lineup, that leaves forward Arthur Kaliyev and defenseman Jacob Moverare as options to check in, should the Kings push for any additional changes from the group that defeated Vancouver on Saturday.

DUCKS VITALS: Anaheim has just four games left this season, two of which will come against the Kings, and they enter the day with just two wins from their last 16 games played.

Goaltender Lukas Dostal has made four consecutive starts for the Ducks and could get the nod again here this evening at Honda Center. Dostal has faced the Kings just once throughout his NHL career, as he made 37 saves on 41 shots in a 4-1 loss back in December of 2022 at Crypto.com Arena.

Per the Anaheim team account, here’s how the Ducks lined up versus St. Louis on Sunday –

Get ready to fly!
Vaaks slots back in and Gibby remains out with an upper-body injury. #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/RDVFU3vSVv

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) April 7, 2024

Goaltender John Gibson is currently out with an upper-body injury. Over the last 10 years, only Martin Jones has faced the Kings more regularly than Gibson. Forward Mason McTavish has also been out with a lower-body injury. Forward Alex Killorn has led the Ducks with nine goals since the start of March, third most in the Pacific Division behind only Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl.

Notes –
Clinching Scenario
First things first, the LA Kings will clinch a spot in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a win tonight over Anaheim.

Cut and dry, no other help needed. A point of any kind and the Kings would move clear of Minnesota, while two points would put the Kings at 95, which is the maximum total St. Louis can reach this season. The Kings hold the tiebreaker over the Blues, so a win of any kind – regulation, overtime or shootout – would formally punch the ticket for postseason. St. Louis does not play tonight, but results for the Blues only factor in if the Kings do not win tonight.

While the clinch is important, it’ll ultimately come, barring an absolutely dreadful and unforeseen set of circumstances.

When it comes to clinching, though, it’s always nicer to do it on your own win, as opposed to an anti-climactic clinch when another team loses on an off day. After results went the other way on Sunday, it set the stage for the Kings to be able to take care of their own business tonight. Against the Ducks in the Freeway Faceoff, it’ll be up to the visitors to get the job done.

In doing so, though, the focus isn’t on the clinch, per say. It’s about playing the right way and trying to win, independent of opponent and situation.

“I think you want to win every game,” forward Trevor Moore said. “Obviously, clinching is great and that’s the goal but we want to keep moving on the right path and keep playing good hockey, smart hockey and make sure we getting ready for playoffs.”

Tonight’s game marks the start of five consecutive games to close out the season against teams that are outside the playoff picture. Only Minnesota is mathematically alive and that is just barely.

For the Kings, that’s not really a big concern. They have five games and they want to win them all, end of story.

“We have to look forward,” forward Kevin Fiala added. “We have five more games and we’ve got to try and win them all.”

For Head Coach Jim Hiller, his message is simple.

The Kings aren’t really focused on who they’re playing each night. Hiller referenced a result from over the weekend, when Chicago defeated Dallas, as a prime example. In the NHL, any team can beat any team on any given night. With the playoffs on the horizon, the Kings are focus on playing the game they want to play come the postseason and trying to hit their stride when they get to that point.

“I think it’s just playing well, doing the things that we need to do to be successful in the playoffs and that doesn’t change with your opponent,” Hiller said. “The league, as you see, is so close. Anybody can beat anybody, they really can, so you’ve got to play a good brand of hockey and then, when you get fortunate enough to get in the playoffs, you got to be able to peak.”

He added that this particular group doesn’t need much of a reminder in that department. The process starts tonight against Anaheim, as the Kings look to continue to build on their three-game winning streak, clinching a playoff spot in the process. All you can do right now, and see how things play out.

Quick Hitters
– The race for the Kings’ leading scorer will come down to the final five games. It’s a three-horse race, with Adrian Kempe currently leading the way, heading into a building he’s quite familiar with producing in. Kempe currently leads the Kings with 71 points, one ahead of Kevin Fiala and three clear of Anze Kopitar.

The last month or so has been quite the race between those three players. What’s great is that having all three of them firing at once means the Kings have at least two lines producing, with Fiala typically separate from Kopitar and Kempe. Since the start of March –

Kempe – 8G, 12A, 20P
Fiala – 9G, 9A, 18P
Kopitar – 8G, 10A, 18P

Just three players in the NHL have more goals in April than Kempe’s four, who has also risen to 27 goals on the season. And we all know Kempe likes to eat in Anaheim. Fiala has six multi-point games in March and April, while Kopitar was the team’s leading scorer in March, both in goals and points. A healthy competition, with a heated race only helping everyone and the team.

– The Kings will not leave Southern California the rest of the season.

January through March was as grueling a stretch as the Kings had this season, one of the more taxing and draining two-month runs I can recall over a longer stretch in my time in the NHL. They “paid for it then” but will get some reprieve heading into the postseason. Compare that to say Edmonton, which finishes with six games in nine days, culminating with a back-to-back on the road against Arizona and Colorado, and the schedule for the Kings looks pretty good. Less taxing for other teams around the Kings, but Vegas, Vancouver and Nashville all have travel still to come.

The Kings play tonight in Anaheim and four times at home, heading into Game 1.

“I hope so, I think it is [an advantage], but I would say we paid for that advantage during the times that we were on the road and played all those games,” Hiller said. “So I believe it is and then we have to make sure we use it as such. I just think we’ve had quite a run from when we first came from the All-Star break started until probably yesterday or two days ago. Now, we get a little bit more on the back end and get freshened up a little bit. We just have to make sure we’re using it wisely.”

It’s like games in hand. They’re great, as long as you take advantage. Kings will maximize rest and practice time over the next 10 days to conclude the season, setting themselves up for the postseason as they want to.

For tonight, the Kings visit Anaheim with a formal playoff clinch on the line. 7 PM puck drop in Orange County, Freeway Faceoff Pt. 3.