12/22 Preview – “Test of Character” Before The Break + Edmundson’s Play, PP Struggles, Danault out

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (19-9-5) @ Washington Capitals (22-8-2)
WHAT: 2024-25 Regular-Season Game
WHEN: Sunday, December 22 @ 2:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Capital One Arena – Washington, DC
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: Fan Duel Sports Network – AUDIO – ESPN LA App – TWITTER: @dooleylak & @lakings

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Kings will play their final game before the league’s holiday break this evening, as they visit the Washington Capitals for the first time this season.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Washington swept the 2023-24 season series with two victories, including 4-3 victory on home ice in January. Kings forward Kevin Fiala led the way with two goals against Washington, with both coming in this building.

Overall, the Kings have lost four of their last five games played in Washington, and seven of their last nine.

KINGS VITALS: With the back-to-back, the Kings did not hold a morning skate today in Washington.

Per Jim Hiller earlier today, David Rittich will get the nod tonight for the visitors. Rittich has faced Washington just once throughout his NHL career, in December 2022 with Winnipeg. Rittich gave up three goals on 26 shots in a 4-1 Capitals victory.

The Kings have gone with 11 forwards and seven defensemen in the first six games of their trip. Last game’s alignment is shown below for reference –

Tonight's @LAKings Line Rushes –

Turcotte – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Byfield – Jeannot
Fiala – Danault – Laferriere
Thomas – Helenius

Anderson – Gavrikov
Edmundson – Clarke
Moverare – Spence
Burroughs

Kuemper
Rittich

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) December 20, 2024

UPDATE –

Per Jim Hiller pre game, forward Phillip Danault will not play today. Expecting 11/7 with Andre Lee in.

David Rittich in net to conclude the trip.

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) December 22, 2024

Forward Phillip Danault will not play today, with forward Andre Lee checking in. 11/7 look as a result, with no other changes expected, minus the goaltending swap.

Expecting to hear from Hiller at the arena around an hour before puck drop, will update this with any further information.

CAPITALS VITALS: Washington has won nine of its last 12 games, posting a record of 9-2-1 in that stretch. The Capitals currently lead the NHL with a .719 winning percentage entering the day, marking the third time this season they’ve played the team in the NHL with the top points percentage.

Per the Washington team account, here’s how the Capitals lined up last time out versus Carolina –

Lineys! #CapsCanes | @JackDaniels_US pic.twitter.com/qDiFJ6inmR

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 20, 2024

The Kings will take on defenseman Matt Roy and forward Pierre-Luc Dubois tonight, after Dubois was traded to the Capitals for goatltender Darcy Kuemper in June and Roy signed in Washington as a free agent in July. For Roy, a Kings draft selection, it will be the first time he’s played against his former club in his NHL career.

Storyline Of The Day – One More To Go
Todd McLellan used to say that these games before the break can go one of two ways.

Either you have a team that bands together and rallies around the final game before a break, or you have a team that’s maybe looking ahead to a few days off. Both are understandable, factoring in human nature, but every point is important for the Kings. This game, under every circumstance, includes that split. As the last game of a seven-game trip, of a 4-in-6, of a 3-in-4 and of a back-to-back? Jim Hiller defined tonight’s game simply as a test of character.

“I think it’s really going to test our character,” Hiller said. “We have played hard, been out here for 14 days and I’m really looking forward to [today], because I believe in our team, I believe in what they’ve done, I think they’re going to accept the challenge. It’s going to be a really hard challenge, Washington’s record, all of the travel, it’s just going to be a great test of character and I think we’re going to be really good.”

The Kings enter today’s game with a record of 3-1-2 on the trip to date, good for eight points in the standings. In itself, that’s not a bad haul. Today’s game, though, presents the opportunity to provide the icing on the cake for the trip. Well, perhaps it’s a bit more than that. What it really does is present the opportunity to keep pace in a very competitive Pacific Division.

Because, while the Kings have played very well, so have the teams around them.

Entering yesterday’s game, there was a rare moment when the top four teams in the division were level on games played. Vegas led the way with 45, followed by the Kings at 42. Then Edmonton at 40 and Vancouver at 38. The Kings were 8-1-1 in their last ten entering that game but Edmonton was 8-2-0 and Vegas at 7-2-1. There have been no gaps created in that division, no breathing room, because everyone is winning.

Oh, and by the way, Calgary is just one point behind Vancouver with 37 and one more game played. Five-team race right now, all competing for playoff positioning.

“You can see in our division, it’s pretty tight in there, I think the [teams] are all competing there and points are crucial,” forward Warren Foegele said. “I think everyone wants to end on a good note before the break.”

Now, they’ve got one more chance to add to their total. It comes, as noted above, at the very back end of a long, long trip. A great test for the Kings against a Washington team that leads the Eastern Conference in points entering the day.

Time to get to it.

“We’re facing one of the best teams in the league, so it’ll be a good challenge for us,” defenseman Joel Edmundson added. “We’re obviously excited for the break, but we’ve got some work to do first.”

3 To Watch For –
– Jim Hiller was highly complementary of Joel Edmundson’s game yesterday in Nashville.

After he was on the ice for two goals against Philadelphia on Thursday, Edmundson bounced back with another goose egg, as he’s done for the majority of the trip. Hiller complemented Edmundson’s level of physicality and his engagement in the game, but it was also his shooting mentality that led to the game-tying goal. The Kings power play has certainly struggled, but playing 6-on-5 on a delayed penalty, Edmundson unloaded from the center point and his rebound led to Alex Laferriere’s game-tying goal. Maybe the Kings should get that shot on the man advantage as well.

All in all, seven shot attempts for Edmundson, his third highest output this season. In total, he’s been on the ice for 14 goals for, compared to just three against, over the team’s last 10 games. Helping to provide at one end, doing his job at the other end. What’s not to like.

– Although the Kings did score 6-on-5 to tie the game, as mentioned in the note above, it was another disappointing game for the power play in Nashville,

I don’t know what to make of home/road splits, but the Kings are a Top-10 team at home, clicking at nearly 25 percent, but rank 32nd in the league on the road, below 10 percent. With nearly double the amount of games this season coming away from home, the total output has been just 13 goals, tied for the third fewest in the NHL.

There were times earlier in this trip when the puck movement on the power play was really clicking. For me, going into the game Thursday, it felt like a matter of time before the floodgates opened. The last two games, though, not only have the goals not come, but neither has the momentum. The last power-play goal on the road was on November 5 in Minnesota, with nothing to show so far on this trip.

The Kings have changed personnel multiple times, including yesterday, as Alex Laferriere re-joined the top unit. They’ve changed certain things about their approach and strategy. With just the one game before the break, only so much that can be done, but coming out of the break, wouldn’t be surprised to see some additional changes. If the power play can get up even around league average, on top of Top-5 numbers 5-on-5, there’s even another level for this team to hit. Certainly an area for growth.

– Lastly, Insiders, first time against the Kings since the summer for Matt Roy and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Not that I’ll need to say for you guys :).

Dubois has five goals and 23 points from 32 games played this season, largely skating on the second forward line. Roy has one goal and eight points in 22 games, missing 10 due to injury earlier in the season, playing on the second defensive pair behind John Carlson. Offensively, a slight uptick on career totals for both players and obviously a more sizable uptick for Dubois from his production with the Kings last season, going from .49 to .72 in terms of points per game.

It certainly did not work for Dubois with the Kings, but seems to be a bit of a better fit with the Capitals. An interesting reunion, of sorts, to watch for tonight as both players take on their teammates from last season.

Kings and Capitals, one more go before the break! See how the team rallies around this one before five days off!