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2/1 Preview – No Morning Skate in CAR + Dry January, Finding Goals, Anderson/Clarke Notes

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WHO: Los Angeles Kings (26-17-6) @ Carolina Hurricanes (32-16-4)
WHAT: 2024-25 Regular-Season Game
WHEN: Saturday, February 1 @ 4:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Lenovo Center – Raleigh, NC
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: KCAL – AUDIO – ESPN LA App – TWITTER: @dooleylak & @lakings

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Kings conclude a five-game roadtrip this evening in Carolina, in search of their first victory of the trip to date.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings and Hurricanes have not yet played this season. The Kings posted a 1-0-1 record versus Carolina in the 2023-24 season, including a 5-2 victory here in Raleigh

Last season’s win in North Carolina snapped an eight-game losing streak. The Kings enter tonight’s game on a four-game skid, losing eight of their last ten. Forward Trevor Moore scored twice in that win and three goals overall against Carolina last season to lead the team offensively.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings opted for an off-ice workout this morning in Raleigh and did not hold a morning skate.

Though unknown without the skate, I would expect goaltender Darcy Kuemper to get the start tonight between the pipes in Carolina in the trip finale. Kuemper has 11 career appearances against the Hurricanes, posting a 2-6-1 record with a .897 save percentage and a 3.48 goals-against average. Should the Kings turn to David Rittich, who was excellent in Tampa Bay, he is 4-3-0 in his career versus Carolina with a .911 save percentage and a 2.73 goals-against average.

No skate today, so no line rushes. For reference, here’s the group the Kings rolled with last time out in Tampa Bay –

Defenseman Mikey Anderson left Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury. He blocked a shot in Tampa Bay, left the game during the first period and ultimately did not return. Not optimistic about Anderson playing today, but will find out in a few hours.

If Anderson can’t go, it leaves the Kings with 12 forwards and eight defensemen available for tonight’s game in Carolina. Anderson’s absence would shuffle the pairings around a bit. All eyes will be on defenseman Brandt Clarke, who has missed the last two games as a healthy scratch.

UPDATE – Mikey Anderson is out tonight, day-to-day, upper-body injury. Brandt Clarke is back in. 12/6 alignment expected.

Expecting to hear from Jim Hiller at the arena before tonight’s game. Will ask about lineup updates on Anderson, Clarke and others.

HURRICANES VITALS: Carolina enters tonight’s game with points in seven consecutive games, posting a record of 6-0-1 in that stretch.

Per Walt Ruff of CarolinaHurricanes.com, here’s how the hosts lined up last time out against Chicago –

The Hurricanes dressed only 17 skaters in their 3-2 win over the Blackhawks on Thursday, with forwards Sebastian Aho and the newly acquired Taylor Hall missing out due to injury.

Just when the Kings thought the evaded forward Mikko Rantanen, he gets traded almost immediately onto their schedule. Rantanen has picked up more points against the Kings than any other player over the last five seasons, totaling 31 points (11-20-31) over 18 games played.

Storyline Of The Day – What Else To Try?
Anze Kopitar took it upon himself after the Tampa Bay game.

Kopitar, as the captain of the Kings, the top-line center for the Kings, said that the puck needs to start going in the net and it starts with him at the top of the list. That’s what leaders do.

During the month of January, Kopitar didn’t score a goal, collecting four assists from 13 games played. He was far from alone in that bucket, though. Trevor Moore didn’t score either, nor did Alex Laferriere. The fourth line didn’t score. Phillip Danault and Warren Foegele each had one goal. Kings defensemen combined for three total goals. Outside of seven goals from Adrian Kempe, who ironically enough ranked inside the Top-15 in the NHL in goals in January, no King had more than three goals.

With Kopitar specifically, Jim Hiller said he hasn’t really seen anything change in his game, minus that “the puck was going in and it’s just not happening as frequently right now.” Feels like a quote we’ve heard now a few times about the team as a whole. Again, not just Kopitar. It’s a number of players.

On this trip, the Kings have scored four goals. Two have come from Quinton Byfield, including the game-tying goal which picked up the only point the Kings have from the first four games.

I’ve never seen a team-wide slump like that. In fact, no team in the NHL this season has had a month in which they’ve averaged fewer than two goals per game. The Kings finished January at 1.69. Not even a nice joke to be made in there. The Kings were still a Top-5 defensive team in the month of January at 2.31 goals against per-game. It’s not as if that part of the game is really slipping, as Kopitar emphasized in Tampa. But offensively, Kempe aside, goalscoring is down across the board.

“For us right now, it’s just a number of guys, I haven’t seen it like that very often,” Hiller said. “So, what can you do? You can go out there and work and good things will happen.”

Team is still committed. The work isn’t questioned. It’s the goals.

Even the biggest optimist about the Kings this season wouldn’t call them a high-octane offensive team. Hiller himself has said that even in the best of times, the Kings aren’t going to simply outscore teams.

Wondering if the Kings would perhaps return to the 11/7 that found so much success back in December and early-January?

The 11/7 is actually the more offensive alignment, despite dressing fewer forwards. An 11/7 approach is designed to get more shifts for key offensive players in situations with better matchups. Just ask the Edmonton Oilers how much they liked playing Leon Draisaitl against the Los Angeles fourth line in the playoffs over the last three seasons. I would say they liked it a lot, which is why they switched into it after losing Game 1 in 2022 and 2023.

The Kings went away from the 11/7 specifically against Florida in the home game on February 22. Hiller said he wanted a “heavy” line in that game specifically. Against that opponent specifically, it makes some sense and the fourth line played really well in that game. But the 12/6 look has persisted throughout this trip, with the Kings opting for a more traditional fourth line as opposed to the pairing of two with a rotating third member. Not to say it’s alignment based, but the team isn’t scoring and isn’t winning, while the fourth line has been tagged twice defensively.

A common theory floated out has been that the 11/7 has taxed the team over the last six weeks. I’ve spoke with a couple players about that and they didn’t think that it played a role. However, I’m not sure if they would admit it even if it was. The team appears tired, for sure, but it’s also the most grinding portion of the team’s schedule by far, before home reprieve awaits. Whatever the reason, fatigue is a factor and it’s hampering the offensive output.

The just don’t have a ton of guys going right now offensively. Two that are, in my opinion, are Kempe and Kevin Fiala. Fiala was the biggest beneficiary of the 11/7. He went from 17:10 per game to 19:51 with 11 forwards dressed versus 12. With three days off until the Kings play again, no need to save anybody here. I don’t know if it’ll be 11/7 or 12/6, but I personally like how the team plays with 11 forwards versus 12.

Could be a day to get the big guns out there and snap out of this slump.

3 To Watch For –
– On defenseman Mikey Anderson, reports suggest this could have been a lot worse.

Him being out at all though is a big blow, if in fact he doesn’t play. Just when the Kings get Drew Doughty back in the lineup, they lose Anderson, the player who probably took the biggest step forward this season in helping to fill in.

“Mikey Anderson has played the best of his career,” Jim Hiller said of Anderson’s elevation with Doughty out.

Ultimately, they only get four periods together and really not on the same pair, playing only 2:25 together in total over the two games. The Kings were at one point working through where Doughty’s best spot in the lineup would be. Considering his usage in Games 1 and 2, that spot is obviously going to be RD1, effective immediately. Assuming Anderson doesn’t go tonight, I wonder if Vladislav Gavrikov might shift back to the left side to anchor a second pairing. Gavrikov and Doughty haven’t played much together and it might make sense to separate the team’s two top defensive players, at least right now.

– On Brandt Clarke, after a lot of flurries over the last few days, things seem to be calmer right now.

Clarke has missed the last two games with what has mostly been described as a “reset”. Hiller has pointed to the grind of the season and the role Clarke was asked to fill for a long stretch to date. Not a ton more has been shared, beyond that Hiller has spoken directly with Clarke about it. I assume he’ll be in tonight. Will update once we learn for sure.

I’d advise a listen to Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts from yesterday. Around the 30-minute mark. It’s a very measured take. When a high-end young player is scratched, curiosity ensues. Calls come in. Doesn’t mean the Kings are looking to trade a player just because he sat for two games. Even if he sits for more than two games it doesn’t mean that. Friedman also put some onus on the team to find the best way to utilize a player of his skillset and some onus on the player about the things needed to play in the NHL. Both can be true. Clarke has a special skillset and the Kings have to find the best way to utilize him effectively. Can’t be one size fits all. When he comes back in, Clarke is a guy who can help the team win. Again, wouldn’t be surprised if that day is today.

Regardless of what you think about Clarke’s deployment, I thought it was an interesting listen – HERE.

– Lastly, wondering if trade activity might continue throughout the NHL leading into the 4 Nations Faceoff. Two big moves yesterday. Just glad I didn’t get the middle of the night call to write about one of them.

More HERE on how the Kings can handle adding a longer-term contract with yesterday’s NHL/NHLPA announcements regarding the salary cap.

Kings and Hurricanes, 4 PM puck drop before, finally, the team returns home.

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