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2/8 Preview – Final Game Focus + Kuemper/Copley, Lewis Ceremony, Hiller’s Milestone

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WHO: Los Angeles Kings (29-17-6) vs. Anaheim Ducks (23-24-6)
WHAT: 2024-25 Regular-Season Game
WHEN: Saturday, February 8 @ 7:30 PM Pacific
WHERE: Crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FanDuel Sports Network – AUDIO – ESPN LA App – TWITTER: @dooleylak & @lakings

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Kings host the Anaheim Ducks this evening for their first time in Los Angeles this season, their final game before the 4 Nations break.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings and Ducks have met twice in Orange County this season, with Los Angeles winning both times.

Forward Alex Laferriere has two goals and three points against the Ducks over the first two games this season, while forward Alex Turcotte added a goal and an assist. Forward Adrian Kempe has one goal against Anaheim this season, giving him 15 against the Ducks over the last five seasons, tied for the most in the NHL in that span.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings did not hold a morning skate today, considering the back-to-back set.

As per an update from the team today, goaltender Darcy Kuemper will not be available tonight due to personal reasons. In a corresponding roster move, the Kings have recalled goaltender Pheonix Copley from the AHL’s Ontario Reign on an emergency basis.

That leaves a decision for the team to make.

Rittich played in last night’s shootout win over Dallas and was likely not expecting to play today. He has solid splits versus Anaheim, with a 3-1-0 lifetime record, a .925 save percentage and a 1.81 goals-against average, including a victory earlier this season, and is the team’s top option. Should the Kings opt to start Copley, it would be his second NHL game and first start of the season. Copley has faced Anaheim twice in his career, stopping 40 of 42 shots in total, for a .952 save percentage and a 1.21 goals-against average.

No skate today, but here’s how the Kings lined up last night versus the Stars –

Not expecting any changes for the Kings tonight to the skaters but we’ll hear from Head Coach Jim Hiller at the rink in advance of tonight’s game. Should Hiller opt for any changes, defensemen Kyle Burroughs and Andreas Englund are options to check in.

Defenseman Mikey Anderson won’t play tonight with an upper-body injury and was placed on injured reserve earlier this afternoon. Thinking he will re-join the group after the break after missing what will be four games in total, including tonight.

DUCKS VITALS: Anaheim is playing some of its best hockey of the season, winning five of its last six games, including a 2-1 win over the Stars on Tuesday in their most recent game.

From the Ducks main account, here’s how tonight’s opponent lined up against Dallas –

The Ducks have scored two goals against the Kings this season. Forward Ryan Strome has scored both goals, with forward Troy Terry collecting an assist on both tallies. Terry has led the Ducks in scoring against the Kings over the last four seasons, with eight points (3-5-8) from 12 games played.

Storyline Of The Day – Dial It In
“We’ve got to make sure that all hands are on deck and then we’ll relax for a bit.”

That was Anze Kopitar, speaking on the need for focus heading into the final game before the break.

For the Kings, it’s three games in four nights in total this week, before the team will not play again until February 22. The Kings defeated Montreal 6-3 on Wednesday and won an electric game last night, 5-4 in a shootout over Dallas. The focus has certainly been there over the first two games. The Kings have come out flying in both first periods and played well throughout both games.

Tonight, with two weeks off staring the team in the face, focus will be paramount.

“It’s staying in the moment,” goaltender Darcy Kuemper added. “It’s a long break, so just empty the tanks. We know how big every point is going to be the rest of the way, so we’ve just got to keep playing the same way, make sure we’re ready to go and have a strong finish so that we can all enjoy a little bit of time away.”

After having his second child this week, perhaps no one will enjoy the break more than Kuemper. For everyone though, after a very trying January, the Kings as a group will certainly be looking forward to some time away. First things first, though, are two important points on the line tonight against Anaheim.

In the Pacific Division standings, the Kings are six points behind Vegas for home-ice advantage in Round 1 and five points clear of Calgary for a playoff spot on the bottom, with two games in hand. Points remain extremely important and challenging or not, the two points tonight are just as important as any other game.

There’s two parts to the challenge – physical and mental.

Physically, tonight will be even tougher for some players because of how last night’s game went for the Kings. An emotionally charged win over Dallas with the bench shortened pretty significantly in the third period. The Kings essentially went down to eight forwards and four defensemen for much of the third period, so several players logged heavy minutes to get the two points.

Mentally though is probably the larger hurdle, as a few different players touched on. It’ll be a mental battle tonight and the Kings know they have to be locked in.

“We’ve got a huge break coming up, so I think it’s just mentally, we’ve got to be tough,” forward Alex Turcotte added. “For me personally, it’s just all mental at that point. You just forget about how your body feels, you’ve just got to go all in and give everything you’ve got in the tank, because we have a big break coming up.”

Two points on the line and they all count equally. One more job to complete, under challenging circumstances, before the break to come.

3 To Watch For –
– The Kings will finally honor forward Trevor Lewis this evening in advance of his 1,000th career NHL game.

Lewis was initially set to have this ceremony back in December. He suffered an injury in game number 999 though which kept him out of the lineup for around six weeks. He finally played in the milestone game on January 4 versus Tampa Bay but then the fires in Los Angeles took precedence, rightfully so. Thus, the Lewis ceremony was pushed to this three-game homestand, with everyone settling in on tonight’s game versus the Ducks.

Lewis has had a path to 1,000 games that few have taken. He’s not a scorer or a playmaker. He isn’t an enforcer either. He’s a guy who is willing to accept the role assigned to him, killing penalties and taking care of his own end first, playing responsible hockey. It’s not a style that’s earned him a ton of love externally, especially in his older years. But the appreciation within the Kings organization remains high.

More on Lewis HERE from his teammates, who said how much they appreciate what he brings and more from Lewis himself HERE on what playing 1,000 games means to him.

– On the topic of milestones, Kings Head Coach Jim Hiller reached one of his own last night.

Last night was Hiller’s 50th victory as Head Coach of the LA Kings, improving his overall record behind the bench to 50-29-7, good for a .622 winning percentage. The Kings are not a franchise that has traditionally had a ton of regular-season success, but since Hiller has come in, he and the Kings have gotten the job done.

His record at home in particular has been quite good. The Kings are 17-3-1 at home this season and 31-6-2 at home since Hiller took over behind the bench. That’s good for a winning percentage of .821 in total and .833 this season alone. Staggering numbers. While 21 games is a small sample size, Hiller has now been behind the bench 39 times at home, which is two shy of a full season’s worth. Only three other teams are above .700 at home in that span and the Kings are over .800.

Pretty good stuff. Congrats to the bench boss on hitting 50 wins. Many more opportunities for him and his team to come.

– Lastly, question has to be asked.

Are the LA Kings a mustache-driven offense?

Back in Vancouver last month, forward Kevin Fiala shaved his mustache and responded with a multi-point game, including a very rare power-play goal on the road. Including that game, Fiala has 13 points (7-6-13) over his last 11 games played and that includes two scoreless nights when he was battling an illness that zapped him of much of his energy in Florida and Tampa Bay.

Last night, forward Phillip Danault shaved his beard into a pretty strong mustache. In his first game? Two assists, both primary. Danault now has two multi-point games this month, making a huge impact last night against the Stars. Before speaking to the media last night, Danault offered his thoughts before a question was asked.

“Yes, it was the mustache.”

That just about solves it. The power of the mustache.

Kings and Ducks, tonight at 7:30 PM at Crypto.com Arena. Final game for a couple of weeks. Hope the Kings can make it count.

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