3/23 Preview – Cheaper By The Dozen + PP Contributing, Balanced Minutes, Doughty B&W

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (38-21-9) vs. Boston Bruins (30-31-9)
WHAT: 2024-25 Regular-Season Game
WHEN: Sunday, March 23 @ 6:00 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 complete a back-to-back set this evening against the Boston Bruins, the middle contest of a three-game homestand in Los Angeles.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings and Bruins haven’t met since October, as Boston skated to a 2-1 shootout victory in the second game of the regular season.

Forward Trevor Moore scored the lone Kings goal in that game, with forwards Quinton Byfield and Phillip Danault tallying the assists on the play.

In a very weird pair of streaks, Boston enters tonight’s game on a six-game winning streak in Los Angeles, compared to a seven-game point streak for the Kings in games played in Massachusetts.

KINGS VITALS: With the back-to-back, no morning skate for the Kings today in El Segundo.

After David Rittich got the start yesterday, turning in a strong performance, look for the Kings to go back to goaltender Darcy Kuemper this evening against the Bruins. Kuemper, who made 24 saves on 26 shots in the overtime defeat in Boston in October, has a lifetime record of 2-7-1 versus tonight’s opponent, with a .899 save percentage and a 2.85 goals-against average.

For reference, here’s how the Kings aligned in yesterday’s victory over Carolina –

Kuzmenko – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Danault – Moore
Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Jeannot – Helenius – Turcotte

Anderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Spence
Edmundson – Clarke

Kuemper / Rittich

Without a morning skate today, we won’t know for sure, but I would imagine that the Kings will use the same lineup tonight as they used yesterday against the Hurricanes.

Should any changes be needed or desired, the Kings have four healthy options to enter the lineup, with forwards Trevor Lewis and Akil Thomas, as well as defensemen Kyle Burroughs and Jacob Moverare.

BRUINS VITALS: Boston enters tonight’s game on a five-game losing streak, extended with a 3-1 defeat yesterday evening in San Jose.

Per Jim McBride of the Boston Globe, here’s how the Bruins lined up yesterday against the Sharks –

#Bruins warmup lines, D pairs:

Geekie-Zacha-Pastrnak
Koepke-Mittelstadt-Lettieri
Khusnutdinov-Lindholm-Lysell
Lauko-Beecher-Brown

Zadorov-Jokiharju
Lohrei-Peeke
Wotherspoon-Callahan

Korpisalo

— Jim McBride (@globejimmcbride) March 23, 2025

After former Kings goaltender Joonas Korpisalo got the start yesterday in Northern California, look for goaltender Jeremy Swayman to get the nod tonight against the Kings. Swayman has outstanding career numbers against Los Angeles, with a 4-0-0 record, a .962 save percentage and a 1.24 goals-against average. The Kings will look to solve the Team USA netminder for the first time this evening.

Storyline Of The Day – Cheaper By The Dozen
You literally could not ask for better balance.

All 12 forwards to dress in yesterday afternoon’s game for the LA Kings collected at least one point. Five of those 12 forwards collected a goal and an assist as a part of the seven-goal output against Carolina.

From a statistical standpoint, it’s the first time that all dressed Kings forwards collected a point in a game since 1988. In games in which the Kings dressed 12 forwards, that feat only happened one other time in franchise history and it was in 1974. To put that one into perspective, Jim Hiller was five years old the last time it happened. Historic stuff.

Narratively speaking, it’s the perfect stat for how the Kings want to play. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. The Kings are not a team that can win with one or two guys carrying the team but they are a team that can smother you with their balance and their depth. When they have all four lines going they’re a tough team to stop because shift-over-shift there’s a threat to score on the ice, from players who are also responsible defensively. That’s hard to handle for 60 minutes.

In yesterday’s game, Hiller was quite pleased that all four lines contributed offensively. He was especially happy that the top line of Kuzmenko, Kopitar and Kempe chipped in on three goals. Kuzmenko’s points were his first in eight games with the Kings, but you don’t need stats to see that his presence has clearly elevated both Kopitar and Kempe, as well as the power play. Pretty apparent in watching. Kuzmenko’s goal was a full-line contribution. Kopitar’s was a power-play goal with all three on the ice and the other, Kempe’s tally, was a crossover episode between their line and the fourth line.

Spoke at length about the fourth line in yesterday’s game preview and they added another goal yesterday, on top of Samuel Helenius and Tanner Jeannot picking up the assists on Kempe’s tally. Quinton Byfield’s line struck twice, with he and Kevin Fiala scoring goals in the win. Trevor Moore’s beautiful shot was the cherry on top, though it stemmed from good transportation and puck movement from his linemates, Warren Foegele and Phillip Danault, in the build up.

Good stuff all around there.

Now, it won’t be like that every night. If it hasn’t happened since 1974, I’m not expecting it to just all of a sudden becomes a regular occurrence. But the principle continues to apply, doesn’t it? The Kings can get contributions offensively from throughout their lineup. It doesn’t have to be all four lines scoring but if the Kings can get all four lines going, playing the right way, they’re a really difficult team to match up against.

All four lines seem to have an identity, with Kuzmenko completing the look overall. The fourth line is the “tone setting” line, playing physical and forechecking relentlessly while the Danault line takes on shutdown responsibilities more often than not. The other two lines, with the chemistry formed between Fiala/Byfield/Laferriere and the way Kopitar and Kempe have taken to Kuzmenko, really complete the puzzle.

What I like for the Kings is that after 60 or so games of searching, the puzzle pieces have fallen into place. Every piece seems to have a home and those homes feel like the right fit for those pieces. We’ve seen exciting lines throughout the season but I don’t think we’ve seen four exciting lines at the same time, at least not the way we’re seeing it right now. Not saying there won’t be any changes down the stretch, or that there might not be a better solution out there, but with the way things are working right now, I’m not all that eager to find out.

3 To Watch For –
– Don’t look now but are the LA Kings a power-play team?

Four goals in their last seven games, clicking at 23.5 percent in that span. Okay, those aren’t exactly world-beating numbers. But they’re a vast improvement and I think that much is obvious through the eye test as much as it is through the numbers.

“We’re getting to a point in the season where the percentages are what they are, but we’re coming to a point when the power play needs to be the difference,” Anze Kopitar, who scored a PPG yesterday, said. “The percentage, throughout the end of the year, it’s just not going to be good, that’s how it is, but right now, the last 15 games, we need timely goals and that’s what we need our power play for.”

Kopitar is right. Even a strong finish to the season isn’t going to really bring the season-long total up. But the Kings are in a good place as a team in spite of their power play and it’s showing signs of life at the right time.

As the regular season winds down and the playoffs approach, those timely goals are what the Kings will need. One timely goal won’t turn 15 percent into 25, but could it potentially be the difference between winning and losing a game? Damn right. That’s the focus right now.

“I like playing the power play and I want to help,” forward Andrei Kuzmenko added. “The power play is very important moments in the playoffs, because usually it’s 2-1 and if you score one goal on the power play, it’s good support.

– Back-to-backs are always taxing here, but it’s rare to see things shake out like this.

The Kings played a 1 PM game yesterday in their building and were able to get a good night of sleep as well, in their own beds. Boston, meanwhile, played a 7:30 PM game last night in San Jose and had to travel to Los Angeles after the game. Not exactly a haul, but it’s more than you’d think.

“We were able to spread the ice time quite a bit,” Hiller said. “Boston [played last night] too, circumstances would be similar, but I think we were able to [manage minutes]. “Don’t forget, we came in late from Chicago too, so it’s not a normal back-to-back, it’s going to require some energy tomorrow night.”

The Kings are coming in off 29 hours of rest, compared to 21 and a half for the Bruins. As bad as the traffic home might’ve been, it certainly beats a late-night flight from the Bay Area. So, consider that a small leg up at a time of the year when you’ll that all the advantages you can get.

The other element in play here is that the Kings led 6-1 for the bulk of yesterday’s game. The Kings used Jordan Spence and Brandt Clarke more, which allowed them to limit Drew Doughty and the rest of the Top 4. The fourth line played more as well, which was as much a result of their play as it was the situation. In a 6-1 game, though, rolling four lines was the move and they stuck to it.

Hiller said that having the fourth line playing as well as they are gives the group “balance” on most nights, knowing that perhaps while some others might want another couple minutes, the games in which the Kings are chasing a goal will lead to those added minutes too.

Yesterday specifically, I thought it was good to see the balance, with another game coming so quickly this evening.

– Lastly, Insiders, sharing the latest episode of Black & White, highlighting Drew Doughty’s return and recovery from his preseason ankle injury.

It’s still not perfect for Doughty. He’s managing his injury and will do so for the rest of the season. That much is clear in speaking with him and with Jim Hiller about it earlier this week. But a cool look into the process that took him from missing the first four months of the season to eventually getting back into the lineup over the last 20 games.

Kings and Bruins, tonight at 6 PM to conclude the back-to-back set! Another big two points on the line as the Kings continue their push towards earning home ice advantage in Round 1.