Rookie Faceoff Game Preview – Kings vs. Ducks, September 14

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (0-1) vs. Anaheim Ducks (0-1)
WHAT: 2025 Golden State Rookie Faceoff
WHEN: Sunday, September 14 @ 1:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena – Irvine, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: SLVR Sports and Entertainment & LAKings.com – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

*Per LA Kings PR, SLVR Sports and Entertainment on Samsung TV Plus channel 2328 available across Samsung devices or on Android devices through the Google Play Store.

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Kings play their second of two games at the 2025 Golden State Rookie Faceoff this afternoon against the Anaheim Ducks, concluding the event for both teams. Both Los Angeles and Anaheim fell to San Jose in their respective opening games.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings will play back-to-back today, with a few changes expected as well as a lot of returning players playing their second games in 24 hours.

Expecting goaltender Carter George to get the nod between the pipes this afternoon. George did not dress for Game 1 against San Jose, with AHL-contracted netminders Isaiah Saville and Mattias Sholl splitting the work. Expecting George in net, likely going the distance.

Unconfirmed below, but here’s a projection of today’s lineup for the Kings –

Greentree – Connors – Ziemmer
Jamsen – Lawrence – Wright
Chovan – Hughes – Isogai
Mastrodonato – Lombardi – O’Hara

Dvorak – Corbet
Kirsanov – Brzustewicz
Woolley – Salin

George
Sholl

The Kings have five players, George included, who did not play in Game 1 versus San Jose. From what’s been discussed, I’d expect all five players to dress today against Anaheim. That includes defenseman Jakub Dvorak, the team’s second-round pick in 2023, who will likely make his tournament debut this afternoon. Also in that camp are camp invitees Nate Corbet, Keaton Mastrodonato and Ryan O’Hara. Look for a few changes on that front in today’s game.

DUCKS VITALS: Anaheim was off yesterday, following their tournament opener on Friday, a 6-3 defeat against San Jose.

Goaltenders Vyacheslav Buteyets and Micheal McIvor split the action on Friday. Unclear on their plans for today’s game, but Tomas Suchanek is also on the roster and will likely tandem with one of those two in Game 2 against the Kings.

Per the Ducks main account, here’s how Anaheim lined up in Game 1 on Friday –

Here's who we fly with to start the Golden State Rookie Faceoff :
⚔️
Sidorov-Washe-Sennecke
Myatovic-Procyszyn-Masse
Read-Wiebe-Turko
Guite-Lindmark-Lautenbach

🛡️
Solberg-Francis
Mathieu-T. Smith
K. Smith-Uljanskis

🥅
Buteyets-McIvor#FlyToghether | @ArrowheadWater

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) September 13, 2025

Unclear how many changes the Ducks will make, but expecting formal lineups to come out a couple of hours before puck drop.

Storyline Of The Day – King George
Carter George was not involved in yesterday’s squad. He’ll be perhaps the focal point today.

The Kings always planned to give all three goaltenders minutes in this tournament and while I initially thought that might mean George starting in Game 1, the Kings wound up flipping things around and saving George for Game 2. Not really all that important, but I’d expect to see George get the full 60 minutes today against the Ducks.

George is a high-end goaltending prospect and posted a very impressive season in the OHL, despite his presence on a pretty poor team overall in Owen Sound. George was the leader of the group, seemingly willing them into the postseason. He’ll likely be back there this season as well, as he is unable to play in the AHL at 19.

“Big picture is probably going back to Owen Sound for me and I just want to have a good development year and turn my game into a pro game,” he said. “Just kind of work on little aspects of my game to get myself to that level.”

The season ahead for George also likely includes the World Junior Championships. He was the starting goaltender for Team Canada last winter and is set to assume that role again this season.

George delivered in that tournament but Canada suffered a shock exit in the quarterfinals. When it comes to Team Canada, considering the competition for roster spots, players often only get one crack at the tournament, as could potentially be the case for Liam Greentree as a 19-year-old. George, though, will likely get the chance to run it back.

“Getting a second chance, it’s always nice getting another crack at it,” he said. “Last year we didn’t get the results we wanted, but this year we’ve got a lot of returning guys and we should have a good leadership group. Definitely excited for it, looking forward to it and everyone was really excited at [summer orientation] camp.”

In playing in his second Rookie Faceoff, coming off a season where he faced about as much action as a goaltender possibly could, George expressed a ton of confidence coming in for Year 2.

It’s easier to do this when you know what to expect, when you know lots of the coaches and his teammates. As such, he felt it’s allowed him to play with a confidence in his game and a confident Carter George is a great sign.

He also understands the bigger picture. You want to win the games this weekend, certainly, but you also have to learn from the experience and build positive momentum heading into main camp, where things get more difficult and more important. He seemed to strike the right balance there.

“Obviously all of us want to win games this weekend, but I definitely think it is a learning curve for all of us,” he said. “Have some teaching moments and each and every one of us is going to learn from it and get better. For me, I just want to showcase myself and give my team a chance to win and if I make a mistake, just learn from it.”

Well spoken from a young hockey player. Look for George between the pipes this afternoon in Irvine, with a chance to put it all on display as the Kings look to even their record for the tournament.

3 To Watch For –
– Tale of two games for the Kings yesterday. The first period was guns blazing. The Kings were flying, top to bottom, and jumped out to a 4-0 lead. The phrase a few guys used was “snapping it around” and I think that was pretty accurate. The Kings did continue to generate looks offensively in the second period but you could just feel San Jose slowly start to take the game over in the final 30 minutes. The Kings didn’t take their chances and started to really open up defensively, with Head Coach Andrew Lord pointing to “wall play” and “puck management” as the reasons why. I think when you look at a number of the goals against, that was pretty apparent in the play.

Two practices for this group, guys who haven’t played together very much. As noted yesterday, you often expect play to be disjointed in these types of tournaments. Offensively, especially early, the pace was really high and there seemed to be a ton of cohesion. That disappeared as the game went on, but still lots of positives to pull into Game 2.

– Defenseman Kirill Kirsanov made his LA Kings Rookie Faceoff debut yesterday against San Jose and scored his team’s third goal, a shot through traffic from the left point. Kirsanov, a third-round pick by the Kings in 2021, has spent the last four seasons playing professionally in Russia, but is set to debut in North America beginning with the 2025-26 season. 

“His experience back home will be big, but at the same time, it’s a huge adjustment, it’s going to take time,” Lord said of Kirsanov. “We’re talking two practices and one game here, you know it’s a slow burn with these younger players.”

Lord added that Kirsanov was “solid” in his debut. He’s one of several players who will likely play for Lord this season with the AHL’s Ontario Reign. Kirsanov will have training camp to really adjust to the style of play in North America and he’ll have the chance to play a role with Ontario, as younger defensemen will need to elevate and play in the Top-4. Good start for the Russian blueliner.

– Think it’s important to give credit where credit is due with Jack Hughes.

He had an assist on Kenta Isogai’s goal in the first period and probably should’ve had one on Parker Berge’s goal as well, as he worked well in the link-up play through the neutral zone. Hughes, I thought, made an impact on the game and looked very comfortable with the puck on his stick. It’s not gone according to plan for the 2022 second-round draft pick, who wasn’t offered an entry-level contract and wound up agreeing to an AHL deal with Ontario. After four years playing in college, he’ll turn pro this fall. Good on him for delivering in Game 1 against San Jose. Not all paths are equal or straight and he’ll have his opportunity to continue to pave his direction beginning this fall.

Kings and Ducks, 1 PM puck drop in Irvine to cap off the Rookie Faceoff!