9/27 Preseason Preview – Today’s Lineup + Greentree’s Showcase, Roster Battles, Portillo/Goalies

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (3-0) vs. Anaheim Ducks (1-2)
WHAT: 2025 Preseason Game 4
WHEN: Saturday, September 27 @ 3:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Dignity Health Arena – Bakersfield, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: SLVR via Samsung TV Plus, LAKings.com – AUDIO – ESPN LA 710, ESPN LA App & LA Kings App – 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: It’s hump day for the preseason, as the Kings take on Anaheim for the third time in four games, their fourth of seven games in total during the exhibition season.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings have won the first two games of the exhibition slate against Anaheim, including a 3-0 win on Wednesday evening at Honda Center. Six different Kings have found the back of the net, totaling the six goals the team has scored in those games, with forwards Alex Laferriere and Alex Turcotte leading the way at two points apiece.

KINGS VITALS: Look for a bit less experience in today’s Kings lineup, with several players looking to make an impression in what could be their final game of the exhibition season with the big club.

Here is the expected game group for this afternoon’s tilt –

Forwards (12) – Trevor Moore, Alex Laferriere, Phillip Danault, Akil Thomas, Warren Foegele, Joel Armia, Andre Lee, Taylor Ward, Jared Wright, Liam Greentree, Francesco Pinelli, Samuel Helenius

Defensemen (7) – Cody Ceci, Kyle Burroughs, Joe Hicketts, Jacob Moverare, Jack Millar, Jakub Dvorak, Brandt Clarke

Goaltenders (3) – Erik Portillo, Pheonix Copley, Isaiah Saville

This feels like a game when the Kings will rely on younger players for the most part, but still a bit of experience going to meet the league’s veteran quota. For guys like Akil Thomas, Andre Lee, Taylor Ward and a few others – more below – it’s another opportunity to showcase what they can do in a game setting. There are places to be won on the NHL roster but there are more players vying for them than there are available roster spots. More to come on the roster battle early next week, but these are important opportunities heading to Bakersfield.

DUCKS VITALS: Similar to the Kings, not expecting top-end veterans from the Anaheim end to make this trip either, with Ducks NHL regulars playing both games at home for the club last week, though not positive about Anaheim’s lineup just yet.

For reference, here’s how Anaheim lined up on Wednesday versus the Kings –

Here's who we fly with tonight.#FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/EdZwNMClcu

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) September 25, 2025

More to come on the Anaheim lineup front.

Storyline Of The Day – Grass Is Greentree On The Other Side
On Tuesday, Liam Greentree played what he felt was his strongest game in the NHL.

“I think so,” he said. “That was only my third game of preseason hockey, but obviously getting two points is pretty big, so I thought I played pretty well. Just doing the right things and then getting rewarded for it feels pretty good, so I’ve just got to keep that going.”

Today in Bakersfield, he’ll get another chance to make an impression.

Greentree is the only junior-eligible player remaining in training camp for the Kings, after defensemen Henry Brzustewicz and Jared Woolley were returned to OHL-London earlier this week. He’s skated with Group B over the last couple of days but he’s still in the picture for a spot on the roster. Consider today’s game an opportunity for him. Greentree showed what he can do in Vegas, as others have done in their preseason action. He’ll be in the lineup today against the Ducks, with the chance to impress once again. Same mindset for him, with each day, whether a practice or a game, a chance to make his mark.

“Every practice here is a chance to show myself, so I’m trying to make the most of every time I get on the ice, to show myself,” he said. “Especially the games are huge for me, so just making sure I’m dialed in and doing what I can to play my best is a big part of it.”

Greentree is in the mix this fall because of the strides he’s taken over the past 12 months. He was obviously a promising prospect when he was picked, but his status is even higher now. He made his preseason debut one season prior and he feels that he’s night and day better this time around.

Take the Vegas game. Playing against a team consisting of several NHL regulars, including Mark Stone and William Karlsson, Greentree felt he showed he could keep up. A good sign for him, certainly.

“I think just being able to play with the pace,” Greentree said of what makes him more comfortable this season. “I thought we played against some pretty good players in Vegas and being able to play against those guys is pretty cool thing. I think that’s what I worked on a lot of the season is just playing with faster pace and making my decisions a little step faster. I think that’s been a huge part of the success so far.”

With that, he said the game feels slower to him, in a good way. He plays faster, game feels slower.

Next big chance for Greentree comes this afternoon. He’s one of a few bubble forwards in the lineup today against Anaheim and with another strong showing, he could earn himself another opportunity on Tuesday in Boise. And that’s all he can play for. Opportunities. A big one for him today in Bakersfield.

3 To Watch For –
– I think these next two games – Bakersfield and Boise – are evaluation games more so than preparation games. In some ways, those are one in the same and sure, for say Trevor Moore, there’s not much evaluation needed. He’s an NHL player with his spot locked in. The games in Utah and Los Angeles, Games 6 and 7 of the preseason, I expect to see close to a full NHL roster, as Jim Hiller hinted at earlier in training camp. That would give just about everyone in that group of regulars 3 or 4 games, which is typically where veterans land during the exhibition season.

I do think we’ll see players on both sides of the bubble feature prominently, though, especially over these next couple of games. That means guys fighting for spots on the fourth line up front or extra spots on the NHL roster. There are more players than spots, so something has to give. But these are the games that will separate the players who will stick with the Kings into the final week of training camp from the group that will be either placed on waivers or assigned to the AHL’s Ontario Reign. It’s a fine line. But these are games of evaluation which will factor in.

– On that note, today will be the fourth preseason game for both Samuel Helenius and Kyle Burroughs, the only two Kings who will have played in all four exhibition contests thus far. Both players are fighting to make the NHL roster after appearing in 50 and 33 games with the Kings last season, respectively. 

They’re in that group, as are forwards Andre Lee and Akil Thomas, who will both play today as well, along with Greentree, as noted above. Consider forward Taylor Ward in that mix as well, after he made his NHL debut at the end of last season. Lots of guys playing to impress and fewer spots available than there are players vying for those spots with a legitimate chance.

Helenius and Burroughs have gotten a serious run here early in the exhibition season and will be two of the more experienced players in action here today in Bakersfield.

– As far as the goalies, my hunch is on Erik Portillo making his preseason debut in today’s game.

For Portillo, it would be his first game action since February, as he missed the final couple months of the 2024-25 season with a back injury. He’s been back in a full-time capacity during camp and he backed up on Wednesday in Anaheim. Today, he could be in line for his first action of the fall. Excited to see Portillo back at it, assuming he does in fact get the start.

Kings and Ducks…..again. It’s a 3 PM puck drop in Bakersfield as the preseason schedule rolls on!