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11/8 Preview – Optional Skate Today + Line Changes After 5, Kaliyev’s Progression, ESPN(2)

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WHO: Los Angeles Kings (7-6-1) vs. Minnesota Wild (5-5-1)
WHAT: NHL REGULAR SEASON GAME
WHEN: Tuesday, November 8 @ 7:30 PM Pacific
WHERE: Crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: ESPN+ / Hulu – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Kings continue on a four-game homestand this evening as they host the Minnesota Wild for their first rematch of the season.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings skated to a 7-6 victory over the Wild in the third game of the season, winning on away ice in Minnesota. Forwards Adrian Kempe (2-1-3) and Kevin Fiala (1-2-3) led the way for the Kings offensively in the victory, while forward Anze Kopitar collected three assists. Eight Kings in total had multi-point games, with defenseman Matt Roy (1-1-2) and forward Gabe Vilardi (1-1-2) also expected to play.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings were on the ice this morning for a partial team skate, following a full-team practice yesterday morning in El Segundo.

Jonathan Quick was not on the ice this morning and he’ll be expected to get the nod again this evening, his third consecutive start between the pipes. All-time versus the Wild, Quick has posted a 16-11-7 record, with a .902 save percentage and a 2.63 goals-against average.

Without the full morning skate to confirm, we won’t have a true idea as to this evening’s alignment, but here’s a projection based off of yesterday’s practice and who was on late after today’s morning skate –

Kempe – Kopitar – Vilardi
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Fiala – Kupari – Grundstrom
Lemieux – Lizotte – Kaliyev
Anderson-Dolan

Anderson – Doughty
Durzi – Roy
Edler – Walker
Clarke

Quick
Petersen

The Kings appear likely to roll with the same lineup that defeated Florida on Saturday evening. Forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan and defenseman Brandt Clarke were the two skaters on the ice late, along with goaltender Cal Petersen, indicating that they will be out tonight. It’s not always indicative, but a good sign we should not expect any changes.

WILD VITALS: Minnesota has had an up and down start to the season, but has evened its record at 5-5-1 with points from six of eight games after three losses out of the gates.

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has started 9 of 11 games to open the season and is expected to get the nod again here this evening against the Kings. Fleury started the game in Minnesota back in October but conceded four goals on 14 shots and was replaced after 20 minutes. All-time versus the Kings, Fleury is 12-8-4, with a .914 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against average.

Per Michael Russo of The Athletic, here’s how the Wild aligned during yesterday’s practice –

Forward Jordan Greenway is expected to return to action this evening in Los Angeles, coming off a shoulder injury. His usual lineumate, Marcus Foligno, is also on the trip but is not expected to play tonight versus the Kings with an upper-body injury. Former Anaheim draft pick Joseph Cramarossa is expected to make his season debut on the fourth line.

Notes –
5 Games In
“It’s balanced our lines out and I think it’s helped us win a few games.”

It’s been five games now since the Kings made their first substantial reshuffling to their forward lines this season, following the 6-4 loss against Winnipeg.

While the changes impacted three of the four lines, we’ll cover the Lemieux – Lizotte – Kaliyev unit in a bit. The major swap was that of moving Gabe Vilardi onto the line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, with Kevin Fiala moving alongside Rasmus Kupari and Carl Grundstrom.

The changes, thus far, have benefitted those involved. Starting with Kopitar’s group, the main improvements have come through a renewed commitment to defensive play, with chances against figures lowering significantly since the moves. They’ve also given up just two goals against from the five games and both were against Florida on Saturday, the only game they’ve been out-chanced in thus far. A look at chances against for Kopitar/Kempe, with and without Vilardi.

HDCA: 12.7 / 21.5
SCA: 28.1 / 40.5
CA: 55.2 / 70.0

“They’ve played better, they’ve given up less, they’ve settled in and played way more towards what I believe they can do, what they believe they can do, from a defensive perspective,” McLellan said this morning.

Offensively, the chemistry is still building, but Kopitar has been a point-per-game (1-4-5) since the switch, while Vilardi has four points. Kempe has just two points, but his shot attempts per game are up from 3.4 to 4.0, as are his high-danger looks (0.6 to 1.0). It’s a work in progress there, but the group is +1 in 5-on-5 scoring and have bee. on the right side of the chances for in four of their five games together. Good progress thus far.

“It’s coming along,” Kopitar said this morning. “It’s obviously a work in progress and there are still some things that we can definitely do better, but we’re getting comfortable with each other and we’re finding some chemistry together.”

Fiala’s new line has thrived offensively since the moves, with Fiala himself posting seven points (2-5-7) over his last five games played. When McLellan talks about balance, Kupari (1-1-2) and Grundstrom (2-2-4) are perfect examples of it. Having Fiala on that line has made each player that much better, with Kupari going from the AHL to the NHL and looking right at home in the 3C spot and Grundstrom moving up in the lineup and increasing his production.

“I think Kevin being where Kevin is has opened up a couple of players in Kupari and Grunny. Grunny has scored a fair amount over the last little bit, he had a glorious chance in Chicago with an open net and just missed off a good play by Kev. It’s balanced our lines out and I think it’s helped us win a few games.”

Kaliyev Coming Along
From the standpoint of possession metrics and chances, no player had a better game than Arthur Kaliyev on Saturday against Florida.

Kaliyev’s shot attempts category read 10 for versus 1 against. Scoring chances read 7-0 in his favor and high-danger chances were 5-0. Kaliyev himself had just two looks, but both were of the high-danger variety and he collected an assist on linemate Blake Lizotte’s third-period goal.

Kaliyev’s stat line as a whole has been solid, with nine points (4-5-9) from 12 games played and he’s currently riding a four-game point streak entering tonight’s action, with points from six of his last seven when extended back a bit. That total includes a team-leading three power-play goals, a total which has him one outside of the NHL’s top ten. He’s showing improvements here in year two and that’s a good sign of progression.

“He’s improving, as he did last year,” Todd McLellan said of Kaliyev. “There’s a lot of responsibility that goes into a second-year player. You’re responsible every day for your game and you’ve got to bring it and Arthur is figuring out that part in Year 2, but he is improving and he’s working hard at improving in those areas.”

While the calls to see Kaliyev play higher in the lineup are understandable, the Kings have seen a new-look third line thrive over the five games they’ve skated together and a top six they want to see more of. The top-listed line has the top two goalscorers on the roster and the second line has returned to form from last season, as one of the most cohesive and effective units across the NHL, combining for two goals versus Florida.

There’s also the notion of don’t fix what isn’t broken.

Kaliyev is currently in a familiar home with Blake Lizotte and Brendan Lemieux, a line that played together for large stretches last season. When together this season, they’re controlling more than 60 percent of shot attempts and just over 57 percent of scoring chances and high-danger looks. Kaliyev’s numbers fall below 50 percent in two of those three categories when looking at his totals without the other two.

“He seems to get more done with those two for whatever reason,” McLellan added. “I’ve liked the way that line has played in the last little bit, when they get back together they have something. They hold each other accountable, sometimes there’s the three of them bickering about what should or shouldn’t happen, but once the play starts again, they’re a pretty good unit.”

Eventually, we’ll need to see Kaliyev move higher in the lineup to truly realize his potential. And that will come with time. For now, it’s about finding consistency as a group and winning hockey games. The line as currently assembled is an important part in doing that.

The Worldwide Leader
Lastly, Insiders, it’s not ESPN2 on your dial, but ESPN(2) over the next three days.

The Kings will play nationally on ESPN+ tonight versus Minnesota and on Thursday versus Chicago. The trio of Steve Levy, Ray Ferraro and Linda Cohn will have the call tonight, with Cohn at this morning’s skate. The crew switches to Marco Monaco and Cassie Campbell-Pascall for Thursday’s contest alongside Cohn. The games tonight will be available for all with an ESPN+ subscription, independant of blackouts, meaning you can stream the game within the LA market.

I you don’t have ESPN+, I am accepting best offers in the comment for my login. Or I’ll look the other way when you watch it elsewhere.

Kings and Wild, tonight at 7:30 PM from DTLA! Leaving early today in anticipation of California drivers in the rain. Woof. See you there (hopefully).

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