Game Thread – Kings vs. Ducks, 10/3

Los Angeles Kings 4, Anaheim Ducks 1
2:52 Left, Third Period
Game Preview
WATCH: Bally Sports So-Cal (Anaheim Stream)
SOG: LAK – 35 ANA – 16
PP: LAK – 1/3 ANA – 0/3

Third Period
20:00 – One period remains here in Los Angeles, Kings and Ducks are back underway.
15:31 – Kings get their first power play of the third period and saw some good puck movement. Best chances was a Kempe one-timer, which he appeared to fire off the post and out of play. May have been a touch from Gibson. PP ends a bit early as Kaliyev takes a minor penalty with 25 seconds left.
14:17 – Trevor Moore up this his shorthanded ways again. Gets a breakaway on the PK, tries to go the other way with the shot but Gibson gets a piece of it with his mask. Grundstrom follows up and draws a penalty of his own, to get LA off the kill.
11:31 – LAK Goal – Kings restore the three-goal advantage as the fourth line cashes in again. Grundstrom’s shot from the slot hits Gibson on the shoulder, deflects high in the air off a defenseman and into the crease, where Lizotte puts it home. 4-1.
6:30 – Kings clearly in control here, but we’ve seen one too many passes or one too many moves a lot in this one. The first reads have been excellent, but either too unselfish, too fancy, whatever you want to call it in a lot of situations. Could be 8-1.

Second Period
20:00 – Second period is a go! 3-0 Kings as we return to game action.
18:28 – Strange sequence as John Gibson was on the bench for the first 92 seconds of the second period, before he hopped the boards at the first whistle and jumped back in net.
16:46 – Kings kill their second penalty of the evening. Can see a bit of the new concepts in play, but you can also tell it’s still a work in progress.
13:32 – Good shift down low by the top line. Kopitar spins and fires towards Byfield, who gets a redirect on the puck, but Gibson is at the top of his crease and gobbles it up. That line looks as it did a season ago, the chemistry they built down the stretch is showing up early in preseason.
10:30 – Tic-Tac-Toe play from the third line once again. Kaliyev finds himself with a quick look from the slot, but Gibson challenges and covers. Great quick puck movement, as Dubois feeds him with space out of the corner.
9:50 – ANA Goal – Cam Talbot makes the initial save off the rush, but the puck delects off a skate and in on the way through. Couldn’t tell if it was an Anaheim skate or a Kings skate. Nonetheless, 3-1 Kings.
7:15 – Substantially less flow here in the second period. First period was free flowing for the Kings, but it’s been a lot choppier, more faceoffs, more special teams, slower overall. Has allowed Anaheim to stay in the flow of the game a bit better.
3:06 – Bit more physicality tonight from this group than we saw in Melbourne for sure. Big collision in the corner with Grundstrom, one of several on the evening. Intensity has ramped up a bit tonight, certainly.
0:00 – 3-1 Kings after 40 minutes. Not as clean of a period, but still a two-goal advantage here heading into the third.

First Period
20:00 – Kings and Ducks are underway!
18:30 – Fiala and Dubois with some early magic. Fiala sets up Dubois on a 1-on-1, with a one-touch pass, before Dubois returns the favor and Fiala is denied after deking on the backhand. Our first chance to see those two together, along with Arthur Kaliyev, since the games in Melbourne. Hot start.
15:51 – LAK Goal – They nearly connect on the first shift of the game and they do connect on the second shift. Dubois to Fiala, who wraps it around the net and in on the forehand. Good stuff. 1-0 Kings.
12:25 – Arthur Kaliyev looked noticeably quicker in Australia and he looks so again this evening.
9:36 – First look here at the Kings power play, after a shift of offensive-zone puck possession from the top line. Good work from all three players along the boards to draw the minor against Nestorenko.
8:50 – LAK Goal – Power-play goal from the Kings, tic-tac-toe passing play. Doughty keeps the zone, down to Arvidsson, who finds Kempe for the one-timer through the slot. 2-0 Kings, good puck movement.
8:25 – LAK Goal – Kings make it two goals in 25 seconds. Carl Grundstrom gets his first of the preseason on a goal I did not see because I was typing the second goal. 3-0.
3:21 – First glimpse of the LA Kings penalty kill and it’s 1/1. Anaheim took about a minute to get setup and once they did, they were able to generate a few looks, but Cam Talbot was called into action for the first time and made himself big, especially on a near-post jam play.
0:00 – 20 minutes in the books. Kings look like a team that has been salivating to get back into game action. Strong start. 3-0 at the break.

Back home! We’ve reached the final week of the exhibition season with the first of two games this week at Crypto.com Arena. The Kings played four times last week – posting a record of 3-0-1 – but very few of the NHL regulars took part in those games, as the group got readjusted following the trip to Melbourne, Australia. That changes tonight, as we should expect to see something close to an opening-night roster on home ice. The big guns are back, as the Kings host the Ducks, eight days out from the home opener!

Today’s Kings Lineup –

Byfield – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Fiala – Dubois – Kaliyev
Grundstrom – Lizotte – Lewis

Anderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Roy
Englund – Spence

Talbot
Copley