12/21 Preview – No Skate in Nashville + 11/7 vs. 12/6, Burroughs on Role, Third-Period Team

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (19-9-4) @ Nashville Predators (9-17-7)
WHAT: 2024-25 Regular-Season Game
WHEN: Saturday, December 21 @ 10:30 AM Pacific
WHERE: Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: Fan Duel Sports Network – AUDIO – ESPN LA App – TWITTER: @dooleylak & @lakings

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Kings are in Nashville to begin a back-to-back, the final two games the team will play before the league’s holiday break.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings skated to a 3-0 victory over the Predators earlier this season at Bridgestone Arena, with today’s game the second of the season between the two clubs.

Forward Adrian Kempe led the Kings with two points (1-1-2) in the victory back in November, while forwards Kevin Fiala and Anze Kopitar also scored in the win. Over the last two seasons, Fiala has four points (3-1-4) versus Nashville, the team that selected him in the 2014 NHL Draft.

KINGS VITALS: Considering the early puck drop, the Kings did not hold a morning skate in advance of this afternoon’s game.

I would assume the goaltenders split this weekend, but not sure on which order. Should the Kings go to Darcy Kuemper, he posted a 16-save shutout in this building last month, as the Kings won 3-0. Should they turn to David Rittich, he would be getting the start against his former team, after spending the 2021-22 season here in Nashville. Should have a sense soon of which direction the Kings will go.

Will dive into this further below, but unsure of the alignment for today’s game. Last game’s look, the 11/7, shown below –

Tonight's @LAKings Line Rushes –

Turcotte – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Byfield – Jeannot
Fiala – Danault – Laferriere
Thomas – Helenius

Anderson – Gavrikov
Edmundson – Clarke
Moverare – Spence
Burroughs

Kuemper
Rittich

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) December 20, 2024

Should the Kings look to make a change, my expectation would be that it would involve forward Andre Lee checking in and the Kings shifting to 12 forwards. Unclear, though, at this time if they’ll do that. Defenseman Andreas Englund is also a healthy option on the blueline.

Forward Trevor Moore, who has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury, remains out on a day-to-day basis.

PREDATORS VITALS: After an eight-game losing streak, Nashville has now collected points in three of its last four games (2-1-1) entering today’s game against the Kings.

Per Brooks Bratten of NashvillePredators.com, here’s how the hosts lined up on Thursday against Pittsburgh –

#Preds lineup in warmups:

Forsberg-Stamkos-Marchessault
L'Heureux-O'Reilly-Nyquist
Jankowski-Novak-Evangelista
Smith-McCarron-Sissons

Skjei-Blankenburg
Lauzon-Wilsby
Del Gaizo-Schenn

Saros
Annunen#PITvsNSH

— Brooks Bratten (@brooksbratten) December 20, 2024

Offseason acquisitions Jonathan Marchessault (5-3-8) and Steven Stamkos (2-6-8) have each tallied eight points over their last ten games. Both players have performed well historically against the Kings, with Marchessault collecting ten points (5-5-10) over his last ten versus Los Angeles, while Stamkos has 10 goals and 24 points from 22 career games played against the Kings.

Storyline Of The Day – To 11/7, or Not To 11/7
Personnel wise, that’s the biggest question facing Head Coach Jim Hiller and the Kings entering today’s game.

The Kings have rolled with 11 forwards and seven defensemen throughout the entire roadtrip to date. Including the two games played prior, the team is 5-1-1 this season when playing in that alignment, with a record of 18-3-3 all-time in the 11/7 look. Results speak for themselves there.

Going with just 11 forwards, though, does put more taxing minutes on select forwards, who find themselves with extra icetime throuhgout the game. As Hiller has detailed, it isn’t necessarily guys like Anze Kopitar getting tasked with more but that second wave, the middle of the lineup, sees a minutes bump. It hasn’t been a huge issue, with the Kings managing practice time selectively in order to help keep everyone fresh. With games now on back-to-back days, though, coming at the end of a 3-in-4, a 4-in-6 and a seven-game roadtrip, perhaps it might be time to freshen things up.

“Back-to-back, we might go with 12 forwards, but we just manage it,” Hiller said. “We talk to the players, see what their energy levels are like, see how they’re performing on the ice. If someone’s down, we’ve got to push somebody else up, so it’s just a bit of a puzzle.”

Before the trip, Hiller did allude to the fact that while he likes the 11/7 for this Kings group, he knows it’s probably not an 82-game thing. Minutes need to be managed over a long season and players can’t be taxed, or put in the position to be taxed, in all 82 games.

Should the Kings opt to go 11/7 again today, the guy on the fringe has been defenseman Kyle Burroughs, who has generally delivered solid hockey for the Kings in his role.

In his seven games played of late, Burroughs has been on the ice for four Kings goals, compared to just one against. He played 9:57 at 5-on-5 against Philadelphia, his highest total in the 11/7 look.

“He just plays the game hard, he’s a competitive player and you just can’t have enough competitive players around,” Hiller said of Burroughs. “Physical, willing to fight anybody, those are all qualities, whether they’re in your forward group, or in your D-group, you just like to have on the bench, in the room and on the ice.”

Hiller added that Burroughs has a “really good addition to the team”, noting his fit in the locker room and the energy he brings on and off the ice. A great team guy, Burroughs understands the role. Even if he would, I am sure, love more icetime, the team is winning and he’s a part of that.

Should the Kings go to a traditional fourth line, that would mean Andre Lee would likely return for the Kings. If that’s the case, Lee is a player the Kings have no hesitation in dressing. Look no further than the last time he was inserted into the lineup.

Recalled the morning of November 29, Lee was immediately thrown into that afternoon’s game in Anaheim. Inside a minute to play in a 2-1 game, there was Lee, on the ice protecting a lead. He plays a simple game and one that shouldn’t require much adjusting if he comes in. Plug and play.

“He’s ready to roll for us,” Hiller said of Lee. “He’s played enough time with us, been with us right from the start, but for a little bit recently, so we have no problems putting him in. Whether he plays [on the fourth line] or even goes above that, we haven’t got any issues with him going back in at all.”

The 12/6 approach would likely give the Kings a “kid line” with Lee on the left of Samuel Helenius and Akil Thomas. That line was used once, earlier this season, with Hiller indicating, again, trust in his younger players.

“They’re a trustworthy line, they just are,” Hiller said, back in November. “It doesn’t really come down to age or experience. For me, sometimes, it’s what do you do when you’re on the ice and we trust the three of them.”

The 12 forward approach helps to keep players up front a little bit fresher, especially in games where the Kings will want to try and lean into their depth to matchup on the road. It could mean a shift or two fewer for players like Kevin Fiala, who have really thrived in playing with the Helenius/Thomas pairing, but it also keeps him fresher for what the Kings need from him over two games.

An interesting question to be posed. Get a sense of how the Kings opt to play this one shortly.

3 To Watch For –
– On the topic of Burroughs, had the chance to catch up with him the other day, for the first time since he worked his way back into the lineup.

A guy who gets it. He gets his place, he gets what it means to be here and to play the way the Kings are playing and he gets the team side of it. And hey, the Kings are 9-3-3 with Burroughs in the lineup this season. Not a bad record to have by your name.

Full interview with him below, on a variety of different topics.

– The Kings won the third period on Thursday by a 4-0 margin. With the four goals, it pushed them to 44 scored in that period so far this season, tied for the third most in the NHL.

That part was great.

It went doubly well because the game before, in Pittsburgh, the Kings led 2-1 in the third and felt that should have been enough to close the game out. The Kings have points in all 15 games they’ve led going into the third period, but Tuesday against the Penguins was one of their two overtime defeats in a 13-0-2 record overall.

As legs start to get fatigued at the end of this trip, the Kings have played in a number of tight games in the third period. They feel it’s been their best period overall. Experience they may need to rely on in what could be an under-fire situation either today in Nashville or tomorrow in Washington.

– Lastly, two goals for Anze Kopitar last game has given him 19 consecutive seasons of scoring 10 or more goals.

In NHL history, 27 players have collected 19-or-more seasons with 10+ goals, with Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille and Jeff Carter among that group. Kopitar is one of a select group that=’s done it in 19 consecutive seasons, all with one franchise. Just another stat for the impressive season the captain continues to put together.

Kings and Predators, 12:30 PM puck drop. Hoping for a good, breakfast media meal today. Fingers crossed. Talk soon!