3/9 Preview – Game 2 For Kuzmenko + D-Pair Distribution, 4th Line Excels, Divisional Showdown

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (32-20-9) @ Vegas Golden Knights (38-18-6)
WHAT: 2024-25 Regular-Season Game
WHEN: Sunday, March 9 @ 5:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas, NV
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FanDuel Sports Network – AUDIO – ESPN LA App – TWITTER: @dooleylak & @lakings

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Kings complete a rare, home/away back-to-back set this evening, as they visit the Vegas Golden Knights for a Pacific Division showdown.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings have won two of the first three games against Vegas this season, with tonight’s game concluding the season series.

Forward Quinton Byfield had four assists in the 5-2 win over the Golden Knights last month and leads the Kings with five points (0-5-5) in the season series to date. Forward Warren Foegele has scored a goal in all three games against Vegas this season, while he (3-1-4) and forward Adrian Kempe (1-3-4) each have four points from three games played.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings did not hold a morning skate today, considering the back-to-back and the 5 PM puck drop.

Jim Hiller did not commit to a starting goaltender when asked after last night’s game, noting that their plan was to go with Darcy Kuemper last night, assess after the game and make a call for today. Should Kuemper go back-to-back, it would be his first time this season starting on consecutive days. If the Kings go with David Rittich, he took the loss in Vegas earlier this season and carries a record of 2-7-0 throughout his career against the Golden Knights.

Here’s how the Kings lined up last night against St. Louis –

Tonight's @LAKings Line Rushes –

Kuzmenko – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Danault – Moore
Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Jeannot – Helenius – Turcotte

Anderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Spence
Edmundson – Clarke

Kuemper
Rittich

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) March 9, 2025

After a strong showing from a number of forwards last night, including the fourth line, not sure that I’d expect any changes to the group up front. Should the Kings look to insert a fresh player, forwards Trevor Lewis and Akil Thomas are both options to check in.

On the blueline, the Kings went back to the pairings we expected to see early in the season. Again, not expecting any changes, though if the Kings do make one, either in addition to the group or in place of someone, defenseman Jacob Moverare feels the most likely to enter in, considering his recent role and usage before last night’s scratch.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS VITALS: Vegas has won four consecutive games and seven of their last eight entering tonight’s matchup, with the lone loss coming in Los Angeles.

Per Sin Bin Vegas, here’s how the Golden Knights lined up last time out against

VGK lines for tonight's game vs PIT, Reilly Smith's 400th and 1st game as a Golden Knight

Pearson-Eichel-Stone
Saad-Hertl-Dorofeyev
Barbashev-Howden-Kolesar
Smith-Roy-Schwindt

Hague-Pietrangelo
Hanifin-Whitecloud
McNabb-Korczak

Samsonov

— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) March 8, 2025

Forward Reilly Smith played his first game back in Vegas – and his 400th total with the franchise – after he was reacquired via trade earlier this week. Former King Tanner Pearson had a goal and an assist last time out, skating on the first line alongside center Jack Eichel and winger Mark Stone. Pearson has a goal from three games played against the team that drafted him so far this season.

Storyline Of The Day – Kuzmenko Impressions
Here’s Andrei Kuzmenko’s first statline as a member of the LA Kings.

He played 12:42 at 5-on-5 and was on the ice for 17 shot attempts for, compared to 12 against. Seven of those attempts for were high-danger chances, compared to just one against. In terms of expected goal share, Kuzmenko ranked second on the Kings and was ultimately on the ice for both 5-on-5 goals in the game, one in either direction.

On the man advantage, it felt like we saw a bit of a throwback to when Gabe Vilardi and Viktor Arvidsson were here. A right-shot playmaker who played on the goal line and in front of the net. That’s Jim Hiller’s preferred alignment on the power play, dating back to his time here as an assistant coach. A right-shot forward down low who can be a playmaking option, three left-shot forwards across the middle and a right-shot defenseman up top. Kuzmenko looked instantly comfortable in his role and he really seemed to add another element to the man advantage, something the Kings have lacked in those situations all season.

It’s only one game, so we’ll keep expectations and determinations to a minimum for now. But felt like job well done, at least for night one.

Hiller noted yesterday that adding Kuzmenko was important on two fronts. He wanted a forward who he felt could complement Kopitar and Kempe and ideally wanted that player to be a right shot, with the power play in mind as well. He felt that in all situations, having another right-handed, offensive player would be an asset on a team that has just one other RH forward in the top nine, in Alex Laferriere.

My impressions of his first game was a lot of comfort on the puck in the offensive zone, especially below the goal line and between the goal line and the circles. Doesn’t strike me as a burner of a skater but moves well side-to-side. Looked willing to try and win pucks back offensively and was always looking to make a play when he had it on his stick, whether that was a pass or a shot.

“The reports I’ve got is he probably overpasses and doesn’t shoot enough, so in that spot on the power play, you’re primarily a passer,” Hiller said. “I think there were some opportunities at 5-on-5, but I think it’s a good example, you saw when he hit the crossbar, that’s a really difficult shot, it’s a highly skilled shot. Didn’t go in, but from that angle, to hit the crossbar, that’s a guy who has hands in tight, it’s just something you can see as a coach.”

Keep in mind too, this is a player who hasn’t practiced with the Kings. He doesn’t know the systems beyond a crash-course overview yesterday morning and pre-game meetings later in the day. He met many of his new teammates at the rink, in the three hours before the game. He’ll get the meetings again today, but we probably won’t see him for a practice until Wednesday and at this stage in the season, even practice days are shorter and less intense than usual.

When you get into it, though usually the game is the game and instincts take over. I think we saw that last night and I’m sure the adrenaline was pumping too in his first game with the Kings. Coming from the Flyers, who sit outside of the playoff picture, he called it his goal to play in the postseason. Now he’s right in the mix and that should be extremely motivating and inspiring for him as a player.

“I understand there are big things about this team, we want to go to the playoffs, that’s my dream, I want to play in the playoffs,” Kuzmenko said. “It’s my third year, I haven’t been able to. I want to try to make every game better. [Game 1] was an okay game, had a couple chances but didn’t score. I need to be a little bit better for the next game in Vegas.”

If he’s got more to give, then I’m excited to see it, considering the promising start. Good signs from number 96. Hoping to see more of them again tonight against the division leaders.

3 To Watch For –
– The minute distribution on the blueline was interesting and I wonder if maybe foreshadowing.

The pairs to start the game last night were Anderson/Doughty, Gavrikov/Spence, Edmundson/Clarke. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Kings start that way on most nights. As periods go on, and minutes become harder, I’d expect to see the Kings shorten to four at times, likely leaning on the four veterans. Last night we saw that. In games when the Kings are trailing though or maybe it’s tight and they’d like to search for offense, I would see Clarke and Spence picking up more minutes in those situations, at the expense of more defensively-focused players like Edmundson and Anderson.

“We think we can maybe balance it a ltitle bit more, maybe balance the minutes, but I’m sure there will be time when [assistant coach D.J. Smith] goes down to four, ends of periods, and you’ll see some of those familiar pairings back again. We just felt like we’re at 12 forwards now, so six defensemen, and we’re at that time of the year when we try to distribute the icetime a little bit better.”

Last night was a 1-1 game. Anderson and Doughty were atop the charts at around 22 minutes even strength. Then came Gavrikov and Edmundson at around 18 minutes, followed by Clarke at 12 and Spence around 10. As far as balance, I’m not sure that was achieved, but with the gameflow, I’m not all that surprised. In a different game, I think we’d have seen things tighter.

In certain moments, the Kings will ride or die with the veterans who have a longer rope defensively. From Rob Blake’s press conference on Friday, he said that he wants to see Clarke specifically playing in these games down the stretch. Jim Hiller did go out of his way, though, to highlight Jacob Moverare as well, who will play down the stretch.

He’s a fan of Moverare’s steady game and whether it’s as a part of an 11/7 alignment or perhaps a rotation at the bottom of the defense with one of the younger guys, I don’t expect Moverare to sit the rest of the season either. For tonight, unsure if there will be any changes. Will get a sense at the rink in a few hours.

– Really like the way the fourth line played last night. As noted yesterday, I thought there might be something in sticking Alex Turcotte’s skillset alongside bigger bodies in Tanner Jeannot and Samuel Helenius.

Jim Hiller agreed after the game.

He said he felt that Turcotte’s speed really showcased last night. Whether it was perhaps a bit of a burden off his shoulders of not playing with Kempe and Kopitar, or perhaps a chip on his shoulder in getting moved down, I thought Turcotte had a really strong night and that line spent a good chunk of time playing in the offensive zone.

“I thought they did a good job,” Hiller said. “I thought maybe Turc not having to play with Kopi and Juice in that role all the time, I thought I noticed Turc maybe a little bit more tonight than I had over the last little while. The role is different. He wants to play more, I get that, but he was just, I think, able to settle in. We really, I thought, saw his speed tonight. Really saw his speed. So I thought it was a good night for the line. Jeanno and Sammy got their hits in and Turc I thought really had a little bit of a spark.”

I would agree with that assessment. Strong first night together for that trio.

– Lastly, how about a little standings check-in.

For the “let’s experience the playoffs in somewhere that isn’t Edmonton” crowd, this is a big one tonight. Although, after the sleep I got last night in Vegas, perhaps Edmonton aint all that bad.

First things first, the Kings have home-ice advantage still within reach, though at this stage, that would likely mean a series with the Oilers. Secondly, Edmonton got a big win for their cause over Dallas last night to remain five points clear of the Kings and pull within four points of Vegas at the top of the division. Kings could move to three points back with a win tonight and hold firm the Vegas lead at the top.

I don’t know if I’d classify the Pacific Division as being super tight, but lots of things are within reach for the top five teams. The Kings don’t have a ton of cushion at the bottom after the recent five-game losing streak, but with the Oilers also slipping of late, they are still within reach of second place. Games like this, that impact the standings in more ways than one, are important. Despite difficult circumstances on the back-to-back, there’s lots on the line tonight in Vegas.