It’s Black Friday, which means there is NHL hockey all-day long. The Los Angeles Kings (11-6-6) will suit up for the first time in four days as they face the Anaheim Ducks (14-8-1) in what could very well be a first round preview. Puck drop is 1:00 PM PT/4:00 PM ET.
Even though it has only been four days, it feels like the Kings haven’t played hockey in a month. LA enters Friday afternoons affair playing solid hockey with a 6-2-2 record in their last 10. The Ducks, their opponent have come back down to earth a little bit after getting off to a terrific start, they are 5-5 in their last 10. Buckle up, because this should be one of the best games in an enormous 15-game slate across the league.
Darcy Kuemper (8-4-4) gets the nod as he looks to continue his strong play. The top nine and the d-core remain unchanged from the Kings victory over the Senators on Monday. The fourth line is the only difference as Alex Turcotte and Jeff Malott check in for Warren Foegele and Samuel Helenius. Drew Doughty remains out with a lower-body injury.
Forwards
First Line: Kevin Fiala — Quinton Byfield — Adrian Kempe
Second Line: Andrei Kuzmenko — Anze Kopitar — Trevor Moore
Third Line: Joel Armia — Phillip Danault — Alex Laferriere
Fourth Line: Jeff Malott — Alex Turcotte — Corey Perry
Defense
1st Pair: Mikey Anderson — Joel Edmundson
2nd Pair: Brian Dumoulin — Brandt Clarke
3rd Pair: Jacob Moverare — Cody Ceci
Goaltenders: Darcy Kuemper (Starter) Anton Forsberg (Backup)
Scratched/Injured: Samuel Helenius (Scratched), Drew Doughty (Lower-Body), Warren Foegele (Undisclosed)
The Ducks have yet to announce an official starter. However, Lukas Dostal who is dealing with an injury is not expected to start. If he cannot go, Ville Huuso or Petr Mrazek will play in his place. The Ducks top-nine remains loaded with talent while the fourth line is one of the hardest working lines in the league.
Forwards
First Line: Chris Kreider — Leo Carlsson — Troy Terry
Second Line: Cutter Gauthier — Mason McTavish — Beckett Sennecke
Third Line: Frank Vatrano — Ryan Strome — Alex Killorn
Fourth Line: Ross Johnston — Jansen Harkins — Nikita Nesterenko
Defense
First Pair: Jackson LaCombe — Radko Gudas
Second Pair: Olen Zellweger — Jacob Trouba
Third Line: Pavel Mintyukov — Ian Moore
Goaltenders: Ville Huuso or Petr Mrazek
Scratched/Injured: Drew Helleson (Scratched), Mikael Granlund (Lower-Body), Ryan Poehling (Upper-Body)
- Kings and Ducks have faced off 167 times in the regular season
- LAK is 80-58-29 while ANA is 76-63-28
- The Kings are 8-2 in their last 10 games against the Ducks
- LA has won four of their last five against ANA
- LA remains strong on the road with a 9-2-3 record
- The Ducks are hard to beat at home with an 8-3-0 record
- With a regulation win, the Kings could move to first in the Pacific division
Bottom Line
This is the Kings biggest game of the season so far, they may have the Ducks number as of late but this year’s team if clearly different than years prior. The Ducks have a well balanced roster so the Kings must continue their strong defensive play and also rely on their Vezina caliber goaltender to continue to do his job. If the Kings are going to leave Anaheim with victory, Adrian Kempe must get out of his current offensive slump. He currently has one goal in his last nine games. After an extended break, expect Kempe and the Kings top line to have a big game, especially if Dostal is unable to suit up.
THN.com/free
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
