11/28 Preview – A Freeway Faceoff with Meaning + Perry on Ducks Return, Foegele/Turcotte, Matinee Edge

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Kings head to Anaheim for a Black Friday showdown, the first of the season between the two Southern California sides.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Honda Center has been Adrian Kempe’s home away from home over the last five seasons. Kempe has 13 goals over his last 12 games played in Anaheim in that span, the most in the NHL, and he also leads the league with 18 points in that time. Additionally, Kempe leads the league both in power-play goals (5) and even-strength points (12) over the last five seasons in Anaheim.

KINGS VITALS: With the afternoon puck drop, the Kings did not hold a morning skate today, following yesterday’s full-team practice.

Expecting the goaltenders to split the starts this weekend, as the Kings are right back at it tomorrow evening against Vancouver at home. Should Darcy Kuemper start here today, he brings with him a 10-6-0 all-time record versus Anaheim, with a .914 save percentage and a 2.40 goals-against average. Should Anton Forsberg get the nod, he’s yet to defeat the Ducks in four career appearances, with a .877 save percentage in those games.

For reference, here’s how the Kings lined up last time out versus Ottawa –

Tonight’s @LAKings Line Rushes –

Fiala – Byfield – Kempe
Moore – Kopitar – Kuzmenko
Armia – Danault – Laferriere
Foegele – Helenius – Perry

Anderson – Edmundson
Dumoulin – Clarke
Moverare – Ceci

Kuemper
Forsberg

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) November 25, 2025

The biggest question mark for today’s game comes around the availability of forward Warren Foegele. Foegele left the ice during yesterday’s practice and did not return but no update was available so close the skate ending. So, we’ll have to wait and see there. Expecting to hear from Jim Hiller in a couple hours, will provide more clarity then.

DUCKS VITALS: Today’s game ends a six-game homestand for the Ducks, who bring with them a 3-2-0 record in the first five games played thus far.

Per the Anaheim team account, here’s how the Ducks lined up on Wednesday against Vancouver –

Mrazek is in net with Dostal out day-to-day. We have placed Mikael Granlund on IR. Here’s who we fly with. #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/cR8RJJJvxZ

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) November 27, 2025

As noted in the post above, forward Mikael Granlund remains out with a lower-body injury. Goaltender Lukas Dostal is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, so expect to see one of two veteran goaltenders – Ville Husso or Petr Mrazek – in net this afternoon for the hosts. Anaheim forward Cutter Gauthier enters tonight’s game tied for third in the NHL with 14 goals scored this season, trailing only Boston’s Morgan Geekie and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon.

Storyline Of The Day – Means Something
When’s the last time a Kings/Ducks game had first place in the Pacific Division on the line?

Yeah. Been a minute.

With Anaheim off to its best start in years and the Kings now picking up wins after a slow start to the season, Southern California’s two clubs find themselves separated by just a point at the top of a tightly packed Pacific Division.

A Kings regulation win today would see Los Angeles at the top of the table. A Kings overtime or shootout win and the teams are tied for the division lead, with Anaheim holding the early-season regulation wins tiebreaker. An Anaheim overtime/shootout victory would extend the lead at the top, though the Kings would move into second place. A Ducks regulation win and the lead extends even more, with the Kings likely sitting in a wild-card spot at the end of the day.

That’s far too much breakdown of the standings in November. But this is a little bit of a different situation. The last time a Kings/Ducks game was truly meaningful for both teams was the 2021-22 season. In late-February, the teams met at Honda Center with the Kings in a playoff spot in the division and Anaheim tied for a Wild Card position. Los Angeles won that game 4-1 and went on to make the playoffs, while the Ducks lost 14 of 16 to fall out of the race.

Today’s game feels different. Would assume it’s the same feeling on the Anaheim side, after a really positive start to the season.

“They’re probably looking at us, since we’ve been ahead of them for the last little while and now we’re looking up at them,” Head Coach Jim Hiller said of the matchup. “It’s going to be a good game. Since I’ve been here, we’ve played [the 1 PM Friday] game a few times, they’ve been great games, 1 o’clock, the crowd is really into the games. It should be exciting.”

Not many are more qualified to speak on what’s exciting about seeing both teams towards the top of the standings than Kings forward Corey Perry.

Perry left Anaheim now seven years ago but man does it feel more recent than that. Perry is probably a Mount Rushmore guy there for what he brought to the Ducks, including a Stanley Cup in 2007 and a Hart Trophy in 2011. Perry is an all-time legend in Anaheim, could be a number in the rafters guy one day. Still a ton of memories for Perry as he returns as a King.

“I was there 14 years, it was home, they gave me my start, we won a Stanley Cup there, there’s a lot of accomplishments,” Perry said. “I can’t thank them enough for what they did for me and my family. It’s been seven years now, I think there’s only one player that I played with a little bit – Troy Terry – but it’s all new, everything has changed over, new management. Everything is different there now, so it’s just going in and playing hockey.”

He was on that side of the ice for the seven-game series between the Kings and Ducks in 2014 and he’s excited to see both teams in playoff positions once again.

For most players on the Kings, they probably don’t even really consider it to be a rivalry game. It’s a geographic rivalry and it’s a big fan rivalry, but there really haven’t been a ton of meaningful games between the two clubs in recent memory. Tomorrow could change that and perhaps it’s the start of these games feeling a little bit different again.

“It’s exciting,” Perry said of that concept. “They’re playing really good hockey, they have some young pieces that are really flourishing and they brought in some older guys who are really helping out. It’s exciting to get that rivalry going again. When I was in Anaheim, the playoff battle, it was an exciting series. It’s fun to get it going again.”

3 To Watch For –
– As reported yesterday, and repeated above, forward Warren Foegele left practice early yesterday morning.

Jim Hiller didn’t have an update on Foegele immediately after practice, but expecting perhaps a little bit more of a concrete one when we speak with Hiller in a couple of hours at Honda Center.

So, for now, unknown on if Foegele is expected to play today. As noted in yesterday’s practice story, I saw Foegele leave the ice when he did but didn’t see if there was anything specific that preceded it. Look for an update to come between now and today’s game, at least regarding Foegele’s availability against the Ducks and perhaps beyond that.

– While unsure exactly in what capacity, I’d expect Alex Turcotte to check back in today.

Turcotte is comfortable at both center and wing, so that gives him some versatility to play either position. If Foegele is unable to go, we could see Turcotte swap in there, 1-for-1, or we could potentially see him back at center, with Jeff Malott on the left. Even if Foegele does play, Turcotte could be back in at center on that line.

Either way, more HERE from Jim Hiller, praising Turcotte’s impact during practice and approaching the game off the right way. Sounds like the two men talked, with Hiller expressing that sentiment to Turcotte directly, which is encouraging, and consistent with how Hiller has communicated with players. Look for 15 to play today, as Hiller seemed to indicate yesterday, and we’ll go from there.

– Lastly, with a back-to-back this weekend, it’s a plus that today’s game comes at 1 PM, though not a huge advantage. Saturday’s opponent, the Vancouver Canucks, are in San Jose for a Friday-afternoon matinee of their own. They’ll fly to Los Angeles after the game and be here by a more than reasonable time. The Kings have the edge in that the game in Anaheim is a drive, really no more so than a drive home from Crypto.com Arena. So that makes for a much easier set of games than two evening puck drops.

More a story to watch for tomorrow, to see how the gas tanks are on both sides, but good to see the afternoon puck drop today on that front.

Kings and Ducks, 1 PM game here this afternoon at Honda Center with the top spot in the Pacific potentially on the line! Fun to see these games mean a little bit more on both sides, hope the on-ice showing reflects that!