30.10. Preview – Kuemp-ire Strikes Back + Fiala, PP Fights, Thomas Numbers

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP: The Kings are back home after a 24-hour turnaround, hosting the Vegas Golden Knights in a rematch of last week's loss at T-Mobile Arena.

HEAD TO HEAD: The Kings and Golden Knights met eight days earlier, with Vegas earning a 6-1 win on home ice.

Forward Warren Foegele scored his team's only goal of the game, with defenders Joel Edmundson and Jordan Spence tallying assists on the move. Edmundson's assist was his sixth in 11 games against Vegas, making it the most assists he has ever collected against an opponent.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings return home after a quick trip to San Jose for their first back-to-back home/away games this season.

After David Rittich started yesterday in San Jose, goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper will be back between the goals tonight against the Golden Knights. Kuemper returned from injury on Saturday and made 23 saves on 25 shots to secure the victory over Utah. Over the course of his career, Kuemper has a 6-7-3 record in 17 appearances against the Golden Knights, with a save percentage of .930 and a goals-against average of 2.31. More on Kuemper below.

Here's how the Kings lined up in yesterday's loss in San Jose –

Tonight @LAKings Line Rushes –

Byfield-Kopitar-Kempe
Moore-Danault-Thomas
Foegele-Turcotte-Laferrière
Lee-Lewis-Jeannot

Anderson Gavrikov
Edmundson Clarke
Jones Spence

Rittich

Kevin Fiala will not play tonight because he violated team protocol and missed a meeting.

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) October 30, 2024

I expect Kevin Fiala to return to the lineup tonight against Vegas.

As mentioned above, Fiala missed yesterday's game due to a violation of team protocol by missing a meeting. The incident was unrelated to Saturday's game, when Fiala did not make a substitution in the final 24 minutes. On Monday, Hiller said that Fiala had a “clean slate” after a conversation between the two that morning. A disappointing turn of events yesterday in San Jose. We'll hear from Hiller later today at Crypto.com Arena, but for now I expect Fiala to return to the lineup.

Regarding additional changes…..not positive with the back-to-back. Akil Thomas made his season debut in a 1-1 trade with Fiala. The original plan was for Thomas to check in at 4C in place of Trevor Lewis, but the situation changed between the morning skate and the game. I wonder if Thomas will keep his place after scoring a goal and putting in a solid performance, and if Lewis might get the night off with the clash. Wait and see. Hiller is scheduled to speak around 5:30 p.m., so we'll see what we hear then.

Towards the end of the game we saw the Kings mix up the lineups a bit. If we see a sequel, Alex Turcotte has taken a late shift with Kopitar/Kempe and Quinton Byfield has returned to center with Foegele/Laferriere. If there is staying power, I would most likely consider it a sequel.

VEGAS VITALS: Vegas is off to one of the best starts in the NHL as they currently lead the Pacific Division with seven wins and 15 points in ten games played.

According to Jesse Granger of The Athletic, here's how the Golden Knights lined up against Calgary on Monday –

Golden Knights line rushes before game against Calgary:

Howden – Hertl – Dorofeev
Barbashev – Acorn – Stone
Pearson-Karlsson-Holtz
Fades – Roy – Kolesar

Hanifin – Pietrangelo
McNabb-Korczak
Theodore – Whitecloud

hill
Samsonov

– Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) October 29, 2024

Las Vegas forward Mark Stone is tied for the NHL lead with 18 points tonight and scored three points in the Golden Knights' win over Los Angeles last week. Teammate Jack Eichel is close behind with 16 points and is fourth in the league in points.

The Golden Knights are expected to dress two former Kings tonight: forward Tanner Pearson and defenseman Brayden McNabb.

Plot of the Day – Kuemp-ire strikes back
Darcy Kuemper made his presence felt in Saturday's win over Utah, his first game back from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for five games early in the season.

Kümper was simply solid in his comeback. 23 saves on 25 shots. A real save as he crossed the goal area, but overall just a solid performance. Jim Hiller called Kuemper simply “great” in net and used his presence to allow pucks to hit him at the right moment. It was a strong performance, exactly what we wanted to see in the first leg.

Even though Saturday was the crucial day, I think we probably could have seen Kuemper a game or two earlier if it hadn't been October. However, for goalkeepers the process is slightly different. You cannot bring a goaltender back into the lineup with a reduced role or reduced minutes. It's an all or nothing situation. That was Kuemper's approach here. Make sure it's at 100 percent and then put it back on the grid.

“You can’t really go out and protect certain parts of your body, you’re not going to give it your best shot and you have to give it your all,” Kuemper said. “So you want to feel as close to 100% as possible.”

Kuemper admitted it “sucked” to miss time but seemed optimistic about his return. That's ultimately why he does this, to be on the ice with his teammates. He said he feels “great” now and is back to 100 percent.

So far, Kuemper has been three points ahead and one behind in his return to the Kings. The Ottawa game was an obvious blemish, but he was rock solid in each of his other three appearances. Kuemper enters tonight's game with 2.41 goals saved above average, according to Natural Stat Trick. Of the 70 goaltenders to appear in an NHL game this season, Kuemper is one of 18 over two in GSAA at 5-on-5, led by the opening-night win over Buffalo.

While he was out of action, Kümper had the opportunity to look at the team from a completely different perspective.

Viewing the game from above gives players a different perspective. They often see how slowly things can sometimes develop. Perhaps less useful for a goalkeeper, but Kuemper appreciated the experience.

“I like to go up and watch the game, it’s a different vantage point than I’m used to,” Kuemper said of his time off. “You see different things and feel the atmosphere a little.”

As for his insights, if anything, Kuemper alluded to something that I thought was obvious – continuity.

It's not necessarily about what, but about doing the what more regularly. We've seen good outings from the Kings, but they haven't been nearly as consistent as you'd expect from this team and what this team expects of itself.

“As a group, we learn what makes us successful,” he added. “We know what it is, we just have to make sure we do it all the time.”

Since the Kings are playing back-to-back games yesterday and had a substandard performance, they will turn to Kuemper to help them bounce back. With Vegas as an opponent, Kuemper will have to do his best to get the team a result tonight.

3 to watch out for –
– The Kings had six power play opportunities last night and failed to score. In total, the Kings attempted 17 shots while with a man in front of them, but ultimately only had three shots on goal on those six occasions. While these can sometimes be deceptive, I think 0 for 6 is a number that speaks for itself.

Phillip Danault felt that while the Kings got a few looks, they lacked the clinical finishing needed to do damage on the power play. Jim Hiller used the word “crisp” to describe what the Kings weren't last night, from the 5-on-5 to the power play.

If it was one night, no problem, right? Both units were shuffled in Kevin Fiala's absence and some nights it just doesn't work. Despite being on the PP for the third-most times in the NHL, the Kings only scored five goals, tied for the 10th-fewest. While those stats are more valuable at 5-on-5, the Kings rank last in the NHL in goals per/60 and 31st in high-danger chances in power play situations.

We saw signs of life on Saturday as the Kings implemented the system much better, getting bodies between the penalty killers to create traffic, rebound threats and retrieves. Things we saw in practice on Friday showed up in the game. Last night, however, was a step backwards. While it's still early, it will be crucial to get this unit back on track, starting tonight against Vegas, a team that is certainly scoring on its chances and entering today's game fourth in the league in PP%. Must be more productive.

– If there was one positive takeaway, I would highlight Akil Thomas in his season debut.

I think we can all agree that it was overdue. The numbers at the end of the evening saw Thomas top the charts in several categories. With Akil Thomas on the ice, playing 10:55 at 5-on-5, Thomas was on the ice for 21 shot attempts and 5 against. He was on the ice for 80 percent of all scoring chances, also leading the Kings, and he was not on the ice for a dangerous chance against the Kings. Thomas also led the way in shot attempts with six individual shots, while he also led the team in scoring chances and high-danger chances.

It makes you wonder how the Kings will do tonight. Thomas fit Danault and Moore like a glove. I thought that was the line that looked right last night, in a game where many didn't. They accomplished the goal and did the things we expect from Moore and Danault. A lot of people have to bring more and these people were there at times. Hopefully last night is a night that these players can build on.

Keep it up, Akil.

– Finally, I'll share this quote from Jim Hiller who talks about playing the same opponent twice in quick succession, like the Kings are doing against Vegas tonight.

“If you haven't played against the team yet, you scout to see if they're playing against another opponent, and sometimes you try to find an opponent who maybe plays a similar game to you so you can see what that looks like . The nice thing about having played against a team before is that you have game footage of yourself, so you can see where you maybe weren't so good, where they might be good, and I always think that the players appreciating watching themselves rather than watching Vegas, they appreciate watching themselves. I think the focus is a little narrower, and the same goes for the (Vegas) side as well. There is no advantage. I just think it’s better preparation, it’s just more engaging.”