Preview from October 17th – Swing game in Montreal + moments in the game, Turcotte’s game

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: Last stop on the Kings’ east coast trip: They visit Montreal to play the Canadiens.

HEAD TO HEAD: The Kings won the season series a season ago, going 4-0 both home and away. Overall, the Kings have won against the Canadiens in each of their last three games in Montreal and their last six games overall.

Forward Trevor Moore led the Kings with three goals in two games against Montreal a season ago, while forwards Quinton Byfield (2-1-3) and Anze Kopitar (1-2-3) also picked up three points in the season series.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings enter tonight’s game with four points from four games played, with the result in Montreal determining the season opener.

Without a morning skate tonight, it’s unclear who the starting goaltender is tonight, but Jim Hiller’s post-game interview in Toronto suggests David Rittich will get the nod at goal tonight. Rittich has played against Montreal six times during his NHL career, compiling a 1-3-1 record with a .920 save percentage and a 2.70 goals-against average.

There is no morning skate for the Kings today, so we won’t know exactly what tonight’s lineup will look like until the puck drops. For reference, here’s how they got together in Toronto yesterday:

Today @LAKings Line Rushes –

Laferriere – Kopitar – Kempe
Jeannot-Danault-Moore
Fiala – Byfield – Foegele
Lee-Turcotte-Lewis

Anderson-Spence
Gavrikov-Burroughs
Edmundson-Clarke

Kümper
Rittich

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) October 14, 2024

The Kings have defenseman Jordan Spence and forward Akil Thomas available to check in, as both players sat out last night due to healthy scratches.

UPDATE – Per Jim Hiller’s pregame availability, Spence will check back in for defenseman Kyle Burroughs.

Full quote on Spence’s return –

“He had a really strong pre-season, didn’t have the best in the first few games, so sometimes you have to take a breath and he’ll be right back at it. We believe in him, he’s a good player, all that.” Sometimes you just need a breath.

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) October 17, 2024

Additionally, forward Quinton Byfield will play tonight after leaving yesterday’s game in Toronto early.

Defenders Caleb Jones and Andreas Englund made their season debuts yesterday. Jones played 16:40 of 5-on-5 play, while Englund logged just under 14 minutes. They were marked as a pairing for a goal. As did goalkeeper Pheonix Copley, who came into the game as a replacement for Rittich midway through the second period. Hiller said the decision was not based on performance but rather on the management of Rittich’s protocols. To me that suggests Rittich will be playing in Montreal tonight.

MONTREAL VITALS: The Canadiens split their season opener, winning against Toronto and Ottawa and losing to Boston and Pittsburgh.

According to the Montreal team report, the hosts lined up as follows in the last game:

La formation de ce soir.

Today’s lineup.#GoHabsGo | @mtlgazette pic.twitter.com/lUDcg4KD2u

– Canadiens Montreal (@CanadiensMTL) October 14, 2024

The Canadiens have not scored a goal against the Kings in 131:21 games in their last three meetings. The last Montreal player expected to play tonight who scored a goal against the Kings was forward Josh Anderson in March 2023.

Montreal forward Cole Caufield leads his team with four goals in four games played early this season, putting him one goal behind Utah’s Dylan Guenther at the start of the league.

Notes –
Act of the Day – Swing Game
Today’s game in Montreal is a swing game for the Kings.

It is the difference between four points, five points or six points from the five games played on the East Coast.

“Great game,” said forward Phillip Danault. “Of course you come back and [we’re] at home, even if we are on the road again, but yes, there are definitely two important points tomorrow. [It’s a] Big one before we get back.”

As Danault points out, the Kings still have two more road games left on this “trip,” but I think general logic sees the current situation as a five-game trip with two singles against divisional opponents. The Kings visit Anaheim and Vegas when they return home, but those aren’t really part of this swing, but rather separate.

So I think tomorrow’s game will be more interesting in terms of ending this East Coast momentum on a high note.

Regardless of the final result, the Kings know they need to make improvements and progress. That much is clear. However, going home with six points instead of four is a big difference in many ways. If the Kings can win tonight, the mood for this trip will be much better. You end with a win and it overcomes some of what went wrong in Toronto and Ottawa. Not from the perspective of “everything is better”. But in terms of feeling, with a six-hour flight home and more games to follow.

You probably took six points with you at the start. Decent return to the overall standings.

However, four points, which means four defeats in a row at the end of the trip, and things don’t look so rosy on the way back to Los Angeles.

“I think it’s huge, I mean we got points in the first three games so it would be a good road trip if we came out [in Montreal]said striker Trevor Lewis. “I think we need to build on that in the second and a little bit in the third. They see it, I think our whole team sees it and we know what we have to do.”

Game 5 of the season can hardly be described as “decisive.” The season won’t be make or break, and it’s not like the Kings are 0-4. You’d really like to see something tonight though, wouldn’t you?

It’s day 17 on the road and it’s been a long journey with lots of ups and downs. The Kings are missing a few key players, with younger players playing in roles they’re not used to in systems that are still second nature to them. That will come with time, but the NHL waits for no one.

Points are important now. Kings can’t afford to pass this up when they have the opportunity to bank some of it.

3 to pay attention to
– I hate these charts sometimes, but I think they embody both what can make the Kings good and what will drive them to ruin. At the start of the second period, look at this nearly vertical line.

From what I remember, the Kings had their first 11 shots on goal in the second period. Lots of scrambling in front of the net. The graph shows a +17 shot attempt margin between the start of the second period and the first goal of the second period. We all knew who scored that goal. It was Toronto. The Kings had a good stretch and then poor coverage in the defensive zone, and it was all for naught. Might actually say similar things at first. The Kings calmed the game down after a 2-0 loss, they started playing and even though they started controlling the puck, one bad pinch, one odd man rush and it was 3-0. Once again everything is free. That simply can’t happen. Mishaps in these moments when you struggle with this will destroy you. Especially when it comes from players the Kings need to lead the way.

It’s still early in the season for everyone, so you have to give yourself some time. But for me those were the difficult moments in last night’s game.

– Impressive game yesterday for striker Alex Turcotte in Toronto.

He earned praise from his head coach after the game and appeared to have the confidence to play, logging more than 14 minutes of ice time. However, it was a blast and it will be interesting to see what Turcotte earns in a closer game. I think he deserves a little more. He impressed in all four games, although eight second-half penalties in Ottawa limited his playing time. His stats from last night said he had ten chances to score and no chances to score on the ice in 5-on-5 play. The Kings led these numbers, as did several others.

He was rewarded with the first Kings goal of the night, on a play he kept alive and then finished from the slot. He took a threaded pass through the neutral zone, kept play on the sides, and then passed to winger Andre Lee to his left. He got into a good area and was ready to release quickly when he got the puck back. A good end to an impressive evening, one of the only bright spots in Toronto.

– It’s a small moment from last night that had no impact on the result in Toronto, but good for Pheonix Copley

Copley underwent ACL reconstruction surgery back in January after suffering an injury during a practice in late December 2023. Last night, with the game getting out of hand and the Kings having a back-to-back, Copley came into the game midway through the second half and saved 10 shots on 12 shots. This comes after a minor ruckus occurred during its return to play against the Ontario Reign on Sunday.

Pheonix Copley (ONT) took Andrew Poturalski (SJ) back to the bench 😂#AHL#ReignTrain #GoKingsGo#BarracudaHockey #TheFutureIsTeal pic.twitter.com/EU4kqygMuG

– FloHockey (@FloHockey) October 13, 2024

We expect Copley to be the replacement again tonight, with Rittich likely to start. Personally, though, it was really nice to see Copley back on the NHL roster. It’s a long road to get to this point, more than 10 months after his last NHL game. Good thing, Pheonix.

Kings and Canadiens, travel finale, 4:00 p.m. Pacific time. As noted above, Jim Hiller will address the media approximately 90 minutes before puck drop and share any updates here and on social media.