The Need to Knows
- The Time: 1pm PT
- The Place: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California
- Place to Watch: KONG, Kraken Hockey Network Stations, FanDuel Sports Network West, KCAL-TV
- Place to Listen: Kraken Audio Network provided by KJR 93.3-FM
- An Opposing Viewpoint: Jewels from the Crown (Currently set to social media right now)
Know Your Enemy
- The Kings are 10-7-3, which is good for 23 points in the standings, and are 3rd in the Pacific Division.
- LA has two leaders in goals right now; Alex Laferriere and Adrian Kempe, both of whom have 9 goals in 20 games.
- Anze Kopitar is once again a playmaking maniac; he’s got 16 assists and 21 points, leading the Kings in both categories.
- Kevin Fiala is the Kings’ main weapon on the power play, with a team-high 4 goals acquired on the man-advantage. Don’t give this man any space on the penalty kill.
- Darcy Kuemper would’ve been the guy in net, but he was injured during a game against the Avalanche about a week ago and is on the IR list. Now, they’re currently running Dave Rittich and Phoenix Copley, neither of whom are above .900 in SV%.
Game Notes
The Kraken and the Kings are in an unusual spot. They’ve both had some strong win streaks balanced out by some truly harrowing losses, and are having to put a lot of effort forward to overcome potential goaltending concerns. The Kings have lost their starter to injury and are now relying on Big Save Dave Rittich to keep things afloat, and if he can’t, they put their spirit into the hands of their skating talent to outscore their problems. Sometimes it works and they blow out the Wild to the tune of 5-1…and then sometimes it means Buffalo scrapes a 1-0 loss off the tarmac and hits them with it.
Perhaps most interesting (to us, anyway) is that they’ve been giving away points to direct competitors in the Pacific Division this November in 2-goal losses. All this to say, the Kings will be rested, eager, and probably more than a little desperate to find a little space between themselves and the rest of the division tonight, because I dunno if you’ve had a chance to look at the standings recently, but it is getting cramped out here:
The difference between 3rd and 6th place is a single regulation game. Puts a lot of emphasis on the Kraken to play well and win this one, of course; but it also puts a lot of pressure on the teams above them, who cannot lose more than a couple of games at a time or risk tumbling out of a playoff spot entirely.
And the Kings have to do that with two goalies playing sub-.900 goaltending. No pressure, guys!
The Kraken need to test Rittich and fast, and critically not get caught up in good saves he makes. Rittich is a king of an incredible save once, and a miserable goal let up from somewhere on the ice it shouldn’t be going in from. No shaking your head; just keep shooting until something sticks. After that, the Kraken’s defense needs to be on their A-Game for this one; the Kings are still really strong on offense, and are one of the league’s leaders in getting to the most dangerous areas of the offensive zone ice (critically, the middle), so they need to be willing to play the body and keep the Kings to the boards as much as possible. Winning on the boards is just as important as winning faceoffs against a team this dangerous out front.
After such a long homestand and some strong performances against Eastern squads, it’ll be real fun to see how Seattle’s momentum stacks up against LA!
LET’S GO KRAKEN, LET’S GO SQUIDS.