Preview for September 28th – Today's Playgroup + Reign Alums talk Ontario's return, notes on special teams

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP: The Kings will play their only “home” game of the preseason as they host the Anaheim Ducks in a Saturday matinee at the home stadium of their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.

HEAD TO HEAD: The Kings and Ducks met four times last season, with LA winning three of the four contests.

Among the players expected in today's game, striker Adrian Kempe led the way with five points (0-5-5) in four head-to-head meetings last season. Striker Akil Thomas scored a goal and an assist in two games played, collecting a point in each competition.

KINGS VITALS: A new group is expected for the LA Kings today, including some veterans who will be playing for the first time.

It looks like we'll see goalkeeper David Rittich make his pre-season debut this afternoon. Rittich played against the Ducks twice last season and won both games, stopping 50 of 53 shots. Rittich will be supported by goalkeeper Erik Portillo in today's game. Portillo appeared in one game this preseason when he stopped 14 of the 16 shots he faced in 40 minutes at Utah on Monday night.

Among the skaters, there is some experience, some youth and many former Ontario Reign skaters.

It is expected to see the preseason debuts of Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, the last two members of the NHL roster who have not yet played this exhibition season. Today’s playgroup is below –

Striker (12) – Chromiak, Doty, Fagemo, Helenius, Kempe, Kopitar, Laferriere, Lewis, Malott, Pinelli, Studnicka, Thomas

Defender (6) – Clarke, Dvorak, Edmundson, Englund, Jones, Spence

Goalkeeper (2) – Portillo, Rittich

Today's game provides the first opportunity to see the Laferriere/Kopitar/Kempe line in action. Laferriere played in Wednesday's friendly in Las Vegas but is expected to be here today alongside Koptiar and Kempe, a team expected to play together during the regular season. There will be some unknown behind these three players, but it wouldn't be surprising to see Akil Thomas between Samuel Fagemo and Trevor Lewis, three guys in the mix on the fourth line.

On the blueline, Joel Edmundson and Brandt Clarke are expected to lead as a pair. The Kings specifically targeted this pair and despite Drew Doughty's injury, this pair has stayed together for now. The rest of the group consists of Jordan Spence, a right back, and three LHDs. Assuming we could see Caleb Jones on the right side as he has played on both sides throughout his professional career.

ANAHEIM VITALS: Like Los Angeles, the Ducks have a win and an overtime loss in their first two preseason games.

There is no information yet about the lineup of guests. Anaheim added more of its regular forwards to the lineup on Thursday and with a home game against the Kings on Monday, I might expect a younger lineup today and a more experienced group on Monday. To be determined.

Let it rule
Due to renovations at Crypto.com Arena, the Kings will not be able to play friendlies at home this fall.

Regardless, today's game is important.

The city of Ontario has supported the LA Kings' young talent in the AHL since the team moved west in 2015. Ontario, now entering its 10th season as the Kings' primary minor league affiliate, is among the AHL leaders in attendance. Providing a great environment for King's prospects to grow and develop.

“It’s great,” head coach Jim Hiller said. “I can tell you, I was there, unfortunately lost the last playoff game to Coachella, but what a crowd, what energy it was. It was great. The building was alive. To go back there, sure, they've got Reign fans there, they've got Kings fans there, it's great for us to get back in there and play. They just did a great job.”

Of the players expected to be on the opening night roster, at least 10 have played in Ontario. From the top of the lineup, defenseman Mikey Anderson and forward Adrian Kempe each spent time with the Reign. Also at the bottom of the list are Quinton Byfield and Jordan Spence, as well as players like Alex Turcotte, Akil Thomas and Brandt Clarke, all of whom played for the Reign last season on their way to the third round of the Calder Cup playoffs.

Last season, a total of 583 players on the opening roster across the NHL were AHL graduates. That was more than 82 percent of all players, i.e. an average of more than 18 players per team. Considering all AHL affiliates, at least 20 of the players expected to be on the Kings' opening day roster have AHL experience. Including the players listed above like Kevin Fiala, Warren Foegele, Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore all came through the AHL in one city or another.

For those who played in Ontario specifically, there are great memories of returning to the Inland Empire.

Clarke- “It's super exciting, I'm looking forward to getting back out there, I had a great time there. We'll hopefully give these Ontario fans a show, they were so great for me and all the Reign people last year. They filled the building every night, brought their passion and came. We're really grateful for that and I'm looking forward to getting back out there [today].”

Kempe – “It's great, it's been a while since I've been to an exhibition game down there but I remember the fans down there are great. There is always great support, you can see that when the Reign play there, they have great fans. It's going to be a pretty busy building and I'm looking forward to it.

Thomas – “It'll be cool, I've done one before and it's cool. Now I know the room and the rink and it will be great to be there again. The Reign has some underrated fans and it was really fun last year and every year I've been there they've been great. It was really fun playing there last year.”

The other cool part of this Ontario game is what Hiller talked about – the atmosphere. I love a game in an NHL building, but preseason games don't have the same energy as a regular season game. However, in a place like Ontario or what we'll likely see next week in Quebec City, the energy is different. It's a one-off event for fans in a non-NHL market and that's what makes it special. A better experience for those who get to play, with a building that gives the impression of being more than it is.

Today should be a lot of fun in the home of the Reign.

Fast hitters
– 80 percent of what is probably the Kings’ best power play unit should be in action here today. Clarke, Kopitar, Kempe and Laferriere all worked with the elite unit during training yesterday, with only Kevin Fiala not expected to travel to Ontario today.

Clarke completed his first training session with the unit yesterday, with that part of Drew Doughty's role expected to go to the young blueliner. Alex Laferriere is also a newcomer from previous seasons. Jim Hiller has always preferred to use a right-handed hitter, and Laferriere makes the most sense if the Kings don't want four lefties. He was tenacious in puck recovery in Las Vegas, and while he'll have to offer more than that to stay in that spot, I thought that might have been the brightest spot in his game on Wednesday. Kopitar worked the middle of the ice while Kempe was in his preferred one-timer location on the right side of the screen. For today, I'm wondering if we could see Francesco Pinelli in Kevin Fiala's place to replicate the left-handed striker, or if Samuel Fagemo could play there to see what a unique threat looks like on both sides.

– On the PK, yesterday’s practice showed a much more aggressive look from the penalty killers. It's something Jim Hiller talked about earlier in training camp and said he wants to implement.

I would like to see Akil Thomas in PK action today. The Kings liked him in limited form last season, and that's an area where I think he can help earn more minutes. Thomas converts penalties in the AHL and provides the aggressive style the Kings are looking for. It will also be interesting to see how the team deals with the defenders. You would look at the players on the left, including Edmundson, who is dressed to lead there today, but two LHDs on a unit lead to backhand clearing attempts. Not ideal. In yesterday's practice, Edmundson and Mikey Anderson played together during drills, but it's hard to say if that was just because neither is playing on the PP. One to keep an eye on.

– I'm curious to see how the goalkeeper distribution is divided today and in the future. The Kings have four preseason games remaining, plus an AHL preseason game with Ontario. I assume that Rittich will play at least 40 minutes today, maybe even 60. Let's assume that Kuemper and Rittich each also play a game in Quebec City. That leaves Portillo, who has played 40 minutes, and Pheonix Copley, who has yet to play, as well as Dryden McKay in camp on an AHL contract. Copley was a full participant during camp but has not played in a game since December 10, 2023 in New York. Expect him to see plenty of action in the preseason, whether it be with the Kings on Monday or with Ontario on Friday, October 5th.

We're looking at Rittich to start tonight and here we go.