{"id":164281,"date":"2025-09-23T20:21:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T20:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/164281\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T20:21:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T20:21:07","slug":"9-23-preseason-preview-tonights-lineup-turc-ey-time-dumoulin-ceci-to-debut-kuzmenko-on-kirsanov","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/164281\/","title":{"rendered":"9\/23 Preseason Preview – Tonight’s Lineup + Turc-ey Time, Dumoulin\/Ceci To Debut, Kuzmenko on Kirsanov"},"content":{"rendered":"

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (1-0) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (0-1)
WHAT: 2025 Preseason Game 2
WHEN: Tuesday, September 23 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: T-Mobile Arena \u2013 Las Vegas, NV
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: NHL Network \u2013 AUDIO \u2013 ESPN LA App & LA Kings App \u2013 TWITTER: @dooleylak<\/a> & @lakings<\/a><\/p>\n

TONIGHT\u2019S MATCHUP: The Kings continue their 2025 exhibition slate tonight as they hit the road for the first time with a trip to Nevada to take on the Vegas Golden Knights. <\/p>\n

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings and Golden Knights will meet just once in the 2025 exhibition season. The teams will play four times during the upcoming regular season, including Game 2 for the Kings, opening night for the Golden Knights, on October 8.<\/p>\n

KINGS VITALS: Similar to Sunday\u2019s preseason opener, the Kings will have a squad tonight mixed of NHL regulars and younger players looking to make their mark in the preseason. <\/p>\n

Here is the expected game group for this afternoon\u2019s tilt \u2013 <\/p>\n

Forwards (13) \u2013 Trevor Moore, Alex Turcotte, Phillip Danault, Warren Foegele, Jeff Malott, Andre Lee, Taylor Ward, Jared Wright, Liam Greentree, Francesco Pinelli, Samuel Helenius, Cole Guttman, Kaleb Lawrence<\/p>\n

Defensemen (7) \u2013 Brian Dumoulin, Cody Ceci, Kyle Burroughs, Jacob Moverare, Jakub Dvorak, Henry Brzustewicz, Kirill Kirsanov<\/p>\n

Goaltenders (3) \u2013 Pheonix Copley, Anton Forsberg, Isaiah Saville<\/p>\n

Based on today\u2019s morning skate, here are the expected line combinations and defensive pairings for tonight \u2013 <\/p>\n

Morning Skate @LAKings<\/a> Line Rushes:<\/p>\n

Foegele \u2013 Danault \u2013 Moore
Greentree \u2013 Turcotte \u2013 Malott
Lee \u2013 Helenius \u2013 Ward
Wright \u2013 Pinelli \u2013 Guttman<\/p>\n

Dumoulin \u2013 Ceci
Kirsanov \u2013 Burroughs
Moverare \u2013 Brzustewicz<\/p>\n

Forsberg \/ Copley https:\/\/t.co\/tQAEGdYOdi<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) September 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

The group was naturally one too many at each position, so there are players here who will travel and go through the game-day routine but ultimately will not play. Included in the group above who also played on Sunday in Ontario are five forwards \u2013 Turcotte, Malott, Lee, Greentree and Helenius \u2013 in addition to four defensemen in Burroughs, Moverare, Dvorak and Brzustewicz. So, there will be some changes, in addition to some players going again after good showings against Anaheim.<\/p>\n

GOLDEN KNIGHTS VITALS: Vegas opened its preseason schedule on Sunday with a 3-0 defeat against San Jose. The Golden Knights will likely dress more veterans tonight in their home opener. <\/p>\n

Per Jesse Granger of The Athletic, here\u2019s how the hosts are expected to line up this evening \u2013 <\/p>\n

Golden Knights line rushes at morning skate: <\/p>\n

Smith\u2014Karlsson\u2014Stone
Saad\u2014Hertl\u2014Dorofeyev
Demek\u2014Uchacz\u2014Lavoie
Cataford\u2014Laczynski\u2014Bowman<\/p>\n

Hanifin\u2014Whitecloud
Sedoff\u2014Coghlan
Hutton\u2014Kmec<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) September 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

At home, it is unsurprising that the Golden Knights will be more veteran-heavy. Names like Stone, Karlsson, Hertl and Hanafin make this a stronger lineup that the Golden Knights iced in their preseason opener against San Jose. Good test for the Kings facing a strong lineup this evening. <\/p>\n

Storyline Of The Day \u2013 Turc-ey Time
Let\u2019s talk about opportunity. <\/p>\n

Alex Turcotte has one here. He is included in a group of players who played well on Sunday in Ontario and is now running it back for a second preseason game here tonight in Vegas. Turcotte is entering camp in a little bit of a different position than he did a season ago. Last year, while he was expected to make the NHL club, he was not coming in with a full season of NHL experience under his belt. Now he is, after he played 68 games with the Kings during the 2024-25 season. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little bit different but I have the same mindset,\u201d he said. \u201cI just want to do my best, play my game, keep showing why I belong and keep building the coach\u2019s trust,\u201d Turcotte said. \u201cEverything is just building on top of what I\u2019ve done previously you don\u2019t want to be content, I\u2019m not content, I want more obviously. That was my mindset and I have that confidence going into the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

The word that stuck out to me is content. Turcotte emphasized that he is not content with what he had and that\u2019s what you want at the bottom of your lineup. Players who are in a certain role but are hungry and pushing for more. That\u2019s how you create internal growth. <\/p>\n

In terms of 5-on-5, while I think the path to more minutes is very open for the fourth line, Turcotte is also currently looking at a Top-9 of established players who all merit their spot in the lineup. So, while he\u2019s likely to begin on the fourth line, perhaps it is penalty killing that could be his route to more minutes. <\/p>\n

Turcotte was a part of the PK unit on Sunday in Ontario and I\u2019d expect him to be again tonight in Vegas. He said that last season, he sat in on PK meetings and took notes. While he didn\u2019t play much in that role in games, there was forward planning there. Now, the Kings are looking for guys to play that role and Turcotte feels he is up to speed and more prepared to play, should he earn that opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s definitely something I can bring to the game with my speed and smarts,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to help the team any way I can and obviously get as much ice time as I can. So I think, yeah, I\u2019ve just got to earn it and keep going I think that\u2019s a good start.\u201d<\/p>\n

On paper, Turcotte has the tools to be a really good penalty killer. He\u2019s quick and tenacious, hunts pucks and should be able to disrupt things in those situations. The Kings also need to get more contributions on special teams from their fourth line. Last season, it was almost exclusively the Top-9 playing on special teams. If Turcotte can kill penalties, it could spare a minute or two for say Anze Kopitar or Adrian Kempe, keeping them fresher in offensive situations later in games. Potential win\/win there.<\/p>\n

For his part, Jim Hiller said that he wants to add a couple of additional forwards into the mix on the penalty kill. Turcotte is one player he\u2019s looking at to potentially fill that role. With one really good showing under his belt already, Turcotte has another chance tonight to make an impression, solidifying his place in the lineup\u2026\u2026and more. <\/p>\n

3 To Watch For \u2013
\u2013 Look for defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci to play their first preseason games with the Kings tonight.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a bit of getting up to speed for those players thus far. Ceci pointed to the importance of these kinds of games for him as he gets rolling. He arrived in Los Angeles a couple of weeks before training camp, to get some knowledge on how the Kings play in advance of camp, but preseason games are there for a reason. He\u2019s looking to use them to get as much routine as he can as he joins the Kings. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe try and get here early and sort that out a little bit early, so we\u2019re not doing that in-season,\u201d Ceci said. \u201cThe exhibition games, they\u2019re exhibition games, but you do want to sort those things out, get your pairs rolling and just get comfortable with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hiller indicated that we might see some of the veterans signed over the summer more than you might normally expect to see players of that experience level in the preseason. It\u2019s with that in mind. We saw Joel Armia on Saturday and he logged heavy minutes in the 3-1 win over Anaheim. Expecting to see the same with Dumoulin and Ceci in tonight\u2019s game versus the Golden Knights. <\/p>\n

\u201cThose guys will probably end up playing a little more, typically you don\u2019t have a veteran of as many years in opening games like this, but we want to get them up to speed with how we play as quick as possible,\u201d Hiller said. \u201cSo might see them just play a little bit more in the exhibition [games] than normally.\u201d<\/p>\n

First crack for Ceci and Dumoulin tonight in Vegas. <\/p>\n

\u2013 Tonight is looking like the NHL preseason debut for defenseman Kirill Kirsanov. Kirsanov signed his entry-level contract with the Kings over the summer and participated in both development camp and rookie camp, skating in both games played in Irvine last weekend at the Rookie Faceoff. Kisranov scored a goal in that event.<\/p>\n

Kirsanov is very familiar to one member of the organization, as he played two seasons in Russia with Kings forward Andrei Kuzmenko and Kuzmenko was complementary of the young defenseman \u2013 <\/p>\n

\u201cI know his game, he\u2019s a great guy and a great player,\u201d Kuzmenko said of Kirsanov. \u201cI played with him for two years with SKA St. Petersburg, he has a very good game.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s got good size and seemed to move decently well. Kirsanov is likely slotted for the AHL this season but will likely get a look or two in the preseason with the Kings. There is certainly an opportunity for him with the Ontario Reign as he gets his North American professional career underway.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Lastly, tonight\u2019s game will be an NHL Network broadcast exclusively. So, for those interested in watching, that is your method. The game will also be available via a Kings radio broadcast on the LA Kings App and the ESPN LA App, with Josh Schaefer and Daryl Evans on the call!<\/p>\n

Kings and Golden Knights! 7 PM Puck Drop in Vegas as the preseason slate rolls on. <\/p>\n