{"id":138013,"date":"2026-01-17T18:36:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T18:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/138013\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T18:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T18:36:09","slug":"1-17-preview-kings-need-more-from-their-top-guys-the-one-goal-games-armias-return-injury-front","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/138013\/","title":{"rendered":"1\/17 Preview – Kings Need More From Their Top Guys + The One-Goal Games, Armia’s Return, Injury Front"},"content":{"rendered":"

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (19-16-12) v Anaheim Ducks (23-21-3)
WHAT: 2025 Regular-Season Game 48\/82
WHEN: Saturday, January 17 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Crypto.com Arena \u2013 Los Angeles, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FanDuel Sports Network \u2013 AUDIO \u2013 ESPN LA App & LA Kings App \u2013 TWITTER: @dooleylak<\/a> & @lakings<\/a><\/p>\n

TODAY\u2019S MATCHUP: The setting shifts to Anaheim as the Kings and Ducks conclude a home-and-home set tonight at Honda Center. <\/p>\n

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings got a goal from Quinton Byfield last night as he moved into a tie for the season lead with four points against the Ducks. Forward Alex Laferriere leads the Kings with four goals this season against Anaheim while his seven goals in the matchup over the last two seasons are the most in the NHL. <\/p>\n

KINGS VITALS: The Kings did not hold a morning skate today, considering the back-to-back. <\/p>\n

With Darcy Kuemper starting last night on home ice, look for goaltender Anton Forsberg to get the start between the pipes this evening in Anaheim. Forsberg made 25 saves on 26 shots in the 6-1 win over Anaheim on December 27, his first career victory over the Ducks in his first career start against them as a member of the Kings. <\/p>\n

Jim Hiller alluded to the possibility of a couple adjustments tonight, but embedding yesterday\u2019s lineup below for reference \u2013<\/p>\n

Tonight\u2019s LA Kings Line Rushes \u2013<\/p>\n

Malott \u2013 Laferriere \u2013 Kempe\u2070Foegele \u2013 Byfield \u2013 Ward\u2070Fiala \u2013 Turcotte \u2013 Kuzmenko\u2070Lee \u2013 Helenius<\/p>\n

Anderson \u2013 Doughty\u2070Edmundson \u2013 Clarke\u2070Dumoulin \u2013 Ceci\u2070Moverare<\/p>\n

Kuemper\u2070Forsberg<\/p>\n

\u2014 Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) January 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Should the Kings look for personnel changes, defenseman Jacob Moverare is an option to check into the lineup tonight. Any other changes would likely be moving the existing pieces around, unless one of Anze Kopitar, Trevor Moore or Corey Perry are ready to go, which is not expected. <\/p>\n

DUCKS VITALS: Anaheim made it back-to-back wins last night against the Kings, following up a win over Dallas earlier in the week. <\/p>\n

From Derek Lee of The Hockey News, here\u2019s how the Ducks lined up last night at Crypto.com Arena \u2013 <\/p>\n

Ducks warmup lines vs. #GoKingsGo<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Gauthier-McTavish-Strome
Killorn-Granlund-Sennecke
Harkins-Poehling-Colangelo
Johnston-Washe-Moore<\/p>\n

LaCombe-Trouba
Zellweger-Gudas
Mintyukov-Helleson<\/p>\n

Dost\u00e1l<\/p>\n

Chris Kreider (illness) is OUT tonight.#FlyTogether<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Derek Lee (@Derek_Lee27) January 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The Ducks earned the win without their number-one center, Leo Carlsson, who is set to miss 3-5 weeks. Forward Troy Terry was placed on Injured Reserve yesterday, while forward Chris Kreider missed the game due to injury. Anaheim rookie Beckett Sennecke led the way last night with two assists, giving him four in the season series to date. Sennecke ranks second among first-year players this season with 37 points. <\/p>\n

Storyline Of The Day \u2013 Where The Change Really Needs To Come From
Jim Hiller was asked last night about any potential changes he might make to his lineup before the rematch against the Ducks.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fair question. The Kings have lost all three games they\u2019ve played this week. They\u2019ve lost five of their last six, nine of 13 and 13 of their last 18. So, it\u2019s a very reasonable question to ask, especially with the back-to-back.<\/p>\n

However, it was part of his answer that I believe shows why changes to the lineup aren\u2019t going to fix the problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome other guys, up in the lineup, those are the guys that have got to deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here is why I agree with Hiller. Yeah, there might be a move that I might be enticed to see tried out. I could see merit to recalling a center, moving Quinton Byfield up with Alex Laferriere and Adrian Kempe and trying to load up two lines to score. But for me, even though that move might help, making a move like that isn\u2019t going to make much of a difference if the guys playing higher in the lineup aren\u2019t delivering, at both ends of the ice. <\/p>\n

At the top of that list right now is Adrian Kempe, who would be the first to tell you that. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had some really good chances, but I can only speak for myself and bearing down on chances right now is a big issue for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kempe has gone six straight games without a goal, which is frankly not even anything when you look at some of the droughts we\u2019ve seen this season. However, over those six games, no Kings player has more shot attempts than Kempe and he\u2019s had some turnovers that have been extremely uncharacteristic of one of the most responsible players on the team. Had two of the best chances in the third period last night to give the Kings the win, but just couldn\u2019t get either one to go. If he was able to, we\u2019re probably writing a different theme here. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s a player that, in the long run, there shouldn\u2019t be a ton of concern about, because he\u2019s got several years of a track record that suggests he will find his way. But right now, when you need your best players to be your best players, that\u2019s a guy the Kings are looking at to find one. Can\u2019t question the effort one bit. Actually, you wonder if maybe there\u2019s too much effort, because he wants to be the difference maker, leading to forcing plays. That\u2019s a question I\u2019ll ask later today. Kempe believes that the quality and quantity of chances are both there. Simply a matter of burying them, as has been the case for some time now with this team. As the team\u2019s top goalscoring threat, he understands that a large part of that starts with him. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bearing down on chances,\u201d Kempe added. \u201cWe\u2019ve been talking about it, not just this year, that we want to create more offense, that we want to play more aggressive, that we want to play more in the o-zone. I think we\u2019re doing a good job with creating chances. I think we can do a better job of bearing down on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kempe isn\u2019t alone, though. It\u2019s been a rough stretch for the top defensive pairing as well, of Mikey Anderson and Drew Doughty, with Hiller indicating yesterday that there is thought to potentially making a change there. On the ice for far more goals than they\u2019ve been out there for over the last several seasons on a per\/60 basis, including both goals against last night. Again, the track record outweighs ten games. But the Kings can\u2019t rely on a track record in the position they\u2019re in. They need production from their best players right now and that goes defensively as much as it does offensively. Wonder if maybe a temporary shuffle could help things a bit, but the key is getting those two players at their best. When they\u2019re at their best, they are a top shutdown pairing in the league. Kings need that. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s perhaps too much of a high-level overview. More guys than that need to step up. And without that, there\u2019s no player in the AHL who you can just look at, call up to the big club, and expect things to magically change. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a few things we can do, we can move a couple pieces around, but our players are our players, there\u2019s only so many guys,\u201d Hiller added. \u201cWe have the players, I think, called up, on the roster, that would be guys that can help us. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s somebody in the American League that can come and step in and play a top-nine role and help us. So, the players that are here are going to have to get it done. If we have to mix a couple guys around, maybe, we\u2019ll see. We\u2019ll discuss that more.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, don\u2019t expect a recall today from the AHL. Maybe we see a line shuffled here and there. Maybe we see the pairings moved around a bit. Maybe not. Regardless, though, the biggest changes have to start at the top. Lots of players in that boat. Without it, we\u2019re not likely to see much go differently. <\/p>\n

3 To Watch For \u2013
\u2013 Here\u2019s a stat I found this morning. <\/p>\n

The Kings have played 47 games this season.<\/p>\n

They have played 29 one-goal games, the most in the NHL. Of their eight two-goal games, seven of them were one-goal games with an empty netter. Add in the Colorado game, which saw an empty netter and a late, throwaway goal, and you\u2019re looking at 37 of 47 games this season that have been one-goal games within the final two minutes of regulation. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s why you\u2019ll see the Kings continue to compete with the best teams in the NHL. It\u2019s also why they have not been able to get enough wins against weaker teams. The Kings play that style where every game is going to be a grind. Every game will be close. Team plays hard, for sure. But they haven\u2019t been capable of pulling away. It\u2019s why games against top-caliber teams offer some encouragement, because the Kings have controlled long stretches of those games. But you have to look at the flip side too, because the same problems persist on the other end. Last night\u2019s game at the top of that list. It was an extremely winnable game, which the Kings led 2-0. They had so many chances to have extended that lead earlier. Even once it got to 2-2, so many chances to win the game. They obviously didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Likely why this season will continue as it has in terms of results. The Kings will win games and offer encouragement. They\u2019ll lose games that they could have or should have won. They\u2019ll rarely get blown out, because they\u2019ll continue to compete. But without some changes, it\u2019ll be a street fight, perhaps all the way through Game 82. Prepare yourselves!<\/p>\n

\u2013 On forward Joel Armia, he collected a goal and an assist in his first game back from injury. Thought he looked pretty good in doing so. Nearly had a goal earlier in the game, with the Kings shorthanded, but his deke to the backhand on a breakaway was kept out by Ducks netminder Lukas Dostal. <\/p>\n

\u201cArmy, super happy to get him [to Los Angeles], he\u2019s been amazing, not just on the ice, but off the ice as well,\u201d Byfield said of Armia. \u201cA big piece to get back. He does everything out there, so I\u2019m excited to have him back on my line.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 15:27 of time on ice, Armia had two points, a +2 rating and a team-leading six shots on goal. It was really good to see him back in the fold. Kings missed him. He\u2019s not a savior, but he helps with the consistency and the game-over-game impact that he brings on most nights. Will be good to have him back in the fold as the Kings progress forward. <\/p>\n

Progressing forward, for both player and team, has a quick turnaround. Bit of a clich\u00e9 here, but when you lose one like that, the players often times would prefer to be able to play again immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery game is an opportunity to win and it\u2019s a good thing that it\u2019s going to come quick,\u201d Armia added last night. \u201cYou can stay sad or whatever or you can keep your head up and go and win the next game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Been said, but maybe the best part of this team this season has been their play on the second half of back-to-backs. The Kings are 5-1-1 in those situations this season. At 1.57 points-per-game, they have been the best team in the NHL after playing the night before. <\/p>\n

Maybe they should practice in the evenings the nights before games to replicate that back-to-back feeling. Whatever is working there, they could use a bit more of elsewhere. But tonight, they\u2019ll play in that situation once again, as they search for a win that is ever so needed. Armia an important part of trying to make a difference in that department. <\/p>\n

\u2013 Regarding the injury front, I don\u2019t have a ton to offer you this morning. <\/p>\n

We will speak with Jim Hiller at Honda Center closer to puck drop tonight to try and confirm any potential lineup changes. <\/p>\n

Based on what I know right now, I\u2019m not expecting any of Anze Kopitar, Trevor Moore or Corey Perry to be available for tonight\u2019s game, though that could change. I do think next week is a very real possibility for at least one member of that group. But the Rangers game or perhaps the St. Louis game on the road might be a more reasonable target than tonight\u2019s game in Anaheim. Would not surprise me to see at least two of those players back in the fold by the time the team hits the road next week, if not for the game against New York on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Kings and Ducks tonight for the final time this season. Season series is up for grabs, with the teams currently even at four points apiece. <\/p>\n