{"id":283046,"date":"2025-11-10T10:42:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T10:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/283046\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T10:42:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T10:42:08","slug":"11-8-preview-foegele-talks-injury-lineup-return-today-kopitar-crosby-malkin-sh-goals-against-5-game-trip-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/283046\/","title":{"rendered":"11\/8 Preview – Foegele Talks Injury, Lineup Return Today + Kopitar\/Crosby\/Malkin, SH Goals Against, 5-Game Trip Begins"},"content":{"rendered":"

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (6-5-4) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (9-4-3)
WHAT: 2025 Regular-Season Game 16\/82
WHEN: Sunday, November 9 @ 11:00 AM 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: After a middling 1-2-1 homestand, the Kings begin a stretch of six straight games on the road, beginning today in Pittsburgh with the first swing to the East Coast this season. <\/p>\n

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Forwards Kevin Fiala and Warren Foegele scored when these teams met in Los Angeles back in October, a 4-2 Pittsburgh victory. Forward Adrian Kempe was held off the scoresheet in that game but has scored nine goals in his last nine games played versus the Penguins, including goals in each of his last two trips to PPG Paints Arena. Kempe\u2019s ten career goals against the Penguins are his most against any team from the Eastern Conference and tied for his third most versus any one NHL opponent. <\/p>\n

KINGS VITALS: Considering the afternoon puck drop, the Kings did not hold a morning skate in advance of today\u2019s game. <\/p>\n

No confirmation here without a morning skate but would expect to see goaltender Darcy Kuemper between the pipes to begin this trip, after he got a night off on Thursday versus Florida. Kuemper has a lifetime record of 4-4-2 against the Penguins, with a .910 save percentage and a 3.06 goals-against average. <\/p>\n

For reference, here\u2019s how the Kings lined up during yesterday\u2019s practice day in Pittsburgh \u2013<\/p>\n

Armia \u2013 Kopitar \u2013 Kempe
Fiala \u2013 Byfield \u2013 Laferriere
Moore \u2013 Danault \u2013 Kuzmenko
Foegele \u2013 Turcotte \u2013 Perry<\/p>\n

Anderson \u2013 Doughty
Edmundson \u2013 Clarke
Dumoulin \u2013 Ceci<\/p>\n

Kuemper \/ Forsberg<\/p>\n

Naturally, we won\u2019t know about today\u2019s exact lineup until the team takes the ice in a few hours for warmups in Pittsburgh, but can confirm that forward Warren Foegele is expected to return to action this afternoon against the Penguins. Foegele has missed the last five games with an upper-body injury sustained in Chicago last month. He\u2019ll start with Alex Turcotte and Corey Perry and go from there. Foegele takes the place of Jeff Malott, who didn\u2019t do anything to lose his spot, but falls victim to the numbers game. More on Foegele below. <\/p>\n

PENGUINS VITALS: The Penguins complete the second half of a back-to-back this evening, following yesterday\u2019s 2-1 shootout defeat on the road against the New Jersey Devils. <\/p>\n

Per Michelle Crechiolo of Pens Inside Scoop, here\u2019s how the Penguins took line rushes during their most recent practice before today\u2019s game \u2013<\/p>\n

#LetsGoPens<\/a> lines and D-pairs from today\u2019s practice before flying to New Jersey:<\/p>\n

Rust-Crosby-Kindel
Novak-Malkin-Mantha
Koppanen-Hayes-Koivunen (Tomasino rotating in)
Dewar-Lizotte-Heinen<\/p>\n

Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Shea-Letang
Graves-Clifton
Dumba-Brunicke<\/p>\n

\u2014 Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) November 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Third in the NHL in goals entering today\u2019s game? Pittsburgh forward Sidney Crosby. Crosby scored twice on Thursday against Washington, bringing his season total to 11. Crosby trails only Nathan MacKinnon and Cole Caufield for the league lead in goals, while his 19 points are tied for the 15th most in the NHL thus far this season. Among skaters with at least 30 shots on goal, Crosby leads the league in shooting percentage (31.4%). <\/p>\n

Storyline Of The Day \u2013 Warren Peace
Warren Foegele knew he dodged a bullet.<\/p>\n

Yeah, missing five games was not ideal, but it could have been a lot worse and he knew it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never like to get hurt and in the moment, you\u2019re in a little bit of panic, but I was fortunate, I really dodged a big bullet there,\u201d Foegele said of his injury.<\/p>\n

The bullet dodged, considering the awkward collision with Chicago\u2019s Nick Foligno, was probably a broken wrist, which was thankfully not the result for Foegele. <\/p>\n

Ultimately, he wasn\u2019t off the ice for all that long, working his way back with the group this week. Foegele began in a non-contact capacity and progressed into full-contact participation yesterday. Hasn\u2019t really been that long and Foegele\u2019s injury was upper-body, which helps with conditioning, but he\u2019s still put a lot into coming back, which makes it exciting to play today. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve felt good, I\u2019ve been skating pretty hard the past week and I\u2019m feeling really good,\u201d Foegele said. \u201cThe staff\u2019s been really great with me and I\u2019m looking forward to getting back to play. I thought I\u2019ve been playing pretty well in practice and [Saturday] was great, get some bumps and bruises and just go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foegele was very complimentary of the Kings training and strength and conditioning teams for getting him back and ready as soon as possible. He\u2019s ready to go and today\u2019s the day he\u2019ll get back to it. <\/p>\n

Awaiting Foegele is a Kings team that has struggled to establish any sort of consistency early in the season. Foegele skated yesterday in practice with Alex Turcotte and Corey Perry on a line that doesn\u2019t look all that much like a fourth line. <\/p>\n

Foegele and Turcotte had good chemistry when playing together in a short spurt last season. In just over 100 minutes together, the Kings controlled more than 60 percent of shots on goal, scoring chances and high-danger chances with Foegele and Turcotte on the ice. From their time together in Edmonton, Foegele and Perry have just over 70 minutes together and have posted similar splits, with more than 60 percent of scoring chances and high-danger chances in their favor. Don\u2019t mind that. <\/p>\n

Jim Hiller said he believes the Turcotte\/Perry pairing should be a \u201cgood line for him\u201d as it pertains to Foegele. Foegele was an instrumental player for the Kings last season, leading the team in 5-on-5 goals and high-danger chances. Sounds like two things they desperately need. It hasn\u2019t gone the same way offensively early for Foegele in 2025-26, but Hiller believes Foegele\u2019s best games were the ones right before his injury. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think Foegs would probably tell you he didn\u2019t have the best start to the season but right before he went out, he started looking more like Foegs,\u201d Hiller said. \u201cHe sat out and watched and he commented to me how effective Turc\u2019s line was. I think that maybe was a good reset for him, just to sit back and go, as much as you want to do all this other stuff, it\u2019s not there that often. That straight line approach works and it works for his style.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foegele will start in that spot and we\u2019ll see how things go. If he plays well, I could see him shuffling up in the lineup. An effective Warren Foegele is the type of guy who can help turn things around a bit for the Kings. <\/p>\n

3 To Watch For \u2013
\u2013 Yeah, last one was on me. <\/p>\n

you dumbass https:\/\/t.co\/j6eZ0Z0cZb<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) October 17, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Thought it was going to be a hit\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But today should be the day\u2026\u2026only in Pittsburgh. As the Kings and Penguins take the ice this afternoon, Anze Kopitar, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are all slated to play today, marking what will be the final regular-season game with all three players in action together. With Kopitar announcing his pending retirement at the end of the season, and the teams already playing in October when Kopitar was out with a foot injury, tonight marks the end of an era.<\/p>\n

Three future Hall of Fame centers all who approached the game and played the game differently, all at an elite level. 1, 3 and 4 among active players in assists, 1, 3 and 5 among active players in points. Three of the best to play the game through the middle of the ice and it\u2019ll be a treat to witness them together one last time here this afternoon in Pennsylvania. <\/p>\n

\u2013 One narrative currently going that I don\u2019t quite understand is that the five-forward power-play unit is conceding shorthanded goals.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that the Kings have given up an NHL-leading four shorthanded goals. What\u2019s not true is that it\u2019s been a result of the five-forward power play. Of the four goals, one was a 4-on-6 empty-net goal against New Jersey and the other three came with at least one defenseman on the ice. Two came with two defensemen on the ice, against the second power-play unit, and the one on Thursday against Florida came with one. <\/p>\n

The power play has goals in two straight games, a small step forward, but still ranks 22nd in the NHL at 17 percent. That\u2019s the part of the five-forward unit that should be questioned, is the goals scored. The shorthanded goals against, while concerning, has had nothing to do with the personnel deployment of that unit. <\/p>\n

\u2013 Lastly, while there\u2019s really no rhyme or reason to it, the Kings have just been flat out better on the road this season than at home. <\/p>\n

Thus far, the Kings have been one of the NHL\u2019s best road teams. The Kings have picked up 12 of their 16 points away from home this season and rank second in the league in road winning percentage (.750) and tied for fourth in road points (12). No better time, or perhaps no more necessary time, to expand on those numbers than the current trip. <\/p>\n

Five-game trip here, six straight in total on the road for the Kings. Big one to start things off with today against the Penguins in a Sunday-afternoon matinee. <\/p>\n