{"id":366489,"date":"2025-12-24T00:10:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T00:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/366489\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T00:10:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T00:10:09","slug":"12-23-preview-opportunities-missed-available-back-to-back-success-penalties-rising-brzustewicz-wjc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/366489\/","title":{"rendered":"12\/23 Preview – Opportunities Missed, Available + Back-To-Back Success, Penalties Rising, Brzustewicz WJC"},"content":{"rendered":"

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (15-11-9) vs. Seattle Kraken (14-14-6)
WHAT: 2025 Regular-Season Game 36\/82
WHEN: Tuesday, December 23 @ 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 Kings are right back in action tonight for their final game before the NHL\u2019s holiday break as they host the Seattle Kraken at Crypto.com Arena.<\/p>\n

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Forward Kevin Fiala continued his strong run of form against the Kraken with a power-play goal when these teams met earlier this month in Seattle. Since he joined the Kings in 2022, Fiala has 14 points (3-11-14) against Seattle, the most on the Kings, while his 11 assists are tied for fifth in the NHL among all players in that span.<\/p>\n

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

Certainly a question mark in net tonight for the Kings. Last week, the Kings went with goaltender Anton Forsberg on back-to-back nights and he responded with his strongest game of the season, as he made 31 saves in a 2-1 win over Tampa Bay. Forsberg made 30 saves in Seattle earlier this month, in a 3-2 overtime defeat. Should the Kings go back to goaltender Pheonix Copley, he would be in line for his first NHL start since December 2023.<\/p>\n

For reference, here\u2019s how the Kings lined up last night against Columbus \u2013<\/p>\n

Tonight\u2019s @LAKings<\/a> Lineup \u2013<\/p>\n

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

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

Forsberg
Copley<\/p>\n

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

Without the morning skate, unclear if the Kings will make any changes tonight. Should any be desired or necessitated, forward Jeff Malott and defenseman Jacob Moverare are options to check into the lineup this evening. Jim Hiller will address the media prior to tonight\u2019s game to confirm any potential changes.<\/p>\n

KRAKEN VITALS: Seattle snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday against San Jose and followed that up with a 3-1 victory last night in Anaheim.<\/p>\n

Per Circling Seattle Sports, here\u2019s how the Kraken lined up last night in Anaheim \u2013<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s tonight\u2019s @SeattleKraken<\/a> starting forward lines, defensive pairings, and goaltender matchup as they battle the @AnaheimDucks<\/a> in the first leg of a back-to-back.<\/p>\n

Grubi start!<\/p>\n

Grubauer photo by @_Kevin_Ng_<\/a>
Dost\u00e1l photo by Gary A. Vasquez\/Imagn#SeaKraken<\/a> #SeattleKraken<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/RhRmAvP56k<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Circling Seattle Sports (@CirclingSports) December 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Seattle will be without defenseman Brandon Montour, who is out approximately four weeks with a hand injury. Defenseman Vince Dunn had a hand in all three goals when these teams met in Seattle, as he collected a goal and two assists in the 3-2 overtime win for the Kraken. Dunn\u2019s goal was the overtime game-winning goal, coming on the power play. On the season, Dunn leads all Seattle defensemen with 19 points (4-15-19) from 33 games played.<\/p>\n

Storyline Of The Day \u2013 Opportunities
Last night was an opportunity for the LA Kings to make a statement, for a few different reasons.<\/p>\n

And they did make a statement. It was just the wrong one.<\/p>\n

The Kings delivered one of their poorest performances of the season in a 3-1 defeat against Columbus. Seven minor penalties, five of which were stick infractions, three in the offensive zone, two that negated power plays,\u2026\u2026all resulting in three power-play goals against. The Kings got an even-strength goal from Andrei Kuzmenko, but once again were held to two or fewer goals offensively, the sixth straight game that\u2019s been the case.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a shame too, because there was a real opportunity to change the narrative this week. After Friday\u2019s trade with Montreal, there was an opportunity to come out and play a certain style of game that showed this is a team that\u2019s ready to go. An opportunity to show what this team is truly made of. An opportunity for players to step in and step up.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to quantify vibes, but vibes were as good coming into last night\u2019s game as they\u2019ve been all season. Energy in Saturday\u2019s practice was through the roof. Sunday was good too. And we just didn\u2019t see that carry over into last night\u2019s result.<\/p>\n

Jim Hiller acknowledged that the legs weren\u2019t where they needed to be early, after pointing to that as the area of the game he\u2019d be most focused on in the early stages during yesterday\u2019s morning skate. The Kings improved as the game went along, but came up short in a performance that \u201cwasn\u2019t good enough\u201d as Hiller put it.<\/p>\n

A pair of wins this week would have quelled quite a bit of doubt this week. The Kings did some things better on their recent trip, but scored just five goals across three games, posting a record of 1-2-0. Against Columbus and Seattle, the Kings were hosting two teams at or near the bottom of their respective conference standings, each missing their number-one defensemen. On night one, they weren\u2019t able to get the job done and that was very disappointing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to win every night,\u201d forward Quinton Byfield said. \u201cThey were struggling, but every team in the NHL is a good team. It is one we\u2019ve got to have [though] so it\u2019s frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n

The opportunity tonight is different and not as inviting.<\/p>\n

A win tonight lifts the mood heading into the break and you always want to head into a few days off with a victory, as opposed to a loss. Banking points when times are tough goes further than it gets credit for and that\u2019s one thing the Kings have done well.<\/p>\n

I think right now, though, one win doesn\u2019t do a ton more than that. The Kings are at a place where they need to start stringing wins together and just as importantly, stringing performances together that look more like the team is capable of. Tonight presents another opportunity to start that process but we won\u2019t know enough about it until we see if it carries over into future games. So that\u2019s the challenge the Kings face tonight. Tonight is important in itself, but right now, what\u2019s really important is that tonight becomes the start of something larger, after a missed chance yesterday to do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor sure, it\u2019s a big game for us,\u201d defenseman Joel Edmundson said. \u201cWe obviously want to go into the break on a high and give our fans something to cheer about. Quick turnaround, which is nice forget about [the Columbus game] and show up [tonight].\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a winnable game against a Seattle team that also played last night and had gone through a losing streak before wins over San Jose and Anaheim. It\u2019s also a Seattle team that beat the Kings 3-2 in overtime right before that streak started. Right now, for a Los Angeles team struggling, underestimating any opponent would be a mistake.<\/p>\n

Tonight is an opportunity for the Kings to bounce back. It\u2019s just not the opportunity they should\u2019ve taken last night.<\/p>\n

3 To Watch For \u2013
\u2013 Two things in the Kings favor tonight \u2013 their success in back-to-back games and their ability to respond to poor performances.<\/p>\n

The Kings are 4-0-1 this season on the second half of back-to-back games. Nine points of a possible 10, which is an average of 1.8 points per game, the third best clip in the league so far this season. Back-to-backs are typically a test of will, a test of character. It\u2019s an area the Kings have found more success than most in, both this season and in recent memory.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the team\u2019s shown ability to respond after poor performances. The Kings have had a number of just okay showings this season, but not a ton of truly poor ones. Last night falls into the latter category. The last time the Kings had one like that was the 3-1 loss to Chicago and they followed it up with their best home performance of the season thus far, a 6-0 win over the same opposition two nights later.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re going to need both of those things to show up in their game tonight. Things that have been there this season, even amidst struggles. Two things to rely on tonight against Seattle.<\/p>\n

\u2013 One thing against the Kings \u2013 penalties.<\/p>\n

Edmundson put it bluntly last night \u2013 \u201cIt seems like every game we\u2019re taking way more minors than the other team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Kings have had their ups and downs as it comes to penalties and the numbers tell a very clear story. The Kings took 52 penalties in October, sixth-most in the NHL. In November, they took 32 penalties, the second-fewest in the NHL. In December, they\u2019ve taken 47, the second-most in the NHL. Shouldn\u2019t be all that surprising that the penalty kill struggled in October and December but was the best unit in the NHL in November.<\/p>\n

Edmundson spoke about how, as a penalty killer, it does become quite taxing when the unit is relied upon so heavily. Sometimes it\u2019s a bad PK unit. Sometimes it\u2019s just overused. I think it\u2019s the latter for the Kings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not worried about our penalty kill,\u201d Byfield added. \u201cWe\u2019ll step up again and be better.\u201d<\/p>\n

I agree. I don\u2019t think the penalty kill is the problem, but rather the recipient of some really bad penalties. Penalties need to go down. When they have, the Kings have shown that the PK can be a strength of the group.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Lastly, was disappointing to see Kings prospect Henry Brzustewicz among the final cuts for Team USA at the World Juniors, which begins this week.<\/p>\n

World Juniors News: Henry Brzustewicz (LAK) has been released from Team USA\u2019s camp. USA will have one more cut to make on defense. One more cut to make at forward.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) December 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Brzustewicz will play in the tournament next season more likely than not, so he\u2019ll get his shot with the extra year of eligibility. But he was close to making this year\u2019s roster too, as a depth option on the blueline for one of the gold-medal favorites. Brzustewicz has been thrust into a much larger role this season in the OHL with the London Knights and he has been one of the league\u2019s most productive offensive defensemen. Only two OHL blueliners have more goals than Brzustewicz, who has 10 on the season thus far. He\u2019ll return to London, which resumes regular-season action on Sunday, December 28.<\/p>\n

One more before the break for the Kings. Next three days are off, before the team returns to action on Saturday against Anaheim.<\/p>\n