{"id":394431,"date":"2026-01-08T04:11:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T04:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/394431\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T04:11:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T04:11:07","slug":"1-7-preview-lots-to-discuss-w-an-11-7-alignment-tonight-lee-ward-moverare-in-kopitar-armia-moore-perry-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/394431\/","title":{"rendered":"1\/7 Preview – Lots To Discuss w\/ an 11\/7 Alignment Tonight: Lee, Ward, Moverare in + Kopitar, Armia, Moore, Perry out"},"content":{"rendered":"

WHO: Los Angeles Kings (18-14-9) vs. San Jose Sharks (20-18-3)
WHAT: 2025 Regular-Season Game 42\/82
WHEN: Wednesday, January 7 @ 7:30 PM Pacific
WHERE: Crypto.com Arena \u2013 Los Angeles, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FanDuel Sports Network \u2013 AUDIO \u2013 ESPN LA 710, ESPN LA App & LA Kings App \u2013 TWITTER: @dooleylak<\/a> & @lakings<\/a><\/p>\n

TODAY\u2019S MATCHUP: The Kings conclude a four-game homestand tonight, with eyes on their strongest stretch of games at home so far this season. <\/p>\n

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Four Kings players have a goal and an assist against the Sharks this season, including forward Adrian Kempe, who is also a point-per-game player with six goals and 10 points over his last 10 games played versus San Jose. Defenseman Brandt Clarke also has a goal and an assist against the Sharks this season, giving him six career points in the matchup, tied for his most against any one opponent. <\/p>\n

KINGS VITALS: Following a taxing victory against Minnesota on Monday, the Kings opted not to practice yesterday, leading to a full-team morning skate this morning at Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo. <\/p>\n

The first goaltender off this morning for the Kings was Darcy Kuemper, who is in line to make his fourth consecutive start later on today. Kuemper is coming off one of his best performances of the season, as he stopped 33 of the 35 shots he faced in Monday\u2019s win against the Wild. The veteran netminder has a lifetime record of 10-5-4 against the Sharks, with a .911 save percentage and a 2.72 goals-against average. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s is tonight\u2019s expected Kings alignment, based on what we saw in today\u2019s morning skate \u2013<\/p>\n

Ward \u2013 Laferriere \u2013 Kempe
Foegele \u2013 Byfield \u2013 Malott
Fiala \u2013 Turcotte \u2013 Kuzmenko
Lee \u2013 Helenius \u2013 Moore<\/p>\n

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

Kuemper
Forsberg<\/p>\n

More on tonight\u2019s lineup below. The Kings have several changes coming after several injuries and roster moves over the last 24 hours, explained below in further detail in the longer section below. <\/p>\n

SHARKS VITALS: San Jose has won four of its last five games entering tonight\u2019s action, extended with a 5-2 victory last night over Columbus. <\/p>\n

Per Curtis Pashelka, here\u2019s how the Sharks lined up last night at home against the Blue Jackets \u2013 <\/p>\n

#SJSharls<\/a> lines, d-pairs this AM <\/p>\n

Eklund-Celebrini-Chernyshov
Regenda-Wennberg-Toffoli
Skinner-Dellandrea-Graf
Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Reaves<\/p>\n

Orlov-Liljegren
Ferraro-Iorio
Dickinson-Leddy<\/p>\n

\u2014 Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) January 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

With goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic getting the start yesterday, expect to see goaltender Yaroslav Askarov between the pipes tonight in Los Angeles. San Jose forward Macklin Celebrini is one of three NHL players with 60 points this season and is tied for second in the league with 41 points. Sharnks forward Alex Wennberg has two points (1-1-2) in two games against the Kings this season and has six points (2-4-6) in six games against Los Angeles since he joined the Sharks.<\/p>\n

Storyline Of The Day \u2013 Making Sense Of Tonight\u2019s Lineup
Alright, so here\u2019s what we\u2019re working with here. <\/p>\n

The Kings are expected to be without forwards Anze Kopitar, Joel Armia, Trevor Moore and Corey Perry for tonight\u2019s game against San Jose. <\/p>\n

Kopitar, Armia and Moore are all out with day-to-day designations, with Moore now labeled as an upper-body injury. Perry has a non-roster playing status due to a family illness, confirmed this morning by Head Coach Jim Hiller. <\/p>\n

So how does all of that impact tonight\u2019s game?<\/p>\n

The first question came down to alignment \u2013 11\/7 or 12\/6? Jim Hiller confirmed this morning that the Kings will dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Well, there actually was not a choice there. The Kings have 18 available skaters and those 18 skaters will play. <\/p>\n

No secret that Hiller has an affinity for the 11\/7 alignment and this is his opportunity to use it. Jacob Moverare was utilized when Drew Doughty was out with an injury but hasn\u2019t played since December 2. Wondered if the Kings might possibly use a conditioning loan to get him some game action but they did not opt to do that. As he goes in tonight, it would be around a month in between games, though he\u2019s always been a guy who doesn\u2019t hurt you when he steps into the lineup. <\/p>\n

Based on today\u2019s morning skate, both Lee and Ward will make their season debuts tonight. Both players, ironically enough, scored in their most recent NHL game. Both have different things to bring to the Kings but neither player is unknown, at least to Hiller. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got some guys that we think are playing pretty well and ready for increased roles and that\u2019s what it\u2019s going to look like,\u201d Hiller said this morning. \u201cLeesie and Wardo, both had solid camps. Leesie is playing extremely well, they tell us, physical and scoring goals, he\u2019s doing all the good things. Wardo had such a great camp and he\u2019s been solid for them. They\u2019ll get in tonight and they\u2019ll get some minutes for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Look for Ward to get a real opportunity tonight, starting out with Adrian Kempe and Alex Laferriere, with Laferriere moving back into the middle, while Lee is expected to skate with Samuel Helenius on the two-man fourth line, a pairing that both players are very familiar with from last season. <\/p>\n

Hear from both players below. <\/p>\n

Regarding the players who are not playing tonight, Perry is away from the team due to an illness in the family. Sending all of the best wishes to Perry and his family as he deals with a personal situation. He\u2019ll be activated and welcomed back when he\u2019s ready.<\/p>\n

With Moore, perhaps a good reminder that there is not a one size fits all designation that goes along with players being out. Not everyone who isn\u2019t feeling well has the flu. Moore has skated each day but has not felt well enough to play. It\u2019s a different kind of situation and we don\u2019t have all of the information, which I get creates some unknowns, but if you think the Kings would hold him out tonight for other reasons, with three other forwards out, well, you\u2019d be wildly off base. Now, Moore has a formal day-to-day designation, joining Kopitar and Armia on that front. Kopitar and Armia were both not on the ice this morning and both are currently out day-to-day. Unsure on their ability to travel to Canada, as the Kings leave tomorrow morning for Winnipeg.<\/p>\n

So, for tonight, there will be several changes to the Kings lineup based on the above situations. Lots of opportunities, for sure, and not just for the guys coming in. the Kings already lean more heavily on Quinton Byfield than any other forward and they\u2019ll now need more from others who have been here all year. Would expect Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala to each feature prominently, for sure. Will need more from a few different areas, so it\u2019ll be interesting to see how the minutes are ultimately distributed. <\/p>\n

3 To Watch For \u2013
\u2013 Embedding interviews here with Lee and Ward from this morning.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Good to get the chance to catch up with both players in advance of what could be their season debuts tonight against the Sharks. Lots of familiarity for both players against the San Jose Barracuda and several players that they competed against in the AHL are now with the NHL club. <\/p>\n

Ward will get a really big opportunity here, playing with Kempe and Laferriere. <\/p>\n

\u201cTwo extremely good players, so I\u2019m just trying to keep it simple and stay out of their way, mostly,\u201d Ward said with a smile. \u201cI\u2019m trying to compliment them, trying to hunt down pucks, retrieve pucks for them and get to the net. Just keep it simple and let them do their thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hiller called Ward a strong \u201ccomplementary player\u201d feeling that his game can work with several different lines or situations.<\/p>\n

He pointed to Ward\u2019s strong preseason as being an indicator that there is perhaps more offense in there than he might\u2019ve thought previously. The Kings gave a lot of thought over the last 24 hours to line combinations, who goes where and with who and landed here. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a complimentary player, good hands, good shot, he\u2019s strong,\u201d Hiller said. \u201cI think what makes us feel more comfortable is the preseason he had, you saw him really show some offensive ability in preseason, some ability to score, make really nice plays. Even though that\u2019s probably his strength in the American League, without that sample in the preseason, I\u2019m not sure where Wardo fits in here, but we\u2019ll see where it goes\u2026\u2026that\u2019s where he slots in to start the game and I think he\u2019ll really compliment those guys, because he\u2019s a strong offensive player.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Hiller added, expect to see the pieces move around a bit, with the chance to add a Fiala, Kuzmenko or Byfield onto that line and load up a bit, when needed. To start, though, it\u2019ll be Ward with the opportunity and we\u2019ll see how he\u2019s able to seize it. <\/p>\n

\u2013 As for the power play, look for forward Adrian Kempe to move onto the top unit, joining Kuzmenko, Byfield, Fiala and Clarke. The second unit has a massive reshuffling, with Doughty the holdover at the point, alongside Turcotte, Foegele, Laferriere and Ward, who is expected to get some power-play time.<\/p>\n

The production of Clarke\u2019s unit has made them the top unit based on that alone. Adding in Kempe there creates a different look but it makes sense. Kempe will play in the bumper position, Byfield at the netfront and then no changes for Kuzmenko, Fiala and Clarke. Imagine that time distribution will be slanted a bit here to the top unit, especially considering the injuries. <\/p>\n

As far as replacing the penalty killing minutes that Armia, Kopitar and Moore have provided, I\u2019d expect a heavy dosage of Byfield, Foegele, Laferriere and Kempe in those situations. If you want an off the board option, perhaps there\u2019s an opportunity for Alex Turcotte to get some minutes here. Turcotte sits in on PK meetings and feels he is prepared to help in that role if called upon. <\/p>\n

\u2013 Lastly, with Kopitar out, expect to see both Adrian Kempe and Mikey Anderson wearing a letter tonight. <\/p>\n

Kempe and Anderson have rotated the second \u201cA\u201d since the Danault trade, with Kempe wearing the letter at home and Anderson doing so on the road. Both players have been emerging leaders for the Kings. Anderson is the more vocal, Kempe a bit more methodical and by example, though his comfort in speaking up and speaking out has grown in recent years. Anderson has always been a natural in that area, even dating back to his first full season in the NHL, as someone who was always willing to speak his mind within the room. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re both drafted players, into the organization at 18-years-old, they\u2019ve come up through, earned their stripes and have established themselves as really high-caliber players within the league and have shown leadership the whole time through,\u201d Hiller said of that duo. \u201cWe kind of get two for one there, but those guys are both capable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair will join Drew Doughty with letters for tonight\u2019s game against the Sharks and on through whenever Kopitar returns to the lineup. <\/p>\n

Kings and Sharks, tonight at Crypto.com Arena as the homestand comes to the close. Kings have the chance to make it their best four-game stretch at home this season with a point tonight. Eyes are on two points, despite the absences. 7:30 PM puck drop in Downtown Los Angeles!<\/p>\n