LA Kings now 3-0 this preseason. Malott continues to SURPRISE. Update on Kings power play units

LA Kings now 3-0 this preseason. Malott continues to SURPRISE. Update on Kings power play units

The LA Kings are perfect on the preeason, now 3-0. One player may have already decided a roster spot battle, and we had a look at what the Kings power play units might look like for this season. All that and more on this edition of Locked On LA Kings. You are Locked on Kings. Your daily podcast on the Los Angeles Kings, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Hey Kings fans, welcome to Locked On LA Kings, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. Thanks for making Lockdown LA Kings your first listen every day. We are free and available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Download the FanDuel app by visiting fanduel.com and you can win $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. I’m Eddie Garcia, your host of Locked on LA Kings. I’ve worked in sports media the past 30 years. Also one of the co-hosts of Locked on NHL Game Night and nightly NHL recap show during the season and a passionate LA Kings fan for over 30 years. Well, the LA Kings are undefeated this preseason, now 3-0 after a convincing 3 nothing shutout win over the Ducks in Anaheim Wednesday night. From a team standpoint, pretty dominant effort by the LA Kings. Uh we mentioned the three nothing win. Uh the Kings allowed the Ducks only 14 shots on goal while the Kings got 30 shots. As far as the power plays go, uh we’ll get into that a little bit later. Um, but really no surprise uh if you’re looking at the stats on the YouTube uh show just 14 shots allowed. The Kings were the second best team in the NHL last season as far as fewest shots allowed per game. So, yes, it’s preseason, but still nice to see the Kings continuing to be able to suppress shots on net. It’s obviously one of the reasons why Darcy Keer had such a good season. Obviously Keer doing it uh as far as what he needed to do in net last season and in this game, but it’s it goes hand in hand. Good defense, you know, low number of shots having to be seen. And then of course the goalender when called upon to make the saves making the saves as well. We certainly saw that in the shutout win over the Ducks. The Kings have now allowed a total of two goals in nine periods of preseason hockey so far. They’ve had three different goalies in the process all get wins. Carter George, Anton Forsber, and now Darcy Keer. Offensively, LA has nine goals from eight different goal scorers. Alex Turkot, Alex Lefarier, Andre Lee, Taylor Ward, Trevor Moore, Martin Cromiac, Kevin Fiawa, and two by Jeff Malot. We’re going to talk more about him coming up. Uh, as far as again the rest of the stats in this one, uh, Ducks 0 for two on the power play. Kings were 0 for six. Faceoffs one favored the Kings 54.3% to 45.7% for Anaheim. Hits favor the Kings 215. Block shots favor the Ducks 16-2. So the Kings defeat the Ducks for a second time in three of their preseason games. Uh Anaheim though did play a pretty NHL heavy roster in this one. They had nine of their 12 expected forwards uh that are going to start the season play in this one. Four of their six expected starting defenseman played in this game and half at least for half the game uh they played their number one goalie in Lucas Doall. So the Ducks uh were pretty much dominated in this game and it wasn’t because they put out you know a young group that wasn’t expected to be at the NHL level. was uh a lot of NHL regulars for the Ducks in this one. As for the Kings lineup, certainly want to give you the information on that because it obviously changes game to game. We did see the Kings play their top two forward lines. Uh we saw the first preseason action this year for Andre Kobitar centering Adrien Campe and Andre Kuseno. Kevin Fiala made his preseason debut as well, playing on the second line where he’s slotted to play this year with Quinton Biffield and Alex Safariier. The Kings also had their top defensive unit in this one with Drew Dowy and Mikey Anderson. We saw Brandt Clark paired with Joel Edmonson this time around. Uh and we saw number one goalie Darcy Keer in net who played the entire game in this one. So, um this was pretty close to the Kings opening night roster. Uh and uh also the same for the Ducks. So we did see a lot of regulars uh in that game that the Kings were able to win three nothing over Anaheim. So before we get into more of the individuals for the Kings and how they played in this latest preseason win, I wanted to talk about the Kings power play units. For the first time in this game, we were able to see because the players were available in this game. Uh we saw a five forward power play unit for the LA Kings. Andre Kovitar, Adrien Kempe, Quinton Bifffield, Andre Kuseno, and Kevin Fiala. Now they didn’t score a goal, but I thought for the first look for this season, that five forward power play looked pretty good, and it’s exciting to watch. Uh it’s, you know, a unit that, and we’ve talked about this in in past years, when you have a good power play and when you have a bad power play, what kind of mental effect that has on everyone, on the players, on the coaches, on the fans. When you’ve got a good power play and you draw a penalty, you get excited about that. When you don’t have a good power play and the other team makes a mistake, you feel like, well, we’re not going to make him pay for it. it it almost takes away from you. So the Kings we know didn’t have a great power play last year until the end of the year when Andre Kmeo joined in. They go to the five forward power play unit. So I’m really really excited about seeing this five forward power play unit for an entire season. I’m very excited about it. Uh obviously, you know, when you’re playing five forwards, there’s going to be, you know, greater offensive skill out there. And one of the things I really love about this unit because of the way they can stick handle and the moves they can make, how easily they’re able to get the puck into the offensive zone and get the power play set up quickly. It just the more zone time you have obviously increases your chances for success on the power play. And I love Adrien Kempe on the point. And there was a moment in this game against the Ducks where the Kings turned it over and it looked like Anaheim was going to have a twoono short-handed break. and Kempe using his great speed, awesome back check. He gets up, breaks up the play, and the Ducks don’t even get a shot on goal. Um, Andre Kuseno down low behind the goal line, stick handling. He makes the entire defense freeze and and try and figure out what exactly he’s going to do. That’s fun to watch. And Kevin Fia on the wing ready to unleash a one-timer. I’m very very excited about this Kings number one power play unit and the potential it has together for an entire season. And the second power play unit at least in this game featured both Drew Dardy, Drew Dowy Dardy and Brandt Clark together. And I was worried that one of the downsides of having the five forward power play unit would be that maybe Brandt Clark was going to get squeezed out of power play time because you knew Drew Dowy was going to be out there. And I’m fine with that as long as Brent Clark can be a part of it as well. And at least for this game, I thought it was encouraging to see those two guys together on the second power play. So we’ll see if that continues once the regular season gets here. All right, let’s get into some individuals. And I got to start with Jeff Malot. And if you haven’t watched any of the, you know, past two preseason games or our past two shows recapping the two preseason games, you might be surprised to hear Jeff. He’s been very, very good and he was again in this game. This is a guy who’s playing a bottom six role and he has done so much uh in in you know limited minutes because he’s not playing a primary role. But in this game against the Ducks, he had a steal, primary assist on a Martin Croak goal. Also a beautiful deflection in the high slot on a point shot into the net for the King’s second goal of the game. talked about it coming into the season, the preseason, with the injury to Corey Perry, who was going to get that leftwing spot on the fourth line. And if Jeff Meot hasn’t already answered that question, I would be shocked. Now, I know last year he filled in for the injured Tanner Jano. Played the final 12 games of the regular season, played all six playoff games, and maybe that should have been an indication to people like me who thought that it was kind of an open competition for that Cory Perry empty spot to start the season. If that was the case, the competition, I think, is over. I think Jeff Meot has been one of the best players for the Kings, if not the best player, so far this preseason. And yes, he’s played all three preseason games, so he’s had more opportunities, but he still has to go out there and make plays and he has. Uh he’s not spectacular. Again, he’s in a bottom six role, so we’re not, you know, talking about a guy who’s going to be super impactful, but he just makes plays. He plays good defense. Um he’s been way more creative offensively than I would have thought he would have been. Maybe not quite as physical as I thought maybe he needed to be, but overall he’s been just fantastic and good for him for seizing this opportunity. Um, and barring an injury, I don’t see how he’s not on the fourth line opening night. And I think not only will he be there until Cory Perry returns, but I think if it goes halfway decent, I think once Perry does return, that Malot has probably earned that extra forward roster spot. And this is a guy we didn’t count on to being on the roster. But I think not only is he going to be their opening night as it stands right now, I think he could be with the Kings all season. he’s proven that if you need to fill in on one of the wing spots in the bottom six that he’s somebody that’s capable of doing that. So, um I just again feel good for a guy like that. He, you know, was not one of the big prospects uh for the LA Kings. Um and we figured he was just kind of a depth guy, an AHL guy, a guy who could fill in a hole if needed. But, uh, he’s he’s played well and as Jim Hiller, the head coach of the Kings, said after the game, he said he looks like an NHL player. And he definitely does. He definitely does. So, good for him. Um, now it’s again, it’s possible that if the Kings have two extra forwards on the 24-man roster, maybe one of those other guys, Akil Thomas, Samuel Helenius, Andre Lee, or Liam Greenree, maybe they could make the opening night roster. Um, Thomas, Akquil Thomas did have a nice scoring chance in this one. Helenius once again, okay, but didn’t stand out. Um, and as I would say as it stands right now, I don’t think Liam Greenree is going to get that nine-game audition at the start of the season. I think it the way Jeff Malot has played, I think it makes it at this point likely that Liam Greenree will get sent back to his junior team to start the season. So, I don’t think we’re going to see the NHL debut of Liam Greenree as it stands right now. Things can change. injuries certainly if that if that factors into it could make things uh that decision different. But as it stands right now, looks like Jeff Mealot I think has already wrapped up uh that uh opening night spot on the fourth line in place of Cory Perry. All right, lots more to get into including Brandt Clark showing he’s ready for a bigger role. That’s next on Locked in LA Kings. Your team every day. The NFL season is here and FanDuel is making sure you’re ready for kickoff with a can’t miss offer. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. I love using FanDuel because it fits however you want to bet. Player props, building a same game parlay, or even jumping in live as the action unfolds. It makes every game more exciting. Whether you’re watching your team or just keeping an eye on your fantasy lineup, it’s quick, easy, and the best way to add a little more energy to your Sunday. So, are you ready to play? Download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanuel.com to get started. That’s fuel.com to place your first $5 bet. All right, continuing our recap of the Kings three nothing shutout win over the Ducks in Anaheim on Wednesday night. And I’ve talked about my desire to see Kings young defenseman Brandt Clark on the second pairing this season. We’ve heard from GM Ken Holland about growth from within and he’s mentioned by name Quinton Biffield, Alex Aferier, Brandt Clark as part of the next step for the Kings to get where they want to go. It can’t just be the new guys coming in and doing their role, but the players, the younger players also taking a step forward. And certainly Brandt Clark um looks to be a big part of that. Now he didn’t have a point in the win over the Ducks, but he was a plus one and he played 21 minutes and 13 seconds. Talked about him playing on that second power play unit. Now Drew Dowy of course led the Kings in nice time as he always does, but it he had 23 minutes and 31 seconds. So again, Dowy 23 minutes 31 seconds. Clark 21 minutes and 13 seconds. that distribution of minutes for the first and the second uh defenseman on the right side there. That is what I think is what I would like to see during the season. I’m not like I’ve said I’m I I don’t expect Drew Dowy to not be leading the Kings in ice time, but he doesn’t need to be playing 25 24 minutes. Something around 23 and Clark getting like 21. I think that is what I hope to see. That is more minutes for Brandt Clark and that is more opportunities for him to be a bigger part of this Kings team. I think so far in the preseason, I think he’s looked very good at both ends of the ice. He was really creative in the Kings preseason opener and I thought in this game, this most recent game against the Ducks, I saw a lot of very mature uh solid defensive play. Again, I just think he’s showing that he’s a player ready to take the next step, ready for more responsibilities. Um, and I hope he’s getting the opportunity. It looks like so far there’s no reason that he wouldn’t. And Jim Hiller uh had some glowing things to say about Bran Clark to linkings.com after this win over the Ducks. Uh Hiller said, quote, “It’s just one of the great things about coaching, winning, but the other one is to see a guy like Brandt with all the talent and promise and emotion come in and see him in 12 months to where he is today. It’s really, really cool to see really see him maturing and confidence and understanding the game at a high level and the details defensively and we know he’s just going to go up offensively, but it’s just really impressive and it’s a fun part of the job when it goes that way.” End quote. So translation there, obviously they’ve asked Brandt Clark to do certain things. They believe in his talent, but he has to prove it to them on the ice. You know, understanding what he’s supposed to do and then seeing him doing it on the ice because he’s putting in the work because of the concentration on the things he’s been asked to do. So, I think encouraging what we’re seeing from Clark so far on the preseason, encouraging what we’re hearing from Jim Hiller about what he thinks and how he thinks Brandt Clark has progressed, earning more responsibility, earning more ice time. So, as it stands right now, looks positive for Brandt Clark to be on that second pairing and getting more responsibility, more minutes for the LA Kings coming this season. Kevin Fiala. We had the full rage of Kevin in his preseason debut. We had some prime examples of bad Kevin and we had a glimpse of good Kevin as well. He took a bad penalty in the offensive zone, a hooking call that he had no business taking. Had a couple of forced passes that led to turnovers, including a no look backhand pass to no one in the neutral zone. But he did redeem himself a bit by putting home the king’s third goal of the game. Hopefully FIA uses this game as a reminder of what he shouldn’t be doing and eliminates those things going forward. It took him about half a season to finally have the light bulb go off last year. Hopefully it doesn’t take that long this year. Uh as far as the goal he scored, I thought a great case of chemistry with him and Alex Afarier. Uh Lafy loves to try this no look backhand pass as he’s going around the net. He he’s done it multiple times. I haven’t seen it work yet until this game against the Ducks. And it was pretty clear that FIA read what he was going to do and he was ready for it. And Leferior made that pass as he’s going around the net, drops it back. You know what he hopes to do is exactly what happened. and he gets the goalie moving with him as he comes around the net and then there’s pretty much a wide open net there. Uh, as long as the defenseman isn’t paying attention, which he kind of wasn’t in this case and and FIA was like, I know what he’s going to do. Puck’s right there. He puts it in, scores the goal. So, that that is what you get when you have players playing together for a while and understanding tendencies, things they like to do. So, that was cool to see the chemistry between those two guys. But hopefully Kevin Fiala gets rid of that just we saw it was a perfect example of bad Kevin from last year and good Kevin. So uh hopefully again more good Kevin to start the year and he carries it through. Uh we saw Darcy Keer for the first time this preseason, last year’s VZNA trophy winner or I should say finalist, not winner. um he did not have to work very hard uh in this one at all, but sometimes that can be difficult if you’re inactive for a lot of the game and then you’re called on to make a save in a key moment. The Ducks only had four shots on goal in the first period, just three in the second, seven in the third. I would say Keer probably made three, maybe four challenging saves. The rest were all pretty routine. Saw them all the way. Um, and it’s fun when you have the defense the Kings have and the goalender the Kings have. When you have a lead in the third period, you feel pretty good that they’re going to do the things to make it stand up. Uh, especially if they have like a twogoal lead going into the third. You know, you feel pretty confident that at worst maybe it goes overtime or a shootout. Um, but Darcy Keer did what we expect him to do uh in this one. And you know, look, he’s confident in his defense. Clearly, they’re a big part of his success, the team defense for the Kings. We talked about how how limited the number of shots were for the Ducks in this game. And conversely, when you’re the Kings, uh, you feel like I don’t have to play perfect hockey. If I do make a mistake, we’ve got a goalender that can have my back. So, it’s a it’s a situation where, you know, both of those factors come into play and when it’s working together, you get what the Kings had last year, a goalie who’s a VZNA trophy finalist and a defense that’s one of the best in the NHL. So, I know Vladisov Gabrov leaving has a lot of people concerned that maybe that takes a a step back this year. It may take a small step back. I don’t think it takes a big step back, but uh that’s an opinion. That’s not a fact. We’ll see how it goes. uh as far as the season uh unfolding this year, but I I still think the Kings are very strong defensively. I still think the Kings are very strong in net, and that’ll be the backbone and the identity of this team uh going forward. All right. Uh some more things to talk about. Uh talk about one of the players uh that I’ve mentioned a little bit already that I’m so excited about seeing for a full season this year. That and more coming up here on Locked in LA Kings, your team every day. All right, we are continuing to talk about the Kings preseason win over the Ducks uh on Wednesday night, three nothing shutout victory in Anaheim. Talked earlier about the excitement of the Kings number one power play unit. And part of that excitement is an Andre Kusmano being a part of it for a full season. And along those lines, same thing goes for the Kings top line, for the Copitar line. To see Andre Kuseno with Andre Kopitar and Adrien Kembbe for a full season is really exciting. And I’ve kind of mentioned this before, but Kuzco’s kind of FIA without the drama. Now, he may not have quite that upside offensively, but what he’s shown in his brief time in LA is that he can be a dynamic and creative offensive player, but he doesn’t have the he doesn’t take a lot of penalties and he rarely forces things. He’s very patient. He sees the ice really well. And when he makes a pass, it’s usually either a pass that’s that’s right on the stick or at least a pass that’s not going to get you into trouble if it’s turned over. So, no points in this game for KMO, but again, love watching him, love his creativity, love his quickness, and again, excited about seeing him for a full season for the Kings. He did have a really nice setup to Adrien Kempe um that almost led to a goal. Um, as far as Adrien Kempe goes, solid again. Uh, we talked about the nice defensive play he had, um, breaking up a short-handed opportunity. I mean, he looks dangerous. Had a few decent chances. I think he puts home that play from Kouseno if it’s regular season. It just he took the extra second to kind of get it on his stick and, you know, that looked like a preseason, you know, just a little bit of rust. Normally though, he gets that shot off quickly and scores. So confident that that would have been a goal in the regular season. He’ll again get the rust off, be ready to go uh for the regular season. Um Kempe drew a penalty in this game, but he he looked dangerous as he as he usually does. Uh and Kopitar making his preseason debut as well in what will be his final NHL season. Again, looked like his solid self. He actually had a breakin chance that he he didn’t finish on. Uh but good in the faceoff circle, good defensively, just typical Kopitar. And it does feel a little different though knowing that this this game is one step closer to his career uh being over. So you you know, you check off another game and uh it’s it’s almost uh here, his final season uh with the LA Kings. Uh Quinton Biffield continues to look like a dangerous player. um looks like the most skilled player on the ice. He’s at times he’s just flying around and it’s almost like the other players are kind of standing still. He did have a very good shorthanded breakaway scoring chance against the Ducks. Made a very subtle skilled move when he used his body to shield the defender. Uh unfortunately the the shot went just wide while he was going at a high speed. Uh certainly that’s one he wants to bury in the regular season. Um, but we all know we’re looking for Q to make that next step. I’ve been encouraged by what I’ve seen from him so far uh this preseason. Uh, a a guy that maybe a lot of Kings fans aren’t familiar with, Martin Cromiac. Um, a skilled player. Um, but still kind of waiting for him to have at least some sort of a semi breakout season in the AHL to show that maybe he could do that at some point at the NHL level. um had a great finishing shot on the Kings first goal uh on a nice setup from Jeff Malot. Top corner glove side. Uh the second goal we’ve seen from a quote unquote AHL player. That was a perfect shot. Taylor Ward did it against Vegas right into the top corner of the net glove side. Martin Chromiaak did it against the Ducks. Great shot. Nice goal for him. Hopefully that helps his confidence going forward as he needs to take a step forward probably in the AHL this year to give the Kings uh hope that his development is on the right path. Uh talked about on Tuesday’s show Kings first round draft pick this year, defenseman Henry Burstage, and how he just doesn’t look out of place despite how young and inexperienced he is. And I have to say the same thing in this game and from what I’ve seen so far from his London teammate and that’s defenseman Jared Woolly. Um we know he’s got the size so he doesn’t look out of place at all on the ice even though he’s a very young guy but he has been very solid uh in the in the games that he’s played. And same thing in this game from him as we saw from Henry Bustavich against Vegas. Just doesn’t look out of place. Uh if you didn’t know anything and you just said, “Let’s watch this game. What do you think about this player?” you’d think he was probably, you know, uh a bottom pairing NHL defenseman. And to say that about those two young guys at this point of their careers when they you would think they’re still multiple seasons away from the NHL. And again, I know it’s preeason, but they are going up against NHL level players. And for young, inexperienced guys like this, they again, I think the best way to describe it is they don’t look out of place. And I think that’s pretty impressive for a couple of really, really young players who are still going to get better. All right, before we wrap up the show, I do want to do the three stars of the game for the three nothing shutout win over the Ducks. Uh, our number three star is going to be Darcy Keer. Again, shut out victory. And normally that would get you more than just the number three star, but again, did not have to do a ton of work uh in this game in this win uh for the Kings, but hey, a shutout’s a shut out. So, Darcy Keer uh is our number three star. Um he had 14 saves uh in the shutout. Martin Crommy, who I just talked about briefly, uh, scoring a goal in this one. He’s our number two star, but the number one star. No surprise here. Well, a surprise going into the season of the preseason, but uh, not a surprise based on how he’s played recently, and that’s Jeff Meot. Goal and assist, goal and an assist uh, in this one. And, uh, continues to be one of the better players for the Kings so far this preseason. Like I said, if he hasn’t wrapped up that spot on the left wing on the fourth line to start the season, uh that would be a pretty big surprise uh at this point. So, uh Kings are 3 and 0 in the preseason. Uh like I said yesterday on a Tuesday show, not saying start playing on any kind of parade, but I would certainly rather be 3-0 and playing the way the Kings have played after three preseason games than some other possibility. So, there’s nothing bad about it. There’s nothing discouraging about it. Uh, so far so good as far as the health goes in the preseason games. Everybody’s good so far. Hopefully that continues. But again, um, just not spectacular, but solid good hockey from the Kings. And that’s what we’re expecting in the regular season as well. And hopefully, as we’ve talked about, guys taking another step forward, new guys coming in and chipping in, and hopefully the Kings have the season and are ready for the playoffs uh to have more success this year. All right, for you every day, those of you that listen to watch Lock Kings every day, you know, at the end of the week, we have uh your chance to give us your thoughts with our fan feedback show. What do you think about the Kings being 3 and 0 in the preseason? Which players have stood out to you? Which players are you most excited about this season? If you want to get an email in for that or anything else, anything Kings related, certainly you’re welcome to to give us that. Uh the email address locked ongmail.com eddie. If you’re watching on YouTube, we welcome your comments in the comments section. Uh if you’re on social media, we’d love for you to be a part of the show by following some of our social media accounts, X, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok. We’re at Locked on LA Kings. And if you’re interested in some extra Kings content, we had a live chat/watchp party going on during the last two preseason games. You want to be a part of some of those, we plan on doing those for the Kings road games this season, uh, send me an email, laings [email protected], and we’ll give you the information on how you can join us. I’m Eddie Garcia. Thanks for listening and watching Lockdown LA Kings, part of the Lock Podcast Network, your team every day. Have a great rest of your day. We’ll talk to you next time and as always, go Kings. Go.

The LA Kings remained perfect this preseason. One player may have already decided a roster spot battle and we had a look at what the Kings power play units might be like this season. All that and more on this episode of Locked on LA Kings.

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