1/17 Preview – Kings Need More From Their Top Guys + The One-Goal Games, Armia’s Return, Injury Front

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The setting shifts to Anaheim as the Kings and Ducks conclude a home-and-home set tonight at Honda Center.

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.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings did not hold a morning skate today, considering the back-to-back.

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.

Jim Hiller alluded to the possibility of a couple adjustments tonight, but embedding yesterday’s lineup below for reference –

Tonight’s @LAKings Line Rushes –

Malott – Laferriere – Kempe⁰Foegele – Byfield – Armia⁰Fiala – Turcotte – Kuzmenko⁰Lee – Helenius – Ward

Anderson – Doughty⁰Edmundson – Clarke⁰Dumoulin – Ceci

Kuemper⁰Forsberg

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) January 17, 2026

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.

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

From Derek Lee of The Hockey News, here’s how the Ducks lined up last night at Crypto.com Arena –

Ducks warmup lines vs. #GoKingsGo:

Gauthier-McTavish-Strome
Killorn-Granlund-Sennecke
Harkins-Poehling-Colangelo
Johnston-Washe-Moore

LaCombe-Trouba
Zellweger-Gudas
Mintyukov-Helleson

Dostál

Chris Kreider (illness) is OUT tonight.#FlyTogether

— Derek Lee (@Derek_Lee27) January 17, 2026

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.

Storyline Of The Day – 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.

It’s a fair question. The Kings have lost all three games they’ve played this week. They’ve lost five of their last six, nine of 13 and 13 of their last 18. So, it’s a very reasonable question to ask, especially with the back-to-back.

However, it was part of his answer that I believe shows why changes to the lineup aren’t going to fix the problem.

“Some other guys, up in the lineup, those are the guys that have got to deliver.”

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’t going to make much of a difference if the guys playing higher in the lineup aren’t delivering, at both ends of the ice.

At the top of that list right now is Adrian Kempe, who would be the first to tell you that.

“We’ve 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.”

Kempe has gone six straight games without a goal, which is frankly not even anything when you look at some of the droughts we’ve seen this season. However, over those six games, no Kings player has more shot attempts than Kempe and he’s 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’t get either one to go. If he was able to, we’re probably writing a different theme here.

He’s a player that, in the long run, there shouldn’t be a ton of concern about, because he’s 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’s a guy the Kings are looking at to find one. Can’t question the effort one bit. Actually, you wonder if maybe there’s too much effort, because he wants to be the difference maker, leading to forcing plays. That’s a question I’ll 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’s top goalscoring threat, he understands that a large part of that starts with him.

“It’s bearing down on chances,” Kempe added. “We’ve 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’re doing a good job with creating chances. I think we can do a better job of bearing down on them.”

Kempe isn’t alone, though. It’s 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’ve 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’t rely on a track record in the position they’re 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’re at their best, they are a top shutdown pairing in the league. Kings need that.

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

“There’s a few things we can do, we can move a couple pieces around, but our players are our players, there’s only so many guys,” Hiller added. “We have the players, I think, called up, on the roster, that would be guys that can help us. I don’t think there’s 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’ll see. We’ll discuss that more.”

So, don’t 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’re not likely to see much go differently.

3 To Watch For –
– Here’s a stat I found this morning.

The Kings have played 47 games this season.

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’re looking at 37 of 47 games this season that have been one-goal games within the final two minutes of regulation.

It’s why you’ll see the Kings continue to compete with the best teams in the NHL. It’s 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’t been capable of pulling away. It’s 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’s 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’t.

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

– 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.

“Army, super happy to get him [to Los Angeles], he’s been amazing, not just on the ice, but off the ice as well,” Byfield said of Armia. “A big piece to get back. He does everything out there, so I’m excited to have him back on my line.”

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’s 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.

Progressing forward, for both player and team, has a quick turnaround. Bit of a cliché here, but when you lose one like that, the players often times would prefer to be able to play again immediately.

“Every game is an opportunity to win and it’s a good thing that it’s going to come quick,” Armia added last night. “You can stay sad or whatever or you can keep your head up and go and win the next game.”

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.

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’ll 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.

– Regarding the injury front, I don’t have a ton to offer you this morning.

We will speak with Jim Hiller at Honda Center closer to puck drop tonight to try and confirm any potential lineup changes.

Based on what I know right now, I’m not expecting any of Anze Kopitar, Trevor Moore or Corey Perry to be available for tonight’s 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’s 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.

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.