1/29 Preview – Fourth Line Continues To Thrive + No Changes Expected, Edmundson on Injury, 6-on-5 Goals Against

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Kings are riding a three-game winning streak as they enter Buffalo to take on the red-hot Sabres tonight at KeyBank Center in Western New York.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Defenseman Cody Ceci has six assists and a +5 rating in seven games played against the Sabres over the last five seasons. Ceci’s 12 career points versus Buffalo are his third most against any NHL opponent. Forward Taylor Ward’s father Dixon played five NHL seasons as a member of the Buffalo Sabres from 1995-00 and was a part of the Sabres team that reached the Stanley Cup Final in 1999.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings held an optional morning skate today, following yesterday’s optional practice. For the most part, just about everyone skated at least once over the two days, with both skates optional.

Goaltender Darcy Kuemper did not skate this morning and is expected to be tonight’s starter for the Kings between the pipes. Kuemper made 32 saves on 33 shots in his last game played in Buffalo, a 3-1 victory over the Sabres on Opening Night of the 2024-25 season.

Based on what we’ve learned here over the last two days, here is tonight’s expected lineup for the Kings –

Perry – Laferriere – Kempe
Moore – Byfield – Foegele
Fiala – Armia – Kuzmenko
Malott – Helenius – Ward

Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci

Kuemper
Forsberg

This is the same alignment we saw on Tuesday in Detroit, with no changes expected for tonight’s game, per Jim Hiller. A big reason as to why is the fourth line, which is expected to stay together tonight. More on that below.

SABRES VITALS: Over the last two months, from November 29 through today, no team in the NHL has collected more points than Buffalo, which has 43 in that span.

Per Rachel Lenzi of the Buffalo News, here’s how the Sabres lined up on Tuesday against Toronto –

#Sabres lines/defensive pairs from warmups tonight in Toronto:
Benson-Thompson-Tuch
Zucker-McLeod-Quinn
Doan-Ostlund-Helenius
Kozak-Krebs-Malenstyn

Samuelsson-Dahlin
Byram-Power
Metsa-Kesselring

UPL
Ellis

— Rachel Lenzi 💁🏻‍♀️😎💥 (@rachelmlenzi) January 27, 2026

Over the last two months, forward Tage Thompson ranks tied for seventh in the NHL in goals (16) and tied for ninth in points (34). Thompson leads all Buffalo players in goals and points on the season. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is tied for seventh in the NHL among defensemen with 11 goals this season, while he’s tied for eighth in the league in points with 42.

Storyline Of The Day – There Goes That Line Again
After Tuesday’s win over Detroit, I asked Warren Foegele about what felt like a very direct mentality for the Kings in that game.

I thought his answer was pretty telling.

“The way we’re seeing the Sammy, Mally and Wardo line, all they do is keep it simple and all three of them are on the same page. When you keep it simple and take it to the net, good things happen.”

Jim Hiller said that line – consisting of Jeff Malott, Taylor Ward and Samuel Helenius – is “starting to become a hit” within the room. Everyone seems to see the way that they play and the impact they seem to have on games right now. I would hope so, because the impact is becoming undeniable.

They were put together against the Rangers last week and Ward scored, with both Malott and Helenius assisting. Same story in St. Louis over the weekend, with Ward finding the back of the net again. In Detroit on Tuesday, some good work below the goal line from Malott and Ward won the puck back before Malott fed Helenius for a goal from the slot, his second of the season, breaking a 0-0 deadlock 30 minutes into the game.

The approach has been simple, yet effective. Early in the game in Michigan, the forechecking efforts of Ward and Malott were tenacious, as they refused to allow an easy exit, leading to the game’s first penalty. Came by getting in on the forecheck, relentlessly pursuing the puck, winning it in the offensive zone and forcing the penalty.

“That’s our game, we try to play as simple as we can, just throw pucks to the net, put bodies there as well,” Helenius said. “That’s our game. I like playing with Wardo and Mally, we three know what to do, keep it simple.”

I’m not sure if there’s an effective stat to measure forechecking, but here’s something that may help. Per SportLOGIQ, on a per/60 basis, Malott leads all Kings forwards this season in loose-puck recoveries off shots on goal. Ward leads the team in contested loose-puck recoveries in the offensive zone. They’re then taking those opportunities and turning them into chances. Right now, those chances are becoming goals. In case you missed it, the LA Kings need goals, They’re getting them right now from their fourth line, alongside a mentality that seems to be contagious throughout the group.

“We’re looking to just build an identity, the three of us love playing together, we’re looking to just do the same things every night and help out where we can,” Malott said. “Just looking to get it to a spot where we can get it back, get on the hunt and get to the net quick.”

Certainly working thus far.

And it’s nice that all three players are guys who came through the system, working their way up from the AHL’s Ontario Reign and now are succeeding together at the NHL level. There’s an emphasis in Ontario on playing the game similarly to the way the Kings play, so that when players come up, they’re ready to contribute at a higher level. Helenius and Malott have been here, but Ward has jumped right in and succeeded.

Helps that he’s got familiarity with both players from the AHL and helps that all three are on the same page.

“I think that the three of us are just on the same page,” Ward added. “I think we play pretty simple, hunt down pucks and try to go to the net hard. When all three of us are on the same mindset, it works better that way. I think we all like to play North/South hockey, physical and go to the net. When you’ve got three guys doing that, it works pretty well.”

3 To Watch For –
– On the injury front, an update from today is that forward Alex Turcotte has returned to Los Angeles and has been ruled out for the remainder of the trip with an upper-body injury. So, no Turcotte for the next three games at minimum.

For defenseman Joel Edmundson, I asked him today about his own upper-body injury, but sounds like it’s something he’ll be able to manage right now.

“Yeah, trainers are doing a good job with that, I just took a hit in the St. Louis game, didn’t feel right,” Edmundson said. “It’s that time of year, everyone’s kind of battling through something. I’m feeling good enough to play.”

Edmundson has managed things a bit. He didn’t practice during yesterday’s optional skate but was out there this morning for morning skate. The Kings have five games remaining before the NHL’s Olympic break, which represents a few weeks for players not headed to the Olympics, who are banged up or playing through injuries, an opportunity to get away from the ice and get back closer to 100 percent. As close as you can at this stage.

For Anze Kopitar, he skated both yesterday and today. Was one of the first guys on the ice both days and one of the last to leave. That’s a sign he’s getting closer but does not sound as if tonight will be the night for the captain. There is optimism Kopitar could return this weekend, but nothing set in stone. Wondering out loud if Carolina might be an ideal day, to avoid a back-to-back for him right off the bat. Just speculation, though. See how things shake out over the next 48 hours!

– An area to clean up for the Kings, despite wining their last three games, has to be the 6-on-5 defensive play.

Even in Detroit, when the Kings defended and frustrated as well as they have in a while, the one goal they conceded came with the Red Wings net empty. That’s three consecutive games with a 6-on-5 goal against.

“A lot of times, 5-on-6, 6-on-5, you don’t want to get outnumbered at the bottom, by your net,” Hiller said. “There’s been a couple of goals where we’ve gotten outnumbered, where pucks have just come in and we’ve been outnumbered at the bottom. We’ve got to take the bottom away, one, and then sometimes, if they find the lane and it gets through, it’s going to get through, but we’ve got to make sure it’s not happening in and around, close to our net.”

Up until the last week, the Kings had allowed only three goals in 49 games played when facing six skaters. That was tied for tenth-best in the NHL. Three games and three wins later, but also three goals against in those situations later, and suddenly the Kings are tied for the fifth-most goals against in those situations.

The silver lining is that it means the Kings are leading in those situations. But they know there’s a better job to be done with getting those games over the line, which is hopefully a situation they’re in again tonight.

– How about a little trivia question to close things out – Over the last two months, which two teams in the NHL have collected the most points in the standings?

Answer – Detroit and Buffalo.

Creates an opportunity, doesn’t it?

Thought that the wins over New York and St. Louis were more so wins of relief than wins of joy. The Detroit win was different. The Kings played very well in that game and fully deserved to beat one of the league’s top teams of late. Second in points over the past two months.

Tonight, in Western New York, the Kings will play the only team with more points than Detroit in that span. The Sabres are 19-3-1 over their last 23 games. They’ve won four straight entering tonight’s game, scoring at least four goals in all four games, five-plus in three of the four. They’ve scored at least five goals in eight of their last 12 games.

A big test against the NHL’s hottest team. But also, a chance to make a statement. We knew this trip was a chance to do that in the larger picture. You want to make that statement? Go beat the two hottest teams in the league in consecutive games.

Kings and Sabres, puck drops tonight at 4 PM Pacific and 7 PM here in Buffalo. Another test tonight for the Kings on the road, as they look to keep a three-game winning streak going.