10/3 Preview – Today's Game Group + Quebec Energy, Opportuni-Lee

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP: The Kings will conclude their tournament series with two games in Quebec City, the first of which is tonight against the Boston Bruins.

HEAD TO HEAD: The Kings and Bruins are not traditionally preseason opponents, but the unique nature of the Quebec trip made an Eastern Conference opponent possible.

Last season, the Kings won in overtime in Boston and lost at home in regulation, tying the season series 1-1. Defenseman Brandt Clarke, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime at TD Garden, is expected to be in the lineup for today's game.

KINGS VITALS: These are the final preseason games for the Kings, who are expected to put something like their NHL roster together over the next two games. Most of the Kings veterans have played in 1-2 games so far in the preseason, so it wouldn't be surprising to see the Kings defeat the majority of their starters in both games as they prepare for the season.

Look for goalkeeper David Rittich to be in the starting lineup tonight, continuing the rotation established here over the past few days. Rittich has played one friendly game so far, a 3-2 win over Anaheim on Saturday at Toyota Arena in Ontario. Rittich stopped 17 shots on 19 shots to secure the victory and is expected to get the nod in Quebec tonight.

The expected playing group is shown below –

Laferriere – Kopitar – Kempe
Jeannot-Danault-Moore
Fiala – Byfield – Foegele
Lee-Turcotte-Thomas

Anderson-Spence
Gavrikov-Burroughs
Edmundson-Clarke

Rittich
Kuemper / Copley

As Hiller said yesterday, he's treating this trip like an 84-game regular season. While a few pieces may move back and forth between tonight's game and Saturday's game against Florida, Hiller has committed to playing the majority of his lineup in both games as preparation for Game 1 continues.

“If you look at our lineup, we will have the most veterans we have played all season. So if you have a little more mix, you get more spots in the top nine, top six, etc. Guys get more ice time,” Hiller said. “So tonight some players will still be fighting for jobs, but their roles and time on the ice will be much more limited. So now you need to make sure what you do with what you have and that you impress in those few minutes. They just can’t get the 12, 13, 14, 15 minutes that some of these guys used to get.”

Particularly on that fourth line, they played higher up the entire lineup. Tonight they will step more into the role they could play this season. See how these guys are doing. The same applies to the Edmundson/Clarke pairing, which was played as the top pairing in previous appearances. In particular, keep an eye on the minutes distribution on the blueline tonight.

BOSTON VITALS: The Bruins are on the road for tonight's game and play in Boston this morning before a quick trip to Quebec.

According to Scott McLaughlin of WEEI Radio in Boston, this is how the Bruins lined up during their morning skate today –

Bruins lines during morning skating:

Zacha Lindholm Pastrnak
Tufte/Koepke-Coyle-Lysell
Frederic Johnson Brazeau
Jones-Brown-Much

Lindholm McAvoy
Zadorov Carlo
Lohrei Wotherspoon

Korpisalo
Kisses

— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin9) October 3, 2024

Assuming this is true, former Kings goaltender Joonas Korpisalo could score the winning goal against his former team. Striker Brad Marchand will not play tonight due to illness. Otherwise it looks like a relatively strong squad for the opposition.

Notes –
Good afternoon, Quebec
For many, yesterday's training was the first time they played in this building, in this city. However, not for everyone.

Let's take a look back to 2016 and Anze Kopitar was here, just in a different jersey.

Koptiar represented Team Europe at the World Cup of Hockey and took part in an exhibition game here at the Videotron Center. While his team was on the losing side that night, Kopitar remembered the building.

“It's great to be here. I know the city has been waiting to see some NHL action for a long time, with the passionate fans and everything they have here,” Kopitar said. “I have played in this building before, the pre-tournament game with Team Europe here, so I know what a good atmosphere this building can bring. We hope that happens in the next few days.”

The atmosphere should be pretty cool tonight.

Preseason games can sometimes be the opposite of that. These are often games that season ticket holders have in their package, but which they don't always take part in or are not that interested in. I definitely understand that. Single tickets are not such a popular commodity. However, if you are playing in a neutral market, the energy may be slightly different. This is a marquee event and that's pretty cool.

“I think there’s a little bit of energy,” defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “Looking back at Australia, it wasn't necessarily all LA fans, or I guess Arizona or now Utah (it was) a mix of everyone who liked watching hockey, so it makes for a fun atmosphere. People here know ice hockey, so it's fun to play there. I’m sure they’ll be happy about it.”

Part of what Anderson said is what others have also talked about.

It's not just Kings fans, Bruins fans or Canadiens fans that are represented here.

At games like this you see all kinds of jerseys in the stands. Ice hockey fans. In a hockey market without a professional team, there is a lot of support, a lot of passion and a lot of knowledge. Should make for a fun evening.

“It was also cool to see how many different jerseys there are,” added striker Trevor Moore. “I kind of felt like I saw that in Australia too, where there were hockey fans, fans of all kinds of teams. So it’s cool to come to a super, super passionate place like this.”

Opportunit Lee
It's an opportunity for some players here to make a difference.

Consider striker Andre Lee, who is firmly in that boat.

If you had asked Jim Hiller in the summer, he would not have had Lee in the squad for those games in Quebec. However, training camps exist for many reasons. One of them is to give players the opportunity to test for the NHL squad. Lee did just that. Hiller had a lot of good things to say about the Swedish-born striker –

“I like that he brought his 6-5 body to camp, I like the way he skates, and most importantly, I like his consistency,” Hiller said of Lee. “A lot of times a bigger guy like that needs more time to understand what his role is going to be, that he has to intervene quickly and do pre-checks, he has to complete the checks and do all those things. He does it very, very consistently. So, once again, kudos to the coaching staff that worked with him in Ontario. He understands his game, he understands who he is right now, he knows he just needs to create a role for himself in the NHL and then expand on it as he gets more experience. He’s just one of those guys that you don’t have to worry about as a coach, you just get what you see, and he was just really impressive.”

While preparation and planning are a crucial part of the next two games, there are also tasks to be won. Although the Kings didn't suffer any injuries during training camp, the departure of several players means others have a chance to step in. Whether the Kings keep 13 or 14 forwards with seven or eight defensemen remains to be seen. Before Drew Doughty's injury, all signs pointed to a 13/8 alignment, but now it feels less certain. With 15 forwards and eight defensemen here in Quebec, the skaters only have two decisions to make.

For Lee, he may not have been fully in the picture in July, but he's firmly in the picture now. Hiller added that he “didn’t know he would be this close to an NHL player.” It's a cliché for Lee, but he just went out and “played his game.” His game in college was more of a skill role. He was a top-six forward at UMass-Lowell in the NCAA. Now he will likely be lower in the lineup, at least initially. Clarity about where he is was crucial for Lee and he is now executing exactly what he intended. His game is different now than before and that is something he has embraced.

“I think when I came into the organization I didn't really know what my role was, but over the last few years we've been working on it and I've come to understand what it is,” he said. “I know that if you do it 100 percent, put in the effort, you have to get good at it. So yeah, that's exactly what I'm trying to do. Like I said, I know what they want, so I just have to do what they say.”

Lee's regular season last year in Ontario had its ups and downs. An injury cost him a lot of time as he was only able to play 36 games in the regular season. The biggest positive, however, was the finish, as Lee scored four goals in eight playoff games, tied for the second-most on the team while in the bottom six games. He took that experience, that momentum, and carried it into camp this fall.

“It was definitely important. I think after missing some time last year, it was great to end the season on a good note,” said Lee. “I wish we had gone further, obviously, but yeah, finishing the season and having a little bit of confidence for next year, that’s good.”

Lee credited Marco Sturm in Ontario and the rest of the staff there for helping him prepare for his NHL role. Hiller said something similar. There are no guarantees here, with 15 forwards for 13 or 14 spots, and Lee is exempt while others are not. Nevertheless, tonight is the moment to present yourself for an NHL job. If Lee continues the way he has throughout camp as he has gained several admirers within the organization, good things will come. Even if, like his development path, they only take a little time.

One to keep an eye on tonight in Quebec City.

4:00 p.m. Puck Drop, Pacific Time, for the penultimate game of the preseason. Full match coverage follows!