Kings at VGK; No Dipping Toes, Jump In and Go

Post author:rehmatboutique17
Post published:March 10, 2025
Post category:Blog
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Less than 24 hours after a thrilling overtime victory against St. Louis at home, the Kings are set to get right back to work as they are in Vegas for a showdown with the first-place Golden Knights.

While the Pacific Division title is a long shot at this point for LA, Tonight will still be a great measuring stick as to how the Kings match up against one of the better teams in the league — especially with their constructed lineup. Before last night’s win, the Kings were losers of five straight, largely due to a lack of offense and special teams success.

Thus far this season, LA has claimed two victories in their three games against Vegas, including a 5-2 victory last month and a 6-3 victory in late October. Both wins came at home, following a 6-1 loss at T-Mobile Arena in the opening weeks of the 2024-25 season.

One silver lining for coach Jim Hiller right now has been the ongoing emergence of Quinton Byfield’s shot. He’s taken after future Hall of Famer Anze Kopitar, in the sense he’s often more of a passer than a shooter. Yet, when Byfield has the kind of confidence he’s been displaying recently — including last night in overtime — he has the ability to be a dangerous and consistent goal scorer.

Circling back to the Kings last meeting vs the Golden Knights in late February, Byfield registered his first career four-point game (all assists). By doing so, he also became the first Kings skater 22 years of age or younger to record at least two 30-point seasons since Drew Doughty (3x, 2009-12).

Lineup-wise, we are not expecting any changes except for David Rittich to potentially get the nod in goal. However, it would not be much of a surprise if Kuemper goes back-to-back because Rittich has really struggled lately. If he goes, tonight is a great opportunity for the veteran netminder to remind everyone that he’s still a valuable part of this team.

Off the ice, the Kings handled an important piece of business on Saturday that helps sets them up for next season:

Kings Sign Andre Lee to Two-Year Contract Extension

Statistically Speaking

— Kopitar has 15 goals and 24 assists in 35 career games against the Knights.

— Rittich has a 2-7-0 record against Vegas in his career, with a 4.07 GAA and .864 SV%.

— LA has an 8-9-0 record against Vegas on the road all time.

Kings Projected Lineup vs. Golden Knights

If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.

Kuzmenko – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Danault – Moore
Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Jeannot – Helenius – Turcotte

Anderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Spence
Edmundson – Clarke

Rittich (starter)
Kuemper

Likely scratches: (F) Lewis, Thomas and (D) Burroughs, Moverare

Key Game Info

Puck drop is set for 5:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised locally by FanDuel Sports Network. Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app (which is the new home for Kings radio this season, they’ve moved off of the iHeart platform).