What a difference a single game can make.

Before Wednesday's matchup against Las Vegas, things were looking bleak for the LA hockey team. They were already ten games into the season and while the record wasn't a cause for concern, the lack of consistency was starting to become worrying. But after they put in their best performance of the season against one of the league's top teams, all the talk was brought back to a mild level.

Long story short, the Kings' offense exploded with six goals while they held the Golden Knights' star-studded lineup at bay for most of the contest. Maybe this win will be the starting point for a strong development – but only if they don't fall behind today against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.

This afternoon, Connor Bedard and friends are in town for a matinee showdown at the Crypto.com Arena. Similar to the storyline of the Sharks game earlier this week, it's a game LA must win. Chicago still finds itself at the bottom of the Central Division in the standings, despite bringing in several key veteran players over the summer to support their young phenom.

It would be a little shocking if Hiller changed his lineup after what was undoubtedly the best Kings game of the season. He could move Andre Lee back to the fourth line, but that's not really necessary at this point. We asked Hiller specifically about the process of assembling his third defensive pairing – as he primarily rotates Andreas Englund, Caleb Jones and Kyle Burroughs in and out of the lineup to keep them fresh – and his answer wasn't entirely clear which attribute or Reason pushes him in one direction or another. Apart from that, If There is a change in the lineup today, we assume it will be in defense.

While it's a little early to keep track of the standings, a win today would give the Kings sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division. Analysis suggests teams that are in the playoffs on Thanksgiving will likely find themselves in Game 83. If that's the case, LA needs to make a strong push over the next four weeks as it's a crucial benchmark for the regular season. So every point counts.

Statistically speaking

– On this day 57 years ago, the LA Kings hosted the Chicago Blackhawks for the first time in team history, losing 3-1 at the LA Sports Arena (November 2, 1967).

– The last time the Kings played the Blackhawks, forward Adrian Kempe scored 0:06 into overtime, obliterating the previous franchise mark for fastest goal to start an overtime period (Aaron Miller, 00:14 on Dec. 16 2001, in Anaheim) and, according to NHL PR, sets an NHL record that has previously been achieved five times.

– By winning their first three home games of the 2024-25 season, the Kings increased Jim Hiller's coaching record at Crypto.com Arena to 17-3-1; That's a league-best .833 points percentage in that span.

– Phil Danault has recently found success against Chicago, with five points in his last three games dating back to March 15, 2024.

— We finally have a fun statistic to track this season. Last year our MM graphics team had the almost uncanny ability to randomly select a player for our daily lineup article, and then that player would appear to score a goal. So far in 2024-25, the Kings have played 11 games and the featured player has scored five goals, a conversion rate of 45%. A goal from Danault today would increase that to 50%.

Scheduled Kings vs. Blackhawks lineup

If there are important changes during this time Morning skate or Pre-game warm-ups, this article will be updated.

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

Anderson-Gavrikov
Edmundson-Clarke
Englund-Spence

Kümper (starter)
Rittich

Likely scratches: (F) Lee (D) Burroughs, Jones

Important game information

Puck drop is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. 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 of Kings radio this season; they have left the iHeart platform).

More about the current TV situation here.

For those who are present, the LA Kings Booster Club will be offering their popular “Puck for a Buck” contest – this game features Warren Foegele. For just $1, you could win an autographed puck from an NHL star. For more information, please visit their table outside sections 317-318 in the Upper Hall.

Over the ice

Chicago is coming off a 3-2 loss to San Jose on Thursday. This is how they positioned themselves for this competition:

Kurashev – Bedard – Teräväinen
Halle – Foligno – Bertuzzi
Mikheyev-Dickinson-Donato
Maroon – Reichel – Smith

Kaiser-Jones
Vlasic-Murphy
Allan-Brodie

Mrazek

On this day in the history of the king

https://x.com/Kingstorian/status/1852742673226154370

MORE LA KINGS NEWS:

Kevin Fiala: The full story and apology

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