The Kings begin a tough two-game set against the Central Division tonight with the Dallas Stars in town.
Look Back at Last Year
The Kings have not matched up well against Dallas in recent memory, with the Stars winning the last 8 of 10 matchups and all three matchups last season by a lopsided combined score of 13-3. The only matchup to take place in LA last season came in March, a 4-1 win for the Stars. Kevin Fiala led the Kings in scoring against Dallas last year, collecting two of the Kings three goals scored.
Key Points against the Dallas Stars
1. Dallas is Different on the Road
The Stars sit just 6-6-0 away from American Airlines Center this season, unable to replicate their elite road play from last season. While goaltender Jake Oettinger's numbers overall have been great this year, he sits at just 4-3-0 on the road with a goals-against average of 2.99 and a save percentage under .900, at .895. Dallas has allowed 3.09 goals per game on the road, way up from their outstanding mark of 1.64 at home. Pair this with the Kings strong offense at home, and the NHL's top defensive team suddenly becomes beatable.
2. 11/7 Set Up
According to Kings Insider Zach Dooley, the Kings are potentially looking at running 11 forwards and 7 defensemen tonight, something we have yet to see this season. The Kings ran this multiple times last season and saw success with it. If LA does commit to this, expect Kyle Burroughs to play.
3. Roster Moves
The Kings announced three roster moves this morning, headlined by Darcy Kuemper being activated off IR and Erik Portillo being assigned to AHL Ontario. Portillo was great against Anaheim, and his time will come for a full-time NHL job with the Kings. The Kings also placed forward Trevor Lewis on IR. Lewis is expected to be out for the remainder of 2024 as he sits on 999 career games.
Attached below is how the Kings lined up yesterday at practice. If the Kings do opt to go 11/7, expect Andre Lee to sit and Kyle Burroughs to play, as mentioned above. We'll find out more closer to puck drop.
Line rushes at practice:
— Oliver Figlin (@ClarkeForNorris) December 3, 2024
Moore-Kopitar-Kempe
Fiala-Danault-Laferriere
Foegele-Byfield-Jeannot
Turcotte-Helenius-Lee
Kaliyev*-Thomas*
Anderson-Gavrikov
Edmundson-Clarke
Moverare-Spence
Englund-Burroughs
Jones*
*rotating in https://t.co/DKEnwx18AF
A Look Across the Ice at the Dallas Stars
Similar to LA, the Stars also come into tonight's game riding a three-game winning streak, with their most recent win coming on Monday in Utah. Below is how the Stars lined up in that game.
Stars in warmup:
— Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) December 3, 2024
Robertson-Hintz-Johnston
Marchment-Duchene-Stankoven
Benn-Steel-Dadonov
Bäck-Bourque-Blackwell
Heiskanen-Lyubushkin
Lindell-Lundkvist
Harley-Dumba
DeSmith
The Stars offense has been headlined by their veteran second line this season, as Matt Duchene, Mason Marchment, and Tyler Seguin have covered for the slow starts of Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz.
The aforementioned Seguin will not be in the lineup tonight, as the Stars announced this morning he will miss the next 4-6 months due to hip surgery. Jake Oettinger is projected to get the nod in the net tonight for Dallas. Oettinger has been fantastic for Dallas this season, carrying a record of 13-4-0, a save percentage of .915, and a goals-against average of 2.38.
How to tune in
Tonight's game is nationally televised on TNT, with puck drop scheduled for 7pm PST and 10pm EST. An audio feed is available. on the ESPN LA App.