The Los Angeles Kings have been one of the top teams in the NHL this season and could get even better. On Saturday, the Kings were able to get back Trevor Moore and Trevor Lewis but the biggest return should be in the near future with defenseman Drew Doughty.
Doughty has been a cornerstone of the Kings' defense for over 15 seasons and is still one of the best defensemen in the entire NHL. This is good news for a Kings team that already is one of the better defensive teams but does create a bit of a challenge for Jim Hiller.
The reason this is a problem, a good problem but still a problem, is that the Kings best pairing this season has been Vladislav Gavrikov and Mikey Anderson. However, for the past two seasons, it has primarily been Anderson paired with Drew Doughty.
After the game on Saturday, Anderson was asked who he would prefer to play with and was able to dodge the question pretty well.
Anderson was asked if he preferred partnering with Doughty or Gavrikov. "I'm going to plead the fifth on that one, but either way you can't go wrong. They're both awesome players, so no worries either way." #GoKingsGo
— Andrew Knoll (@AndrewKnollNHL) January 5, 2025
In terms of performance when comparing the pairing of Anderson-Doughty and Anderson-Gavrikov, the numbers are pretty comparable. According to MoneyPuck, the pairing of Anderson-Doughty last season had an xGoals % of 54.6% while Anderson-Gavrikov is slightly better at 56.2%.
The notable difference between the two is that Anderson-Doughty have a slightly higher xGoals For Per 60 minutes (2.55) while Anderson-Gavrikov is better in xGoals Against Per 60 Minutes (1.84).
Who should the Los Angeles Kings pair Mikey Anderson with?
While Vladislav Gavrikov and Mikey Anderson have played well, my guess is that Hiller will elect to go with the familiarity between Anderson and Drew Doughty. This should help Doughty get back up to full speed playing with someone that he has experience next to.
If that does happen, then Gavrikov likely would be paired with Jordan Spence to avoid changing all three pairings on defense. This is undoubtedly a good issue to have for Jim Hiller but one that looms large in the coming weeks.