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Game Day Watch, 10/26: Los Angeles Kings @ Montreal Canadiens

Posted on by Eric Kveton

HOW TO WATCH

Game Time: 4:30 PM Pacific
TV: Fox Sports West
Radio: KABC AM 790
Stream: Fox Sports Go (requires cable subscription)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

if you’re a Kings fan: Adrian Kempe’s late heroics kept any concerns at bay for a couple days, but that third period was ROUGH. The Kings’ top-end players remain in fine form, though, and John Stevens is giving them plenty of chances to keep their output up. In particular, LA’s top three defensemen are getting big minutes, and Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar are still playing 20+ minutes a night. So watch them!

if you’re a Canadiens fan: Feel better yet? A 5-1 win certainly helps, but the Habs were still down 1-0 after 35 minutes and needed a flurry of Florida penalties to help them take control of their last game. Even so, I saw multiple “This is where the turnaround starts!” takes on Twitter. That’ll be true if Carey Price manages to find his form, but they can’t have another third period letdown like the one against Anaheim in their previous game, or the one against LA before that.

if you’re a hockey fan: I’ll say what I said last time: crazy things happen when these two teams play each other. And we got a rookie scoring a hat trick in one period last time. Keep an eye on this one.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

for the Kings: Michael Cammalleri. While Kempe stole the headlines with his hat trick in the teams’ previous matchup, Cammalleri had his first, second, third, and fourth points of the season in that game. That included a pair of goals against his former team, and it has helped him solidify his place in the lineup. His possession numbers haven’t been great, and he’ll skate with Shore and Lewis, but there should be opportunities for him nonetheless.

for the Canadiens: Paul Byron. The Habs still have their own diminutive scoring winger, and he’s skating on Montreal’s top line with Jonathan Drouin. He scored the Canadiens’ only goal against LA the first time around and he’s one of the league’s best in converting his chances, with a staggering 18.1% career shooting percentage. He might only average one shot on goal per game, but chances are that one shot will be a dangerous one.

LEAGUE/WORLDWIDE WATCH

  • Mike Amadio isn’t going to make his debut tonight, but with his promotion and Justin Auger’s demotion, we’ll see if he takes over for Brooks Laich later in the road trip. [JftC]
  • Arizona fans have turned to posting animal pictures in the midst of a rough start. Not the worst idea. [SB Nation]
  • Ottawa is shaking things up a bit, but it’s not like they have a choice. [Silver Seven Sens]/

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