Los Angeles Kings vs. Anaheim Ducks
Time: 7:30 PT
TV: Fox Sports West
Enemy Reading: Anaheim Calling
Maroon-Kesler-Silfverberg
Noesen-Karlsson-Smith-Pelly
Cogliano-Rakell-Etem
Winchester-Wagner-Jackman
[defensive pairings not yet available]
Gibson
Pearson-Andreoff-Toffoli
Nolan-Shore-King
Clifford-Weal-Cracknell
Sabourin-Horvat-Van der Gulik
Schultz-Martinez
Forbort-Raine
McNabb-Ebert
Jones
Berube
Scratched: Dowd, MacDermid, Miller.
Notes
-The defensive pairings for the Ducks aren’t available yet – I’ll update when they are. John Gibson is confirmed as the starting goaltender.
-The big storyline for the Ducks is Ryan Kesler’s first game in a Ducks uniform. Besides that, keep an eye on William Karlsson and Rickard Rakell – both Swedes are pretty good young center prospects. Rakell seems likely to carve out a role on the Ducks this year.
–Andy Andreoff is not a very exciting prospect for me due to his age (23) and limited scoring ability (just 35 points in 76 AHL games last year). But he’s basically certain to make the team, in part because he’s not waiver eligible and the Kings would rather not give him away. This is an important opportunity for him to prove he’s worthy of some NHL playing time. Centering Pearson and Toffoli is a nice gig.
-Centers Nick Shore and Jordan Weal probably won’t make the final roster, but they’re the two most intriguing forward prospects. I’m more partial to Weal, who has greater offensive upside (70 points in 76 AHL games for Weal last year, 38 in 68 for Shore). On the other hand, Shore is bigger and has a better defensive reputation. They both have a decent shot of being part of the Kings’ future – remember that if Jarret Stoll leaves in unrestricted free agency next offseason, a bottom-six center spot opens up for one of them (or Andreoff). Then again, the Kings might re-sign Stoll for six years. That could happen too.
-A fun chance to see Derek Forbort, Brayden McNabb, and Nick Ebert, who are all decent defensive prospects. It’ll be interesting to see how they fare against a Ducks lineup that brought a lot of speed, especially that Cogliano-Rakell-Etem line.
-Hockey is back! Bob and Jim are back! Should be a great time.