Watching the Pacific’s longest-suffering team take on the Pacific’s new expansion team isn’t going to be a must-watch very often, but given that it’s the first game at home for said expansion team, I’m excited! Brayden McNabb, Colin Miller, and the Vegas Golden Knights welcome the Arizona Coyotes to town, and with that, the Kings are officially going to have to hand off one of their largest pockets of fans. Vegas has surprised us by winning their first two games, but if their fans have learned anything from watching the Kings, it’s that the Coyotes can ruin your day if you’re not careful.
Regardless of results, it should be a cool scene, and one that won’t come along again for… oh, a couple years or so. Plus, now that the Dodgers have advanced, what else are you going to watch?
KINGS WATCH
- I promised you that this bullet point would generally be dedicated to Alec Martinez until his return. So: he skated before practice this morning for the first time since his injury. Good time for three days off, especially since LA won’t get that again until their Christmas break. Also: Martinez was one of 18 people honored with Miami (OH)’s Young Alumni Award! [Miami University]
- Kale Clague is off to a killer start for the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings and was named the Canadian Hockey League’s player of the week. He’s got five goals and three assists in three games. Yes, as a defenseman. [CHL]
- You might remember Adrian Kempe’s brother, Mario, from the preseason. Mario is making his NHL debut tonight against the Golden Knights! Look for #29./
Mario Kempe (@KempeMario) is excited to make his @NHL debut at @TMobileArena tonight. #Yotes pic.twitter.com/18qwQyB7WA
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) October 10, 2017
LEAGUE WATCH
- The Pittsburgh Penguins visited the White House today, but they were silent on social media and generally attempted to avoid making any headlines as they did it. These days, though, simply going (or not going) to the White House sends a pretty loud message, whether or not they wanted to do so. [SB Nation]
- I guess this already a very Knights-centric roundup, but Vadim Shipachyov’s situation is too interesting not to read about. [Knights on Ice]
- Will the New York Islanders ever have a settled arena situation? [Lighthouse Hockey]/
GAME TO WATCH
See above. However, if you’d prefer an earlier game, Columbus-Carolina is free to stream on NHL.com and features Justin Williams.
WATCH THIS
The Kings are offering a chance to play broomball at Staples Center. I’ve played a couple times and had a blast doing it, but don’t take my word for it… here is some high-level broomball action! (I watched 45 whole seconds, but maybe my random jump to the middle of the video landed on a boring part.)