While the Kings have had a rough go of it during the pre-season, the Ontario Reign has been finding ways to win. The AHL has an abbreviated pre-season — some teams play no warm-up games at all — so the Ontario Reign only got two chances to play together as a team before the season starts for them this week.
The Reign won both of their pre-season games and had to come from behind to do it each time. Last week, the Reign came back from a 2-0 deficit to battle the Gulls to a 3-3 tie by the end of regulation. Overtime wasn’t enough and the teams proceeded to the shootout: all thirteen rounds of it. Brett Sutter, Philippe Maillet, and Kyle Bauman all scored in regulation; Spencer Watson, Maillet, and PTO invitee Nic Pierog scored in the shootout. Peter Budaj made 35 saves.
Last night in Anaheim, the Reign found themselves in familiar territory, down 3-0 midway through the second period. Four unanswered goals from the Reign followed, ending their pre-season on a high note. Zack Mitchell, Sean Walker, Austin Strand, and Kyle Bauman all scored for the Reign.
👀@CalPetersen40 pic.twitter.com/2zxxsRMYcg
— Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) October 2, 2018
The Reign open their season on Friday in San Jose; their home opener is October 12 against the Stockton Heat.
Kings Things
The Kings have made some of their final roster moves, assigning Matt Luff, Daniel Brickley, Kale Clague, Kurtis MacDermid, and Cal Petersen to the Reign. [Ontario Reign]
Get your full notes and recap of yesterday’s Reign/Gulls game here. [Reign Insider]
Call it the LeBron effect: the Kings are looking at how they market their star players. [The Athletic]
Kings employee Chrissy Duarte was killed in last year’s mass shooting in Las Vegas. The Kings will continue to honor her this season. Donations can be made to the Kings Care Foundation in her name. [LA Kings]
Gone, but never forgotten 💜
The LA Kings will be honoring Chrissy Duarte throughout the season.
Make a donation in her memory:https://t.co/83pNfwnwgt pic.twitter.com/iQed4MQgVJ— LA Kings (@LAKings) October 1, 2018
Elsewhere in the World
Curious about coaches? New site Behind the Benches has you covered:
Thread: So far on Behind the Benches, we have an NHL page that features all current coaches for the 2018-19 season, as well as team pages that include their coaching history from 2010 – Present. pic.twitter.com/u7os5Jmn1Q
— Behind The Benches (@BenchBosses) October 2, 2018
The AHL is revamping their streaming service, and opening weekend is free. [AHL]
Nico Hischier went home and took the New Jersey Devils with him:
Welcome home, Nico. pic.twitter.com/CnMzURhPjR
— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) October 1, 2018
Corey Masisak takes a look at Nico Hischier’s homeland and his path to hockey stardom. [The Athletic]
What team isn’t driven by pure, unbridled spite? [Deadspin]
Lulea Hockey came away with a win over the Metropolitan Riveters in the first Champions Cup game. [The Ice Garden]
Mile High Hockey has some very bold predictions for the West. [Mile High Hockey]
This Doesn’t Have Anything To Do With Hockey But I Know My Readership Demographics
*Scheduled tweet*
The @Dodgers are NL West Champs. pic.twitter.com/F126uVvPBZ
— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2018