The Kings get their first chance to answer for Denver tonight. Kings at Sharks drops the puck at 7 p.m. PT on Saturday, October 3, at SAP Center in San Jose. It is the second and final stop of the season-opening road trip and the first of four meetings with San Jose this season. Friday’s practice in El Segundo offered new clues about what Peter Laviolette wants to change: a long video session, a tougher-than-usual skate, a lineup decision involving Corey Perry and Erik Gustafsson, and a clear focus on stopping the rush.
Here is what is new since the 8-4 loss in Colorado and what to watch tonight.
Kings at Sharks: What Changed at Friday’s Practice
Before the Kings went on the ice, they spent a long time in the video room. When a reporter asked if “extensive” was the right word for the session, Laviolette agreed. “Extensive, is that the word you said? Yeah. Probably a good word for it.”
The list was long. “There’s lots of things that we can clean up,” Laviolette said. “From what we do in the offensive zone when we don’t have the puck, line rushes against, penalties. There’s lots of things, I think the penalty kill [also]. Lots of areas where we can get better at and improve.”
The practice itself stood out too. LA Kings Insider’s Zach Dooley described it as more spirited, more intense and longer than the typical skate the day before a game in past seasons. It included short-area sprints and competitive 2-on-2 drills near the end. The team then flew to Northern California Friday afternoon. Our full breakdown of the special-teams issues from Wednesday is in yesterday’s preview, so tonight’s focus is on what else the Kings worked on.
The New Priority: Stopping the Rush
The penalty kill got the headlines, but Friday’s video also went after 5-on-5 defense, especially odd-man rushes. “We touched up on the kill and then we touched up on some 5-on-5 stuff,” defenseman Cody Ceci said. “We gave up a little too much off the rush, just outnumbered in a few situations.”
The opponent makes that a big deal. According to SportLOGIQ data cited by LA Kings Insider, no NHL team generated more slot shots off the rush last season than Colorado. San Jose had 11 slot shots off the rush in its opener against Florida on Thursday, and only New Jersey had more in a season opener.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky is not hiding the plan. “We want to play fast, we want to get on teams with our team speed, but we need to be physical, and that’s what winning teams do,” he said in a game preview carried by 98.1 The Sports Animal. “It’s just playing through people and being hard to play against.”
Lineup Watch: Perry and Gustafsson
The Kings did not take formal line rushes Friday. Based on jersey colors, Dooley reported no major changes from the opener:
- Panarin – Byfield – Kempe
- Zuccarello – Turcotte – Laferriere
- Moore – Laughton – Haula
- Lee – Helenius – Armia
- Dumoulin – Doughty, Edmundson – Clarke, Anderson – Ceci
The real question is whether Perry or Gustafsson draws in. Both skated on the second power-play unit Friday with Alex Laferriere, Drew Doughty and Alex Turcotte, as they have throughout camp. “They’ve been getting it pretty consistently, both of them, and everybody’s available,” Laviolette said. “There’s a chance that they can play. We’re going through that and I haven’t talked to the players yet.”
The jerseys hint at where they would fit. Perry wore the fourth line’s color, and Gustafsson wore the same color as Brandt Clarke and Joel Edmundson. Perry missed about a week of practice earlier for personal reasons, so being an option is a step forward on its own. The morning skate in San Jose should give the final answer.
Goalie Watch: Kuemper Projected, Not Confirmed
The Kings had not named a starter as of Saturday morning. Daily Faceoff lists Darcy Kuemper as the projected starter, marked unconfirmed, with Anton Forsberg as the alternative. Kuemper stopped 21 of 29 shots in Denver, but his record against San Jose is strong: 10-5-5 with a .909 save percentage and a 2.78 goals-against average in 22 career games, according to the same preview.
Yaroslav Askarov is San Jose’s expected starter. He is 3-1-0 with a 2.94 GAA and an .878 save percentage in four career appearances against the Kings.
Ceci’s Quiet Strong Start
One King came out of Denver looking good. Ceci finished with an assist and a plus-3. According to LA Kings Insider, he was the only King on the ice for three goals for, was not on the ice for any even-strength goal against, and no King was on the ice for more shot attempts or shots on goal for. On a night when the Kings allowed eight, Ceci’s steady play with Mikey Anderson is a building block.
Discipline Message, Short Version
Alex Laferriere summed up the room’s main takeaway. “I think the biggest takeaway was discipline, you can’t really give those guys many opportunities on the power play with the caliber of guys they have,” he said. “I think if we can get better at that, I think our 5-on-5 play spoke for itself there and we’re going to have chances to win a lot of games if we stay out of the box.” That applies just as much against a Sharks team that took 22 penalty minutes Thursday but still has dangerous skill.
Alternate Captain Rotation
Laviolette also explained how the “A” will work this season. Mikey Anderson and Adrian Kempe wore the letters in Colorado and will keep them for the first five games, through October 13 against Edmonton. Artemi Panarin then rotates in for Games 6 through 10 alongside one of them, and the cycle continues. Drew Doughty wears the “C,” as covered in our captaincy story.
Scouting the Sharks
San Jose comes in at 1-0-0 after its 4-3 overtime win over Florida. Warsofsky liked what he saw. “We wanted to show our identity, and I thought we did that more often than we probably have in the last couple years,” he said. Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith drive the offense. San Jose won two of three meetings with the Kings last season, though all three were one-goal games. After tonight, the Sharks visit Dallas on Monday and St. Louis on Thursday.
Watch: Ceci, Laferriere and Laviolette After Practice
Here is Friday’s official Kings media session from practice in El Segundo:
Game Info and What’s Next
- Saturday, Oct. 3: Kings at San Jose Sharks, SAP Center, 7 p.m. PT
- Tuesday, Oct. 6: home opener vs. Florida Panthers, Crypto.com Arena, 7 p.m. PT
- Saturday, Oct. 10: at Vegas Golden Knights, T-Mobile Arena, 7 p.m. PT
A clean, rush-aware game in San Jose would give Laviolette his first win before Tuesday’s home opener. Follow InfanityTV for the Kings at Sharks recap tonight. More on the roster is in our 23-man roster story, and the opener is broken down in our Colorado recap.
Update (Oct. 4): Anton Forsberg started in goal for the Kings, not Darcy Kuemper as projected above. The Kings lost 5-4 in overtime; read our full recap.
