LOS ANGELES KINGS NOTES:

DEC. 15 vs. BOSTON BRUINS – 7:00 PM ET (4:00 p.m. PT) // Venue: TD Garden // TV: Bally Sports West // Radio: iHeartRadio
-The LA Kings visit the Boston Bruins for the first of two meetings between the clubs this season (Jan. 5).
-Tonight’s game marks the sixth game of the Kings’ six-game road trip (5-2 W, Dec. 6 at OTT; 5-0 L, Dec. 8 at TOR; 4-2 W, Dec. 10 at MTL; 6-5 OTL, Dec. 11 at CBJ; 6-0 L, Dec. 13 at BUF).
-The Kings return home for a three-game homestand against three Pacific Division opponents (Dec. 17 vs SJS; Dec. 20 vs. ANA; Dec. 22 vs. CGY), then visit the Arizona Coyotes (Dec. 23) ahead of the league’s Christmas Break (Dec. 24-26).

WARM-UPS
1) The LA Kings have earned points in five of their last six trips to Boston (4-1-1).

2) Anze Kopitar has 2,992 career shots on goal. Only three LA Kings skaters have eclipsed 3,000 shots in their career with the Kings: Marcel Dionne (3,848), Dustin Brown (3,360) and Luc Robitaille (3,091).

3) No team has put up more third period shots than the Kings’ 348.

4) Drew Doughty (3-9=12) has the most points against Boston among any defenseman in franchise history.

5) With one more three-point game, Kevin Fiala can become the first Kings skater since the 2017-18 season to have at least five three-point games in a season (Anze Kopitar, 7 GP).

vs. BOSTON ALL-TIME:
All-Time Record: 45-86-13-2
Home: 26-38-7-1
Away: 19-48-6-1
OT: 10-7 (8 ties)
Shootout: 3-0
2021-22: 1-1-0
2022-23: 0-0-0

FRANCHISE LEADERS vs. BOSTON:
Marcel Dionne – 43 GP, 40 PTS (14-26=40)
Luc Robitaille – 32 GP, 39 PTS (17-22=39)
Dave Taylor – 47 GP, 38 PTS (15-23=38)
Butch Goring – 50 GP, 30 PTS (12-18=30)
Bob Berry – 36 GP, 27 PTS (8-19=27)
*-denotes active roster player

LAST MEETING vs. BOSTON: March 7, 2022 – LAK 3 vs. BOS 2 (OT)
Venue: TD Garden
LAK Goals: Lizotte (8), Moore (10), Athanasiou (8, OT)
BOS Goals: Frederic (4), Smith (11)
Goalies: LAK: Petersen (W, 30 saves, 32 shots) BOS: Ullmark (L, 25 saves, 28 shots)
LAK PP: 0-for-2
LAK PK: 1-for-1

THE NEXT THREE:
Sat., Dec. 17 | vs. San Jose Sharks | 7:30 p.m. PT | Bally Sports West | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
o Kevin Fiala has a five-game point streak (3-7=10) against the Sharks, tied for the third-longest active streak versus San Jose in the league.

Tues., Dec. 20 | vs. Anaheim Ducks | 7:30 p.m. PT | Bally Sports West | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
o Anze Kopitar sits three points shy of tying Mike Modano (28-55=83) for most points against Anaheim by any skater in league history.

Thurs., Dec. 22 | vs. Calgary Flames | 7:30 p.m. PT | Bally Sports West | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
o Alex Edler has 42 points (7-35=42) in 72 career games against Calgary, the second-most among active defensemen behind Brent Burns (79 GP, 13-35=48).

INJURY & MGL REPORT
Player, Games Missed, Date(s), Status
F Alex Iafallo, 23 games, Oct. 18 – Dec. 3 (lower-body)
F Brendan Lemieux, 15 games, Nov. 14 – Pres. (lower-body)
F Quinton Byfield, 6 games, Oct. 27 – Nov. 5 (illness)
F Viktor Arvidsson, 2 games, Oct. 13 (illness); Oct. 25 (illness)
D Sean Durzi, 2 games, Nov. 19 – Nov. 22. (lower-body)
D Drew Doughty, 1 game, Dec. 11 (lower-body)
F Gabriel Vilardi, 1 game, Nov. 27 (lower-body)
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 50

RECENT TRANSACTIONS (as of 12/15/22)
Dec. 1 – Tobias Bjornfot (D) and Samuel Fagemo (F) recalled from Ontario (AHL), Rasmus Kupari (F) and Jordan Spence (D) loaned to Ontario.
Dec. 1 – Tyler Madden (F) recalled from Ontario (AHL).
Dec. 2 – Tyler Madden (F) loaned to Ontario (AHL).
Dec. 3 – Aidan Dudas (F) recalled form Ontario (AHL).
Dec. 4 – Aidan Dudas (F) loaned to Ontario (AHL).
Dec. 7 – Brandt Clarke (D) loaned to Team Canada (IIHF).
Dec. 12 – Rasmus Kupari (F) and Jordan Spence (D) recalled from Ontario (AHL). Viktor Arvidsson (F) granted non-roster status.

LA KINGS TEAM NOTES:
OVER(TIME) THE YEARS IN BOSTON
The LA Kings and Boston Bruins have not shied away from going beyond regulation time in Boston. The Kings and Bruins have gone to overtime in each of their last four meetings between these two clubs at TD Garden with LA winning three of those four matchups:

Last four games in Boston between LA Kings & Boston Bruins
Date Score Winner OT Goal Scorer
March 7, 2022 3-2 (OT) LA Kings Andreas Athanasiou
Dec. 17, 2019 4-3 (OT) LA Kings Anze Kopitar
Feb. 9, 2019 5-4 (OT) Boston Bruins Patrice Bergeron
Oct. 28, 2017 2-1 (OT) LA Kings Tyler Toffoli
Out of the last 10 games played in Boston between these two teams, seven have been one-goal games. The Kings enter tonight having played the third-most overtime road games among Western Conference teams all-time:

Most road games ending in overtime among Western Conf. teams all-time
Teams GP Record
Chicago Blackhawks 416 108-139-169 (.463%)
Edmonton Oilers 342 110-122-110 (.482%)
St. Louis Blues 341 112-122-107 (.485%)
LA Kings 334 104-120-110 (.476%)
Arizona Coyotes^ 328 101-112-115 (.483%)
^-dating back to ARI franchise in WPG

KING OF EVEN-STRENGTH POINTS
Forward Kevin Fiala increased his team-leading point total to 32 (9-23=32) last Sunday night against the Blue Jackets. Fiala’s 23 assists are tied for ninth-most in the league among forwards. Of Fiala’s 32 points, 23 have come at even-strength which is tied for 11th in the league among forwards. Since his first full NHL season in 2017-18, Fiala’s 215 even-strength points sit fifth among 2014 NHL draftees:

Most even-strength points since 2016-17 among 2014 NHL Draftees
Player GP EV Points
Leon Draisaitl 397 340
David Pastrnak 366 265
Brayden Point 377 247
Dylan Larkin 372 235
Kevin Fiala 391 215
William Nylander 366 212

YOUNG GUNS
Defenseman Sean Durzi enters tonight with three points (0-3=3) in his last five games and five points total (0-5=5) in the month of December, which leads all Kings defensemen and sits third overall on the team. His five assists this month are tied for fourth-most among league defensemen. In 29 games this season, Durzi has notched 19 points (4-15=19), which sits fourth among defensemen from the 2018 NHL Draft class and sixth among all skaters from his draft class:

2022-23 point totals among defensemen from 2018 NHL Draft
Player GP Points
Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) 28 33 (9-24=33)
Quinn Hughes (VAN) 25 25 (0-25=25)
Noah Dobson (NYI) 30 20 (9-11=20)
Sean Durzi (LAK) 29 19 (4-15=19)
Calen Addison (MIN) 28 15 (2-13=15)

With one more point, Durzi can hit the 20-point mark for his second straight season from the start of his career. Last year, Durzi recorded his 20th point in his 48th game on March 24, 2022 against Chicago with his second career three-point game (0-3=3). Only two Kings defensemen in the past 25 years have recorded 20-plus points in each of their first two or more consecutive seasons in the NHL: Drew Doughty (14 seasons: 2008-09 to 2021-22 – can extend this season) L’ubomir Visnovsky (7 seasons: 2000-01 to 2007-08) and Slava Voynov (3 seasons: 2011-12 to 2013-14).

TIME MACHINE
Defenseman Drew Doughty currently sits second in the league in time on ice average-per-game with 26:19 minutes. The veteran blueliner has averaged a time on ice of 27:00 minutes or higher in 18 of the team’s 31 games:

Highest TOI/GP average among all skaters this season
Player GP TOI/GP
Cale Makar (COL) 27 26:55
Drew Doughty (LA) 31 26:19
Thomas Chabot (OTT) 24 26:02
Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) 28 25:52
Roman Josi (NSH) 27 25:32
No active skater has a higher TOI/GP average all-time in the league than Doughty:

Highest TOI/GP average all-time among active skaters
Player GP TOI/GP
Drew Doughty 1,045 26:15
Erik Karlsson 869 25:28
Roman Josi 787 24:53
Ryan Suter 1,310 24:52
Alex Pietrangelo 902 24:35

Doughty has consistently logged heavy minutes since his NHL debut. In his rookie season (2008-09), Doughty led all rookies in TOI with 23:50 minutes. In his 15 seasons in the league, Doughty has finished in the top-five among all skaters in time on ice per game-played in 10 of them, including the last eight consecutive:
Doughty’s top-five TOI/GP seasons
Season TOI/GP League Rank
2010-11 25:39 5th
2012-13 26:24 4th
2014-15 29:00 2nd
2015-16 28:01 3rd
2016-17 27:09 2nd
2017-18 26:50 1st
2018-19 26:36 2nd
2019-20 25:49 2nd
2020-21 26:23 1st
2021-22 25:44 5th

QUIC-18K
Goaltender Jonathan Quick made 20 saves Sunday night to eclipse the 18,000 save plateau, becoming the 27th goaltender and fourth active netminder to surpass the 18,000 save mark:

Most saves among active goaltenders
Player GP Saves
Marc-Andre Fleury 958 24,876
Craig Anderson 695 19,462
Carey Price 712 19,304
Jonathan Quick 733 18,019
Mike Smith 670 17,869

Quick is also two wins shy of tying Tom Barrasso (369) for the third-most wins by a U.S.-born goaltender in league history while Anderson sits at 313 career wins:

Most Wins by a U.S.-born Goaltender
Player Wins
Ryan Miller 391
John Vanbiesbrouck 374
Tom Barrasso 369
Jonathan Quick 367
Craig Anderson 314

Quick is no stranger to this region of the country as the Kings netminder was born in Milford, Conn. where he played youth hockey in the region. Quick attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst (Hockey East), where he played two seasons, posting a 23-22-6 record with a 2.40 goals-against average and .926 save percentage. During his sophomore year in Amherst, Quick was named to the NCAA Second All-American Team and the Hockey East Second All-Star Team and led the Minutemen to their first-ever NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championships appearance in 2007.

Now in his 15th full NHL season in the crease for the Kings. Quick has now played in 733 career games and sits in second for most games played among active goaltenders behind Marc Andre-Fleury (958). In the Kings season-opener on Oct. 11, which moved Quick into sole possession of second place with his 713rd career game, he stopped 47-of-51 shots, marking the most saves by a Kings goaltender in a season-opening game previously set by Rogie Vachon (45 on Oct. 7, 1972 at PIT). Overall, his 47-save performance ranked third-most in a season-opening game in league history behind Tomas Vokoun (52) and Jeff Hackett (48).

POWER-PLAY GURU
Kings captain Anze Kopitar currently sits at 105 career power-play goals. With one more goal on the man advantage, Kopitar can tie Dustin Brown (106) for the fourth-most power-play goals in franchise history:

Most PPGs in LA Kings history
Player GP PPG
Luc Robitaille 1,077 210
Marcel Dionne 921 172
Dave Taylor 1,111 123
Dustin Brown 1,296 106
Anze Kopitar 1,242 105
Bernie Nicholls 602 100

In 1,242 career NHL games, Kopitar has racked accumulated 386 power-play points, sitting third in franchise history behind Marcel Dionne (461) and Luc Robitaille (426). Among active skaters, Kopitar’s 386 power-play points are sixth overall in the league:

Most power-play points among active skaters
Player GP PPP
Alex Ovechkin 1,305 542
Sidney Crosby 1,13 517
Evgeni Malkin 1,010 450
Nicklas Backstrom 1,058 410
Patrick Kane 1,201 392
Anze Kopitar 1,242 386

MOORE SHOTS, ANYONE?
Trevor Moore has put up a team-leading 21 shots on goal on the road since Dec. 1, which sits second in the league behind only Alex Ovechkin (27) during that time. Moore currently leads the team in shots with 103 through his 32 games played this season. Of his 103 shots this season, 66 have come on the road which is third-most in the league:

Most shots on the road this season among all skaters
Player GP Shots
Alex Ovechkin 18 84
Nathan MacKinnon 14 71
Trevor Moore 18 66
Jack Hughes 13 64
Brady Tkachuk 13 62
Auston Matthews 14 62
Mika Zibanejad 14 62

RESPECT YOUR EDLERS
Defenseman Alex Edler scored his first goal of the season last Saturday in Montreal, which also marked his 11th career game-winning goal and sixth point (1-5=6) on the year. Since signing with the Kings in 2021, Edler has tallied four goals, 21 assists and 25 points in 68 games with a plus-14 rating. In 993 career NHL games, Edler has amassed 434 points (103-331=434). With seven more games, Edler can become the 12th active defenseman to skate in 1,000 career NHL games, the second defenseman from the 2004 NHL Draft class (Alex Goligoski, 1,010 GP), seventh overall skater from his draft class and 16th Swedish-born player in league history to reach such mark:

Most games played among 2004 NHL Draftees
Player GP
Alek Ovechkin (1st overall, WSH) 1,305
Blake Wheeler (5th overall, PHX) 1,074
Travis Zajac (20th overall, NJD) 1,037
Alex Goligoski (61st overall, PIT) 1,010
Evgeni Malkin (2nd overall, PIT) 1,010
Andrew Ladd (4th overall, CAR) 1,001
Alex Edler (91st overall, VAN) 993
David Krejci (63rd overall, BOS) 985

Edler skates into TD Garden with the seventh-most points among Swedish-born defensemen in league history.

24TH ALL-TIME FOR TODD
LA Kings HC Todd McLellan won his 543rd game as an NHL head coach Saturday night in Montreal, surpassing Billy Reay for the 24th-most wins by a head coach in league history:

Most wins by a Head Coach in league history
Ranks Coach Games Coaches Wins

20 Jacques Lemaire 1,262 617

21 Jacques Martin 1,294 613

22 Bruce Boudreau* 1,070 612

23 Marc Crawford 1,169 556

24 Todd McLellan* 1,046 543

25 Billy Reay 1,102 542

*-denotes actively serving as head coach in NHL

McLellan stands behind the Kings bench tonight with 109 wins, the seventh-most by a head coach in franchise history: Most wins by a Head Coach in LA Kings history

Ranks Coach Games Coaches Wins

1 Darry Sutter 425 225

2 Andy Murray 480 215

3 Bob Pulford 396 178

4 Terry Murray 275 139

5 Larry Robinson 328 122

6 Tom Webster 240 115

7 Todd McLellan 240 109

8 Bob Berry 240 107

WORLD JUNIORS BOUND
The LA Kings announced Wednesday that defenseman Brandt Clarke has been loaned to Team Canada ahead of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship that will be hosted by Canada in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick from Dec. 26, 2022 through Jan. 5, 2023. Clarke, 19, opened the 2022-23 season with the Kings, tallying two points (0-2=2) in nine appearances. He made his NHL debut Oct. 13 against the Seattle Kraken and registered his first career NHL point on Oct. 20 in Pittsburgh to become the seventh youngest defenseman and 18th youngest skater in Kings history to record a point at 19 years and 253 days old. Clarke was the fourth teenager to make his NHL debut under Todd McLellan, joining Tobias Bjornfot (18 years, 182 days), Quinton Byfield (18 years, 252 days) and Arthur Kaliyev (19 years, 221 days):

Overall, Clarke became the 14th player drafted by the Kings to make their debut under head coach Todd McLellan (2019-20):
Player Draft Year Round Overall NHL Debut
Mikey Anderson 2017 Fourth 103rd Feb. 29, 2022
Tobias Bjornfot 2019 First 22nd Oct. 5, 2019
Quinton Byfield 2020 First 2nd April 28, 2022
Kale Clague 2016 Second 51st Dec. 21, 2019
Brandt Clarke 2021 First 8th Oct. 13, 2022
Samuel Fagemo 2019 Second 50th Jan. 13, 2022
Arthur Kaliyev 2019 Second 33rd Feb. 2, 2021
Rasmus Kupari 2018 First 20th Mar. 5, 2021
Jacob Moverare 2016 Fourth 112th Jan. 6, 2022
Nikolai Prohorkin 2012 Fourth 121st Oct. 27, 2019
Drake Rymsha 2017 Fifth 138th May 13, 2021
Jordan Spence 2019 Fourth 95th Mar. 10, 2022
Alex Turcotte 2019 First 5th Dec. 28, 2021
Gabriel Vilardi 2017 First 11th Feb. 20, 2019
Bold denotes current roster player

The Nepean, Ontario native has represented Canada on the international stage twice, most recently at the 2021 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship where he tallied seven points (2-5=7) and a plus-12 rating, helping lead Canada to the gold medal and being named to the tournament’s all-star team.

BOSTON BRUINS NOTES:

TONIGHT’S GAME

• The Bruins host the Kings tonight in the 1st of 2 games between these teams this season and the Kings’ lone visit to TD Garden.
• They are 23-4-1 overall this season and are 15-0-1 on home ice … They are 11-1-1 vs. Western Conference opponents.
• The Bruins play game 2 of a 5-game home stand tonight hosting the Kings (1-0-0) … They will continue vs. Columbus on 12/17, Florida on 12/19, and Winnipeg on 12/22.

RECENT GAMES:

• The Bruins are 6-1-1 in their last 7 games with their 5-game point streak stopped at 4-0-1 with a 4-3 loss at Arizona on 12/11 and rebounding with a 3-1 win in Vegas on 12/11 and 4-3/SO win vs NY Islanders on 12/13 … They are 13-2-1 in their last 16 games.
• They are 15-0-1 in their 16 home games, including a 14-game home win streak, the longest from the start of a season in league history … It was their longest home win streak overall since a 14-0-0 stretch in 2008-09 and their current 16-game home point streak is their longest since a 17-game stretch in 2019-20 (13-0-4).
• Boston 3 at Arizona 4 … The Bruins had goals from David Pastrnak, Charlie Coyle and Nick Foligno but lost on a last-minute Coyotes score … Jeremy Swayman had the loss in goal … SOG: Bos 46, Ari 16 … PP: 2/6 … PK: 0/4
• Boston 3 at Vegas 1 … The Bruins yielded the opening goal but netted 3 straight scores by Patrice Bergeron, Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle for the win … Linus Ullmark tied his longest win streak at 8 games, which equalled his stretch set earlier this season … SOG: Bos 27, Vgs 31 … PP: 0/2 … PK: 1/4
• Boston 4 vs NY Islanders 3/SO … Jake DeBrusk scored twice in a 19-second span and Derek Forbort scored shorthanded en route to a shootout win (gols by DeBrusk and David Pastrnak) … Linus Ullmark extended his career-best win streak to 9 games … SOG: Bos 33, NYI 26 … PP: 1/2 … PK: 0/3

INJURIES (Total man-games lost in 2022-23: 35)

• David Krejci: Lower body

BOSTON vs LOS ANGELES, LIFETIME SERIES

• The Bruins and Kings are meeting for the 147th time in their histories with the Bruins having a 88-38-13-7 record and 576-446 scoring edge in those games.
• They are 49-13-6-6 in their 74 home games of the series with a 317-210 scoring edge.
• The Bruins are 6-0-3 in their last nine games vs. the Kings.

NUMBERS
1 / 2: Boston’s rank in win percentage (.839) and fewest goals against per game (2.14) while 2nd in goals for per game (3.86)..
1 / 3: Boston’s special teams ranking in the penalty-kill at 85.9% (15/106) and power play at 28.6% (30/105).
2: Player on the current roster new to the Bruins organization this season – A.J. Greer (free agent) and Pavel Zacha (trade).
3: Season series completed – ARI (1-1-0, snapping a 19-gm win streak which was the longest by an opponent in club history), COL (2-0-0), VGS (1-0-1).
4: Game-winning goals by Taylor Hall (tied for 3rd in the NHL), including three straight deciding goals from 10/20-25/2022 – deciding shootout goal vs. Anaheim on 10/20, OT goal vs. Minnesota on 10/22 and GWG vs. Dallas on 10/25.
4: Defenseman points in a game this season by Hampus Lindholm (1-3=4 vs PIT on 11/1) and Charlie McAvoy (4A vs CHI on 11/19).
4: Points by David Pastrnak (1-3=4 totals) on 10/12/2022 in Washington in the 2022-23 season opener … That is the most points in a Boston opener since Brad Marchand (2-3=5) and Pastrnak (2-2=4) in 10/13/2016.
9: New career-best win streak by Linus Ullmark from 11/7-12/13/2022 … That bested his 8-game stretch from 10/12-11/3/2022 which was his previous mark and it also tied the longest win streak by a Boston goaltender from the start of a season (Tim Thomas, also 8-0-0 in 2010-11).
9: Game point streak by David Pastrnak from 11/7-25 with 6-7=13 totals in that span … That was his longest such stretch since a career-best 13-game stretch in 2019-20.
9: Players on the Bruins current roster who played college hockey – Connor Clifton, Charlie Coyle, Derek Forbort, Trent Frederic, AJ Greer, Matt Grzelcyk, Charlie McAvoy, Craig Smith and Jeremy Swayman.
10: Former first round draft picks on the current roster – Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk, Derek Forbert, Trent Frederic, Taylor Hall, Hampus Lindholm, Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha and Jakub Zboril
14: Straight home wins to open this season, which is the longest such streak in NHL history … That also tied as Boston’s longest home win streak overall since a 14-game stretch in 2008-09.
16: Current home point streak at 15-0-1 … That is their longest such streak since 17 games (13-0-4) in 2019-20.
47: Points by the Bruins after 28 games this season at 23-4-1 … That is the 2nd-best mark after 28 games in team history, besting only the 24-4-0 mark in 1929-30.
+49: Boston’s league-leading goal differential, including an NHL-best 3rd period goal differential at 42-16 and +26.
393-25-20: Boston’s record since 2011-12 in games in which they have had a 2-goal lead in a game … That extends to 256-2-6 over that span when they have led by 3 goals
553: Consecutive Bruins games (regular season & playoffs) currently sold out at TD Garden … Their last non-sellout game was on 12/2/2009 when a Wednesday game vs. TB drew 16,553

FUN FACTS

• The Bruins currently have 22 players on their roster … 10 were drafted by the team, 4 were acquired in trade and 8 were signed as free agents.
• The Bruins play 16 matinees this season (local start time 4:00 pm or earlier) … They have a 2-0-0 record in afternoon games so far.
• The Bruins play 14 sets of back-to-back games this season … They are currently 3-0-0 in the 1st game of those sets and are 2-1-0 in the 2nd games so far.
• The Bruins are playing game 7 of a 14-game December schedule tonight (8 hm/6 rd, 4-1-1) … They will play 14 games in January (5 hm/9 rd), 10 in February (3 hm/7 rd), 15 in March (9 hm/6 rd) and 7 in April (3 hm/4 rd) … They went 8-1-0 in October and 11-2-0 in December.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
Nov. 2: Keith Kinkaid recalled from Providence/AHL.
Nov. 7: Jakub Lauko returned to Providence/AHL.
Nov. 9: Mike Reilly placed on waivers for assignment to Providence/AHL (assigned Nov. 10).
Nov. 16: Keith Kinkaid returned to Providence/AHL.
Nov. 28: Anton Stralman placed on waivers (cleared 11/29)