LOS ANGELES KINGS NOTES:
APRIL 1 vs. Seattle Kraken – 7:00 PM PT // Venue: Climate Pledge Arena // TV: Bally Sports West // Radio: iHeartRadio
- The LA Kings visit the Seattle Kraken for the fourth, and final, meeting between these two clubs this season (4-1 L on Oct. 13; 2-3 OTL on Nov. 19; 8-9 OTL on Nov. 29).
- Tonight’s game marks the third game of the Kings’ four-game Pacific Division road trip (4-1 L on Mar. 28 at CGY; 2-0 L on Mar. 30 at EDM; April 2 at VAN).
- The Kings open a seven-game month of April with six of their games against Pacific Division opponents.
WARM-UPS
1) Tonight is the first game of the Kings’ 11th, and final, set of back-to-backs this season. Prior to this weekend, the team is 12-4-4 in back-to-backs (7-2-1 in the first game, 5-2-3 in the second).
2) No skater has scored more goals against the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle since the 2021-22 season than Phillip
Danault (4).
3) Alex Edler’s 6.73 blocks-per-60 minutes ranks seventh among league defensemen (min. GP 60).
4) The Kings have allowed two or fewer goals in 12 of their last 13 games, dating back to the beginning of March.
5) Vladislav Gavrikov (49) leads the league in successful neutral zone stick checks.
vs. SEATTLE ALL-TIME:
All-Time Record: 3-2-2
Home: 1-2-1
Away: 2-0-1
OT: 0-2
Shootout: n/a
2021-22: 3-1-0
2022-23: 0-1-2
FRANCHISE LEADERS vs. SEATTLE:
Gabriel Vilardi* – 6 GP, 6 PTS (4-2=6)
Adrian Kempe* – 6 GP, 6 PTS (2-4=6)
Phillip Danault* – 7 GP, 5 PTS (4-1=5)
Anze Kopitar* – 6 GP, 5 PTS (2-3=5)
Viktor Arvidsson* – 6 GP, 5 PTS (1-4=5)
*-denotes active roster player
LAST MEETING vs. SEATTLE: Nov. 29, 2022 – LAK 8 vs. SEA 9 (OT)
Venue: Crypto.com Arena
LAK Goals: Kopitar (5), Arvidsson (5), Vilardi (12, 13), Grundstrom (5), Kempe (8), Durzi (4), Anderson (1)
SEA Goals: Beniers (8, 9), McCann (9, 10), Wennberg (5), Sprong (5), Bjorkstrand (3), Burakovsky (8, 9 – OT)
Goalies: LAK: Petersen (OTL; 12 saves – 16 shots), Quick (9 saves – 14 shots) SEA: Jones (OTW; 27 saves – 35 shots)
LAK PP: 2-for-4
LAK PK: 1-for-4
THE NEXT THREE:
Sun., April 2 | at Vancouver Canucks | 5:00 p.m. PT | Bally Sports West | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
Only Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (22-39=61) has more points vs. Vancouver among active skaters than Anze Kopitar (15-37=52).
Tues., April 4 | vs. Edmonton Oilers | 7:30 p.m. PT | ESPN | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
The Kings will face off against the Oilers for the second time in five days.
Thurs., April 6 | at Vegas Golden Knights | 7:00 p.m. PT | Bally Sports West | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
The Kings have won three of their last five games vs. the Golden Knights.
INJURY & MGL REPORT
Player, Games Missed, Date(s), Status
F Trevor Moore, 23 games, Dec. 27 – Jan. 31 (upper-body); Feb. 23 – Mar. 6 (upper-body)
F Alex Iafallo, 23 games, Oct. 18 – Dec. 3 (lower-body)
F Brendan Lemieux, 18 games, Nov. 14 – Dec. 20 (lower-body)
F Arthur Kaliyev, 18 games, Dec. 22 – Jan. 31 (lower-body)
F Carl Grundstrom, 15 games, Jan. 19 – Feb. 26 (lower-body)
F Gabriel Vilardi, 11 games, Nov. 27 (lower-body); Jan. 19 – Feb. 13 (undisclosed); Mar. 28 – Pres. (upper-body)
D Sean Durzi, 9 games, Nov. 19 – Nov. 22. (lower-body); Mar. 9 – Mar. 25 (lower-body)
F Kevin Fiala, 7 games, Mar. 11 – Mar. 25 (lower-body), Mar. 30 – Pres. (lower-body)
F Quinton Byfield, 6 games, Oct. 27 – Nov. 5 (illness)
F Viktor Arvidsson, 3 games, Oct. 13 (illness); Oct. 25 (illness); Jan. 11 (illness)
D Drew Doughty, 1 game, Dec. 11 (lower-body)
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 134
RECENT TRANSACTIONS (as of 3/31/23)
Mar. 28 – Jordan Spence (D) loaned to Ontario (AHL).
Mar. 31 – Tobias Bjornfot (D) recalled on emergency basis from Ontario (AHL).
LA KINGS TEAM NOTES:
MARCH RECAP
The LA Kings are coming off one of the best single month performances in franchise history, establishing a 9-2-2 record for a .769 points percentage (PTS%), the third-best in the league last month:
Best points percentage in March 2023
Team GP PTS% (record)
Edmonton Oilers 15 .833 (12-2-1)
Minnesota Wild 14 .821% (10-1-3)
LA Kings 13 .769% (9-2-2)
Vegas Golden Knights 15 .767% (11-3-1)
Vancouver Canucks 15 .733% (10-3-2)
Boston Bruins 15 .733% (11-4-0)
The Kings were even more impressive at home, winning a league-high eight games to tie the franchise record for most home wins in a single month (March, 1974; 8-2-1-0). No team allowed fewer goals in March than the Kings (27) while their 2.08 goals against-per game ranked second behind Boston (2.07):
Lowest GA/GP in March 2023
Team GP GA/GP
Boston Bruins 15 2.07 (31)
LA Kings 13 2.08 (27)
Minnesota Wild 14 2.29 (32)
New York Rangers 16 2.31 (37)
Vancouver Canucks 15 2.53 (38)
LA’s 2.08 GA/GP In March was the lowest it has been in any month since the season started:
Kings GA/GP breakdown by month
Month GP GA/GP
March 13 2.08 (27)
February 9 3.11 (28)
January 13 3.46 (45)
December 15 3.13 (47)
November 14 3.43 (48)
October 11 3.82 (42)
Over the team’s 13 games last month, 10 were played against Western Conference opponents with four vs. Pacific Division teams. After tonight, the Kings will have six remaining regular-season games this campaign with all but one (Apr. 8 vs. COL) against Pacific Division foes:
Remaining Kings vs. Pacific Division games this season
Date Opponent Location
April 1 Seattle Kraken Climate Pledge Arena
April 2 Vancouver Canucks Rogers Arena
April 4 Edmonton Oilers Crypto.com Arena
April 6 Vegas Golden Knights T-Mobile Arena
April 10 Vancouver Canucks Crypto.com Arena
April 13 Anaheim Ducks Honda Center
KINGS OF BACK-TO-BACKS
The Kings are set to play in their 11th set of back-to-back games on the year this weekend. Only Boston (.833%) and Colorado (.727%) have a higher points percentage in back-to-backs this season than the Kings (.700%):
Best points percentage in back-to-backs this season
Team GP PTS% (record)
Boston Bruins 24 .833% (19-3-2)
Colorado Avalanche 22 .727% (15-5-2)
LA Kings 20 .700% (12-4-4)
Carolina Hurricanes 24 .688% (15-6-3)
Edmonton Oilers 18 .667% (12-6-0)
Winnipeg Jets 24 .667% (16-8-0)
In the first half of back-to-backs this campaign, the Kings are 7-2-1 with a .750 PTS%:
Best points percentage in first half back-to-backs this season
Team GP PTS% (record)
Boston Bruins 12 .917% (10-0-2)
Edmonton Oilers 9 .778% (7-2-0)
LA Kings 10 .750% (7-2-1)
Nashville Predators 11 .727% (7-2-2)
Tampa Bay Lightning 14 .714% (10-4-0)
SEATTLE KRAKEN NOTES:
LAST GAME
Anaheim 1 at Seattle 4
Goals: Schwartz, Beniers, Sprong, Wennberg
Goalie: Jones (18/19)
PP: 1/2 PK: 2/2 Shots: Anaheim 19 – Seattle 39
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 213)
Joonas Donskoi (upper body; IR) – 74 games – no timeline for return
Andre Burakovsky (lower body) – 24 games – week-to-week
John Hayden (lower body) – 5 games – week-to-week
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
March 25, 2023: Reassigned G Joey Daccord to Coachella Valley (AHL)
UPCOMING GAMES
Monday, April 3: Arizona at Seattle, 7 p.m. PT
Tuesday, April 4: Seattle at Vancouver, 7 p.m. PT
Thursday, April 6: Arizona at Seattle, 7 p.m. PT
Saturday, April 8: Chicago at Seattle, 7 p.m. PT
Monday, April 10: Seattle at Arizona, 7 p.m. PT
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Tonight’s matchup is the final of four games the Kraken will play against the Kings this season and the second time the two teams are playing in Seattle this year.
• If the Kraken are victorious tonight, it would give Seattle wins in four consecutive games against Los Angeles. It would mark just the second time in franchise history that the Kraken would have victories in four consecutive games against the same opponent. The team previously won four straight games against the Buffalo Sabres from Oct. 25, 2022 to Jan. 10, 2023.
• Regardless of tonight’s outcome, the Kraken will earn their 11th series win of the season after going undefeated in the team’s first three meetings this season. The team has previously won its season series against Anaheim, Buffalo, Colorado, Columbus, Detroit, Nashville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Jose and St. Louis. The Kraken have three season series that still could be won: Arizona, Chicago and Vegas. A win would also give the Kraken their sixth series sweep of the season, having previously swept the Sabres, Blue Jackets, Red Wings, Flyers and Penguins.
• Since the start of the 2022-23 season, the Kraken are averaging 4.00 goals-per-game against Los Angeles, which is tied with Detroit for their third-best mark against any opponent. The 28 goals that the Kraken have scored against the Kings are their most against a single opponent.
• Seattle has an 12-8-2 record against Pacific Division opponents this season and have beaten each of their division rivals at least once.
• Vince Dunn, who has already set a career high with 61 points (13 goals, 48 assists) this season, enters tonight’s game as the Kraken’s leading scorer. He was ranked in the top 15 among all NHL defensemen in goals (tied 10th), assists (11th), points (10th), even-strength goals (13, tied second) and even-strength points (46, second) entering play Friday. Dunn enters tonight’s game two points shy of totaling 200 career points. When he reaches the milestone, he will become the 22nd skater and fifth defenseman from the 2015 NHL draft class to record 200 NHL points.
• With the Kraken’s four-goal outing in their game on March 3 against Columbus, they surpassed their goal total from all of last season in 20 fewer games. Seattle has scored 258 goals in 74 games this season compared to 213 goals in 2021-22. The team’s 258 goals this season ranked sixth in the NHL entering play Friday.
• Jordan Eberle’s goal in the Kraken’s game on March 3 at Columbus was his 50th point of the season. It is the sixth time in his career and first time since 2017-18 that Eberle has recorded 50 or more points in a season.
RUN THAT BACK TURBO
• Brandon Tanev is expected to play in his 400th NHL game tonight, becoming the 28th active, undrafted player to play in at least 400 career games. He has played in 104 games for Seattle, 100 for Pittsburgh and 195 for Winnipeg.
• With 140 career points (66 goals, 74 assists), Tanev ranks 20th among all active, undrafted players in scoring. His 66 goals and
74 assists rank 14th and 25th, respectively.
• Tanev has totaled 15 goals, 18 assists and 33 points this season, all of which are career highs. If he plays in seven of the team’s
eight remaining games this season, he will also set a career high in games played.
SEATTLE SHOWDOWN
• Tonight’s game is the second of seven times this season that the Kraken will be playing the same day as the Mariners, and the second of three times the Kraken and Mariners will be playing in Seattle on the same day. The teams both played in Seattle on March 30 and will again both be facing off against their respective opponents in the Emerald City on April 3. o Since the start of last season, the Kraken have played on the same day as the Mariners 11 times, owning a 4-7-0 record in those games.
• The Kraken and Mariners have won on the same day twice. The Kraken defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on April 20, 2022, the same day the Mariners topped the Texas Rangers 4-2. The Kraken then won their most recent game on March 30, a 4-1 victory over the Ducks, overlapping with the Mariners’ 3-0 opening-day win over the Cleveland Guardians.
• After tonight, the Kraken and Mariners will play on the same day five more times during the regular season this year: On April 3, 4, 8, 10 and 11.
• The Kraken have yet to play opponents from the same city on the same day.
• April 2 will be Kraken Day at the Mariners/Guardians game, and Kraken Head Coach Dave Hakstol will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
• With their win over the Predators on March 25, the Kraken improved their point total to 88, a 28-point improvement from last season. Their 28-point improvement set an NHL record for the largest point improvement by and expansion team from its first to its second season since the Original Six era (1976-68). The Kraken’s 90 points this season are already the second-most for an expansion team in its second season since the Original Six era (1967-68), trailing only the 2018-19 Golden Knights (93).
• The Kraken are also just the second expansion team since the Original Six era (1967-68) to total at least 40 wins in their second season, joining the 2018-19 Golden Knights (43).
• The Kraken enter tonight’s game with 13 players that have scored at least 10 goals, the most in the NHL. If Jamie Oleksiak, who has nine goals, were to score tonight, Seattle would become the first team to have 14 players score 10 or more goals in a season since the Detroit Red Wings did so in 1995-96 according to NHL Stats.
