LOS ANGELES KINGS NOTES:
DEC. 8 vs. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS – 7:00 PM ET (4:00 p.m. PT) // Venue: Scotiabank Arena // TV: Bally Sports West // Radio: iHeartRadio
-The LA Kings visit the Toronto Maple Leafs for the second, and final, meeting between the clubs this season (4-2 W, Oct. 29).
-The Kings look to sweep the season series with the Maple Leafs.
-Tonight’s game marks the second game of the Kings’ six-game road trip (5-2 W, Dec. 6 at OTT; Dec. 10 at MTL; Dec. 11 at CBJ; Dec. 13 at BUF; Dec. 15 at BOS).
WARM-UPS
1) The LA Kings have won three of their last four games against the Maple Leafs dating back to March 5, 2020.
2) Viktor Arvidsson recorded his fifth multi-point game of the season Tuesday night, putting him over the 20-point plateau for his seventh consecutive season.
3) The LA Kings are 10-1-0 (.909%) when leading after two periods of play this season.
4) Pheonix Copley stopped 31 of 33 shots versus the Senators on Tuesday in his LA Kings debut, earning his 17th career NHL victory.
5) The Kings are 6-0-1 against Atlantic Division opponents this season. Vegas (8-0-1) is the only other team in the league without a regulation loss against the Atlantic Division.
vs. TORONTO ALL-TIME:
All-Time Record: 69-64-21-2
Home: 41-26-10-0
Away: 28-38-11-2
OT: 3-2 (10 ties)
Shootout: 3-1
2021-22: 1-1-0
2022-23: 1-0-0
FRANCHISE LEADERS vs. TORONTO:
Marcel Dionne – 44 GP, 64 PTS (23-41=64)
Dave Taylor – 40 GP, 52 PTS (23-29=52)
Wayne Gretzky – 26 GP, 51 PTS (12-39=51)
Butch Goring – 48 GP, 43 PTS (16-27=43)
Luc Robitaille – 33 GP, 40 PTS (18-22=40)
*-denotes active roster player
LAST MEETING vs. TORONTO: Oct. 29, 2022 – LAK 4 vs. TOR 2
Venue: Crypto.com Arena
LAK Goals: Kempe (6), Arvidsson (2), Vilardi (7), Fiala (2)
TOR Goals: Tavares (4), Engvall (1)
Goalies: LAK: Petersen (W, 26 saves, 28 shots) TOR: Samsonov (L, 25 saves, 29 shots)
LAK PP: 2-for-6
LAK PK: 3-for-4
THE NEXT THREE:
Sat., Dec. 10 | at Montreal Canadiens | 7:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. PT) | Bally Sports West | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
o Phillip Danault returns to Montreal for the second time since with the LA Kings on July 28, 2021.
Sun., Dec. 11 | at Columbus Blue Jackets | 6:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. PT) | Bally Sports West | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
o The Kings swept the season series against Columbus last year, outscoring the Blue Jackets 6-4.
Tues., Dec. 13 | at Buffalo Sabres | 7:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. PT) | Bally Sports West | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
o Alex Iafallo returns to his home state to play the Sabres for the ninth time in his career. Iafallo grew up in Eden, N.Y., 20 miles south of Buffalo. In eight career games against Buffalo, Iafallo has six points (1-5=6).
INJURY & MGL REPORT
Player, Games Missed, Date(s), Status
F Alex Iafallo, 23 games, Oct. 18 – Dec. 3 (lower-body)
F Brendan Lemieux, 11 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)
F Gabriel Vilardi, 1 game, Nov. 27 (lower-body)
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 45
RECENT TRANSACTIONS (as of 12/8/22)
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)
LA KINGS TEAM NOTES:
POWER PLAY GURUS
The Kings have found success on the man advantage as of late, scoring on the man advantage in their last seven consecutive games, dating back to Nov. 22. During that time, the Kings have tallied multiple power-play goals in four of those contests, have gone 11-for-20 (55%) and are the only team in the league with a successful power-play percentage over 50%. In the past month, since Nov. 8, the Kings’ power play sits atop the league at 35.9%, cashing in on 14 of their last 39 power-play opportunities.
Best PP% in league since Nov. 8
Team GP PP%
LA Kings 14 35.9%
Buffalo Sabres 14 33.3%
Ottawa Senators 14 32.7%
Tampa Bay Lightning 13 32.6%
New York Islanders 14 31.7%
The Kings’ seven-game power-play streak is the longest active PPG streak and is tied for the fifth-longest streak of its kind this season. With a power-play goal tonight, the Kings can establish an eight-game power-play goal streak for the first time since the 2012-13 season (9 PPGs in 8 GP, April 6, 2013 – April 21, 2013.)
Longest PPG streaks in the league this season
Team Streak PPGs
Boston Bruins 10 games 15
Tampa Bay Lightning 10 games 15
Colorado Avalanche 8 games 10
Buffalo Sabres 8 games 11
LA Kings* 7 games 11
Vancouver Canucks 7 games 11
*denotes active streak
500 GAMES FOR PHIL
Forward Phillip Danault is set appear in his 500th career NHL game tonight, becoming the 27th player from the 2011 NHL Draft class and 12th active skater from the province of Quebec to reach such mark:
Most games played among active Quebec-born skaters
Player GP
Patrice Bergeron 1,241
Marc-Edouard Vlasic 1,190
Paul Stastny 1,097
David Perron 998
Derick Brassard 968
Kris Letang 962
Marco Scandella 699
David Savard 697
Jonathan Huberdeau 694
Nicolas Deslauriers 533
Jonathan Marchessault 508
Phillip Danault 499
Entering tonight, Danault has accumulated 269 points (89-180=269) in 499 career NHL games along with 27 power-play points, nine shorthanded points and 14 game-winning goals. In 28 games this season, he has registered 19 points (7-12=19), tied for fourth on the Kings.
WE’RE GOING STREAKIN’
Defenseman Sean Durzi enters tonight riding a career-long six-game assist and point streak (1-8=9) after extending both Tuesday night against the Senators with his fourth multi-point game (0-2=2) of the season. In doing so, Durzi became the second Kings defenseman in the past 10 years to record an assist streak of six games or longer (Drew Doughty, 7 GP, Jan. 21, 2017 – Feb. 4, 2017). Durzi’s streaks stands as the longest active point streak in the league among defensemen and tied for the longest active assist streak among all skaters with Toronto’s Michael Bunting:
Longest active point streaks among defensemen
Player Streak Points
Sean Durzi (LAK) 6 games 9 (1-8=9)
Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) 5 games 9 (1-8=9)
Nick Leddy (STL) 4 games 4 (0-4=4)
8 Players 3 games n/a
Longest active assist streaks among all skaters
Player Streak Points
Sean Durzi (LAK) 6 games 9 (1-8=9)
Michael Bunting (TOR) 6 games 7 (0-7=7)
Jake Guentzel (PIT) 5 games 8 (2-6=8)
Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) 5 games 9 (1-8=9)
Tage Thompson (BUF) 5 games 14 (8-6=14)
Zach Hyman (EDM) 5 games 8 (0-8=8)
Durzi’s previous longest point streak was three games (1-3=4) that began in his NHL debut on Nov. 24 vs. Toronto, where he scored a goal and assist to become the third Kings defenseman in franchise history to score a goal in their NHL debut joining Jean Potvin (1970) and John English (1988).
LET’S GO APPLE PICKING
Forward Kevin Fiala increased his team-leading point total to 30 (9-21=30) on Tuesday night, becoming the first Kings player this season to reach 30 points. Per NHL PR, Fiala is the fifth LA Kings skater in the past 20 years to reach the 30-point mark in 28 games or fewer, joining Anze Kopitar (19 GP in 2009-10, 24 GP in 2020-21, 28 GP in 2017-18), Pavol Demitra (22 GP in 2005-06), Alex Frolov (24 GP in 2005-06) and Ziggy Palffy (24 GP in 2003-04).
In 28 games this season, Fiala’s 21 assists are tied for ninth-most in the league among forwards and sits seven behind Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (28) for the league lead. Of Fiala’s 30 points, 21 have come at even-strength. Since the beginning of last season, Fiala has notched 88 even-strength points, which is the seventh-most among all skaters in the league:
Most even-strength points since 2021-22
Player GP EVP
Johnny Gaudreau 107 113
Connor McDavid 107 104
Matthew Tkachuk 106 98
Auston Matthews 100 96
Kirill Kaprizov 106 94
Leon Draisaitl 107 91
Kevin Fiala 110 88
Mitchell Marner 99 87
Steven Stamkos 106 87
Fiala has the third-most points this season among members from the 2014 NHL Draft class behind Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl (27 GP, 18-26=44) and Boston’s David Pastrnak (25 GP, 18-18=36).
CLIMBING THE RANKS BEHIND THE BENCH
LA Kings HC Todd McLellan won his 542nd game as an NHL head coach Tuesday night in Ottawa, tying Billy Reay for the 24th-most wins by a head coach in league history. Tuesday’s victory also marked McLellan’s 108th with the LA Kings, taking sole possession of seventh place for most wins 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 236 108
8 Bob Berry 240 107
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* 1,067 610
23 Marc Crawford 1,169 556
T-24 Todd McLellan* 1,042 542
T-24 Billy Reay 1,102 542
*-denotes actively serving as head coach in NHL
MULTI-ASSIST PRO
Entering tonight, LA Kings captain Anze Kopitar has multi-point performances in three of his last five games, including his second three-assist game of the season and 24th of his career on Tuesday in Ottawa. Kopitar is tied with Bernie Nicholls for the fourth-most games with three or more assists in franchise history:
Most games with 3+ assists in LA Kings history
Player 3+ assist games
Wayne Gretzky 67
Marcel Dionne 43
Dave Taylor 28
Anze Kopitar 24
Bernie Nichols 24
KING ARTHUR
A big contributor to the team’s recent power-play success has been Arthur Kaliyev, who enters tonight with three power-play goals in his last five games. Kaliyev scored his team-leading seventh power-play goal last Saturday night against Carolina to establish a new career-high, surpassing his total of six set last season through 80 games. Kaliyev sits four behind Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl (11) for the lead league. Since his NHL debut on Feb. 2, 2021, no Kings skater has scored more on the man advantage than Kaliyev (13):
Most PPGs by Kings skaters since Feb. 2, 2021
Player PPGs
Arthur Kaliyev 13
Adrian Kempe 10
Anze Kopitar 10
Drew Doughty 9
Gabriel Vilardi 8
Viktor Arvidsson 8
Last season, Kaliyev placed second in power-play goals among all rookies behind his draft classmate, Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras (9). Kaliyev is tied with New Jersey’s Jack Hughes (13) for most power-play goals among members of the 2019 NHL Draft class:
Most PPGs among 2019 NHL Draftees
Player GP PPGs
Arthur Kaliyev (LAK) 108 13
Jack Hughes (NJD) 192 13
Trevor Zegras (ANA) 126 11
Cole Caufield (MTL) 103 8
Matt Boldy (MIN) 72 6
THE MICHIGAN MAN
Defenseman Matt Roy scored his fourth goal in his 28th game of the season Tuesday night in Ottawa, tying his career-high previously set in the 2019-2 season through 70 games. All four of Roy’s goals have come on the road and at even-strength. No defenseman in the league has scored more even-strength goals on the road than Roy.
Among defensemen from the 2015 NHL Draft class, the Michigan-born blueliner ranks fourth in plus/minus:
Best +/- among defensemen from 2015 NHL Draft class
Player GP +/-
Brandon Carlo (BOS) 424 +73
Erik Cernak (TBL) 247 +48
John Marino (NJD) 215 +38
Matt Roy (LAK) 234 +37
Travis Dermott (VAN) 268 +33
TWO FROM 100
Forward Adrian Kempe sits two goals shy of his 100th career goal. With two more goals, he can become the 13th skater from the 2014 NHL Draft class to eclipse 100 career NHL goals. Since his NHL debut on Feb. 16, 2017, Kempe’s 98 goals rank third-most on the team during that time while his 202 points sit fourth:
Most goals by an LA King since Feb. 16, 2017
Player GP Goals
Anze Kopitar* 425 123
Dustin Brown 359 99
Adrian Kempe* 418 98
Alex Iafallo* 366 73
Tyler Toffoli 249 62
*denotes active on LA Kings
Most points by an LA King since Feb. 16, 2017
Player GP Points
Anze Kopitar* 425 375 (123-252=375)
Drew Doughty* 381 234 (45-189=234)
Dustin Brown 359 217 (99-118=217)
Adrian Kempe* 418 202 (98-104=202)
Alex Iafallo* 366 174 (73-101=174)
*denotes active on LA Kings
CLIMBING THE GWG RANKS
Drew Doughty is one goal shy of tying Rob Blake (29) for the most game-winning goals by a defenseman in franchise history. In doing so, Doughty would also tie Blake, Mike Murphy and Butch Goring for the seventh most GWGs in LA Kings history:
Most GWGs by an LA Kings defenseman
Player GWG
Rob Blake 29
Drew Doughty 28
Steve Duchesne 13
Alec Martinez 12
L’ubomir Visnovsky 10
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS NOTES:
LAST GAME
Score: Toronto 4 at Dallas 0
Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2022
TOR Goals: Tavares, Matthews, Sandin, Kerfoot (EN)
DAL Goals: –
TOR Goaltender: Murray, 44/44, 1.000 SV%
DAL Goaltender: Oettinger, 25/28, .893 SV%
TOR Power Play: 0-for-2
TOR Penalty Kill: 7-for-7
Player Notes: – Mitch Marner recorded the primary assist on John Tavares’ goal. Marner extended his point streak to 20 games where he has posted 27 points (9G, 18A). Per NHL Stats, Marner is “the fourth active player to record a point streak of at least 20 games. The others: Patrick Kane (26 GP in 2015-16 & 20 GP in 2018-19), Sidney Crosby (25 GP in 2010-11) and Paul Stastny (20 GP in 2006-07).” Marner’s point streak marks the 31st point streak in NHL history to hit the 20-game mark. – Auston Matthews scored for Toronto at 17:36 of the first period.
Matthews has scored in four of his last five games. Matthews also recorded the secondary assist on Rasmus Sandin’s goal. Matthews extended his point streak to five games where he has recorded nine points (4G, 5A). – Michael Bunting recorded the primary assist on Sandin’s goal. Bunting extended his assist streak to six games (7A), marking the longest assist streak of his NHL career. – Semyon Der-Arguchintsev skated in his NHL debut and Conor Timmins skated in his Maple Leafs debut. – Matt Murray stopped 44 of 44 shots he faced in Tuesday’s win. Murray recorded his first shutout as a Maple Leaf and the 15th shutout of his NHL career.
TONIGHT’S GAME
2022-23 Matchups vs. Los Angeles: Second of Two
2021-22 Record vs. Los Angeles: 1-1-0
Toronto Season Record: 16-5-6
Toronto Home Record: 8-2-3
TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
The Maple Leafs face-off against the Los Angeles Kings tonight in the second of two matchups between the clubs this season. Toronto was on the losing end of a 4-2 decision in their first game of the season on Oct. 29 at Crypto.com Arena. The Maple Leafs are entering tonight’s game on a 12-game point streak (9- 0-3), marking the second longest point streak in franchise history. The franchise record stands at 16 games which was set during the 2003-04 season (11/22/2003 – 12/26/2003). Toronto has posted an 8-2-3 record on home ice this season.
NEXT GAME
Date: Saturday, December 10, 2022
Opponent: vs. Calgary Flames
Time: 7:00 pm ET
Broadcast Information: Sportsnet (TV), Sportsnet 590 (Radio)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
December 4, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Semyon Der-Arguchintsev from the
Toronto Marlies (AHL).
November 30, 2022 The Maple Leafs have activated goaltender Ilya Samsonov from injured reserve. Goaltender Erik Källgren has been loaned to the Toronto Marlies (AHL). November 23, 2022 The Maple Leafs acquired defenceman Conor Timmins in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes.
INJURY REPORT
Jordie Benn Upper Body (IR)
TJ Brodie Oblique (IR)
Carl Dahlström Shoulder (IR)
Calle Järnkrok Groin (IR)
Jake Muzzin Neck (LTIR)
Morgan Rielly Knee (LTIR)
ALL-TIME VS. LOS ANGELES KINGS:
First Matchup between Clubs: October 25, 1967 (Toronto 4 vs. Los Angeles 2)
All-Time Record: 66-66-21-3 (156 Games)
All-Time Record at Home: 40-27-11-1 (79 Games)
All-Time Record on the Road: 26-39-10-2 (77 Games)
Last Home Win vs. Opponent: November 5, 2019 (Toronto 3 vs. Los Angeles 1)
2022-23 AVERAGES AND RANKINGS
Points % GF/Game GA/Game PP% PK% SF/G SA/G FO%
Toronto .704 3.07 2.44 23.3 80.0 30.8 29.5 52.8
Los Angeles .571 3.43 3.54 26.0 72.0 32.3 29.5 52.4
Date: Saturday, December 10, 2022
Opponent: vs. Calgary Flames
Time: 7:00 pm ET
Broadcast Information: Sportsnet (TV), Sportsnet 590 (Radio)
THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2022-23
Power Play: 23.3%
Power Play Goal Leader: 7 – Tavares
Power Play Point Leader: 14 – Tavares (7G, 7A)
2021-22 Power Play: 63/231 (27.3%)
ON THE PK IN 2022-23
Penalty Kill: 80.0%
Shorthanded Goal Leader: 1 – Järnkrok, Giordano, Marner
Shorthanded Point Leader: 2 – Marner (1G, 1A), Kämpf (2A)
2021-22 Penalty Kill: 192/234 (82.1%)
FAST FACTS
Thursday games 5th of 15 (7 home and 8 road)
Back-to-Backs played 5 of 14
Record in first game of back-to-back 2-3-0
Record in second game of back-to-back 4-0-1
December games 3rd of 12 (5 home, 7 road)
