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Game Thirty Preview: Kings @ Rangers

keith fries
·4 min read

The Los Angeles Kings head into their third of seven games on this east coast trip with a 7-7-2 road record this season.

They’ll face a New York Rangers team in turmoil. The blue shirts have only won three of their last ten games played, giving up a goal ratio of 2:3 in that span. With a record of 15-12-1, the Rangers currently sit in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division. They’ve only seen the overtime period just once this season – a 6-5 loss to the Utah Hockey Club on October 12th, 2024.

The Kings are coming off a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the New Jersey Devils, ending their winning streak at six games.

FIVE OVER FIVE HUNDO

Kings Head Coach Jim Hiller had previously worked under Lou Lamoriello during his time with the New York Islanders, and has since adopted one of his winning philosophies.

“You try to get five games over .500. You don’t worry about anybody else, just yourself. You try to get five games over .500 – hard to do. And if you can get there, then the next thing you want to look at is try to get ten games over .500. That might take you a month, it might take you two months, you might never get there. So, we’ll focus on us and let’s try to get five games over .500 and then stabilize. It’s just a way, I think, to keep yourself more focused on your own team. And then if you can do that, obviously you’re going to create some separation with some other teams.” – LA Kings Head Coach Jim Hiller, November 19th, 2024

With a record of 17-9-3 record, the six-game winning streak served its purpose: propelling the team to eight games over .500.

The next step is to get to ten games over .500, a feat well within the Kings’ reach.

JACK WAS NIMBLE, JON BE QUICK

The Kings had a tough outing against the Devils on Thursday, giving up a goal and two assists to Forward Jack Hughes. LA knew they were in for a long night against one of the league’s premiere young players.

Despite being fifteen years Jack's senior, New York Rangers’ netminder Jonathan Quick will look to make the Kings’ stop through Madison Square Garden equally as tough, if not tougher.

Quick is regarded by most Kings fans as the team's best Goaltender of all-time. Statistically speaking, his 743 games played and 370 wins are the most in franchise history. Those numbers along with a Conn Smythe Trophy, two William M. Jennings Trophies, and two Stanley Cup victories will culminate in his jersey number forever hanging from the rafters at Crypto.com Arena.

To see Quick traded in March 2023 to the Columbus Blue Jackets was heartbreaking to say the least. Then, to be flipped a day later to the Vegas Golden Knights was devastating.

Since signing with the Rangers as a free agent in the summer of 2023, Quick has matched up against the Kings twice with a 1-1-0 record and a .942 SV% on fifty-two shots faced. The win came at MSG on December 10th, 2023, where the Kings were blown out, 4-1.

If he gets the nod this afternoon, expect a solid performance from Quick who is 5-2-0 on the season including two shutouts.

BLACK & SILVER FOX

In eight career games against the Kings, Rangers Defenseman Adam Fox has registered seven assists and positive +/- at +4.

Fox currently leads the Rangers in assists with twenty-four; eight in his last ten games played.

Rangers General Manager Chris Drury recently made headlines when he shipped their (now former) captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks.

Although it seems like Drury isn’t finished making moves, Peter Baugh of the Athletic doesn’t believe Fox will suffer the same fate as Trouba. Additionally, the Hockey News’ own Stan Fischler believes he has the qualifications to be the 29th captain in franchise history.

Since the Trouba trade, Fox has recorded five points (1G, 4A) in four games played, giving Drury a few more reasons to slap the "C" on his chest.

Puck drop is slated for 10:05 AM PST. You can watch the game on television via FanDuel Sports Network or listen live with the ESPN LA app.

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