The Los Angeles Kings are heading to Vegas for their second preseason game of 2024-25 and unlike their roster against Utah, the Kings are bringing a more NHL roster into Vegas.
Headlined by Drew Doughty, Kevin Fiala, Quinton Byfield, Phil Danault and Trevor Moore, there are plenty of players to keep an eye on Wednesday night.
New Line Combos:
We’ll get a first look at two new lines for the Kings. Fiala-Byfield-Warren Foegele and Moore-Danault-Tanner Jeannot is the projected middle-six for the Kings and we’ll get to see them in action.
We know what to expect from Moore and Danault but we’ll see how Jeannot fits in, and particularly, how he looks offensively.
He’ll work hard and be physical but can he keep up offensively? Can he return to the 20 goal player he was as a rookie? Wednesday won’t answer that question but we’ll get some sense of how he fits.
The Fiala-Byfield-Foegele line is a completely new one. It will be a first look at Foegele, but more importantly, a look at how Byfield and Fiala will play together.
If those two can find chemistry the Kings could be in business.
Aatu Jamsen:
Aatu Jamsen was the Kings’ big standout at rookie camp and it will be interesting to see how he carries that over against NHL competition.
He’s a dark horse to make the NHL roster but a strong performance in the preseason could continue his push up the lineup.
He’s got a lot of tools but how he handles the pace of play and physicality up a level will be something to keep an eye on.
Alex Turcotte:
Alex Turcotte was fantastic against Utah on Monday and showed early signs that he can be far more than a 4th liner for LA this season.
Another strong performance against Vegas, likely in more of a 3rd line/bottom-six role, would be huge.
He really grew into Monday’s game offensively and if he can continue to show off some high-end playmaking Turcotte will continue to push for a top 9 role.
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