Kings Notes:
Tonight, the LA Kings will retire Dustin Brown's No. 23 and unveil a statue of the franchise icon at Crypto.com Arena. Brown will be only the seventh Kings player to receive the tremendous honor of having his number retired, joining Rogie Vachon (30), Marcel Dionne (16), Dave Taylor (18), Wayne Gretzky (99), Luc Robitaille (20), and Rob Blake (4). The statue will be just the third individual player recognition and fourth Kings statue at Crypto.com Arena with Brown joining Gretzky and Robitaille, along with broadcaster Bob Miller (who has a banner as well). The Brown statue, created by renowned sculptors/artists Julie Rotblatt Amrany and Omri Amrany, will also join Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Jerry West, Chick Hearn, Oscar De La Hoya, Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal in Crypto.com Arena's Star Plaza along Chick Hearn Court.
The Kings enter tonight having won five of their last six meetings at Crypto.com Arena against the Penguins, including their last three consecutive matchups. Of their last 10 games hosting Pittsburgh, dating back to Nov. 5, 2009, LA has points in eight of those games (6-2-2) and have outscored the Penguins, 30-22. Overall, the Kings are 50-19-8 at home against Pittsburgh for a points percentage (PTS%) of .694, the fifth highest in the league and second-best among Western Conference opponents. Furthermore, the Kings have allowed 209 goals to Pittsburgh over 80 games at Crypto.com Arena for a goals-against per game of 2.61, the third lowest in the league all-time.
Forward Viktor Arvidsson is set to appear in his 500th career NHL game tonight. In doing so, Arvidsson will become the seventh skater from the 2014 NHL Draft class and 28th active Swedish-born skater to reach such mark. Since being traded to LA from Nashville on July 1, 2021, Arvidsson has recorded 33 goals and 50 assists for 83 points.
Tonight's game will mark the 426th with Rob Blake as General Manager of the organization. Since his hiring in 2017, the Kings have established a 198-179-48 record. With two more wins, Blake can become the fifth General Manager in franchise history to see 200 regular season wins under their tenure. Should the Kings win at least two of their next 13 games, Blake will become the fastest General Manager in franchise history to reach 200 wins under his leadership.
Anze Kopitar skates into tonight with 695 even-strength points, sitting five shy of becoming the fourth skater in franchise history to reach 700 career even-strength points (Dionne, - 828; Taylor - 743; Robitaille - 722) and sixth active skater to reach such mark.
This will be the first Kings game in 11 days.
The Kings are 5th in faceoff win percentage (52.5%).
The Kings power play ranks 9th in the NHL (24.0%).
The Kings penalty kill ranks 27th in the NHL (74.2%).
Penguins Notes:
Since returning from the All-Star break, the Penguins are 2-0-0 with winds over the Colorado Avalanche (2-1) and the Anaheim Ducks (6-3).
The Penguins are 8th in faceoff win percentage (52.2%).
The Penguins power play ranks 15th in the NHL (22.6%).
The Penguins penalty kill ranks 10th in the NHL (81.2%).
Who to Watch:
Dustin brown, who will have his #23 jersey retired and a statue unveiled outside of Crypto.com Arena prior to the game.
Jeff Carter, who spent nine and a half season with Dustin Brown and the Kings. Carter was a part of both Stanley Cup winning teams.
