Game Preview, 10/26: Utah Hockey Club vs. Los Angeles Kings

WHEN: 2:00 p.m. MT

WHERE: Crypto.com Arena - Los Angeles, California

TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 97.5 FM, KZNS 1280 AM, NHL App

After three games on home ice, the Utah Hockey Club (4-3-1) heads back to California to square up with the Los Angeles Kings (4-2-2) this afternoon. Utah averaged four goals per game over its first five matches but has only scored three times in its last three games.

ONE-TIMERS

• Today is Utah’s first-ever game against Los Angeles and its second against a Pacific Division team.
• Today’s contest is the first of four consecutive games against teams from the Pacific Division.
• Captain Clayton Keller leads the team with eight points (4G, 4A).
• Defenseman Maveric Lamoureux made his NHL debut Thursday night against Colorado.
• Utah ranks third in team faceoff percentage at 55.8%.

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP

Los Angeles has won three of its last four games, but the combined record of teams the Kings have beaten is only 8-16-5 (Buffalo, Montreal, Anaheim, San Jose). Defensively, Los Angeles has been feast or famine this season. In their four wins, the Kings have allowed just five total goals. In their four losses, they have allowed 22 goals. 12 different Kings have scored a goal this season, led by Alex Laferriere and Kevin Fiala with four each.

WHO TO WATCH

UTAH: #22 JACK MCBAIN - McBain leads the team with 19 penalty minutes and already has a pair of goals to his name. Last season, the Toronto, Ontario native bagged 26 points (8G, 18A) in 67 games with the Arizona Coyotes. The 6-foot-4, 219-pound forward represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China and posted a goal and an assist through five games.

LOS ANGELES: #11 ANZE KOPITAR - Veteran forward Anze Kopitar leads Los Angeles with eight points (3G, 5A) through eight games. The 37-year-old from Jesenice, Slovenia has seen 1,381 regular season NHL contests, and he helped lead the Kings to two Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014. 2024-25 marks Kopitar’s 19th season in the NHL.

LOOK BACK

Utah lost its second consecutive game in regulation for the first time this season with a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche Thursday night at Delta Center. Lawson Crouse scored Utah’s only goal late in the third period while five different Avs found the back of the net.

MAVERIC LAMOUREUX

20-year-old Maveric Lamoureux made his NHL debut on Thursday night at Delta Center against Colorado. The 6-foot-6 blueliner logged 18:50 worth of ice time, one shot on goal, three blocked shots, two hits, and a +1 rating. Lamoureux was selected 29th overall in the first round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft by the Arizona Coyotes. Prior to his call-up to Utah, the Laval, Quebec native posted two goals and an assist through three AHL games with the Tucson Roadrunners.

FACEOFFS

Utah possesses two of the top seven faceoff men in the NHL to start the 2024-25 season: Barrett Hayton ranks fifth in the league with a 62.0% clip at the dot, and Kevin Stenlund ranks sixth overall with a 61.9% rate. Stenlund, Stanley Cup Champion with the Florida Panthers last season, has also been excellent in shorthanded scenarios, winning 70.4% of his draws while Utah is a man down. As a team, Utah was 71.9% in the faceoff circle against Colorado on Thursday- the best mark for any NHL team in a single game this season.

LOOK AHEAD

The Utah Hockey Club returns home on Monday, Oct. 28 to face the San Jose Sharks at Delta Center. The team is back in action on Wednesday, Oct. 30 for a Halloween Eve showdown against the Calgary Flames.