The Week That Was, The Week That Is – 9/30

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The Week That Was, The Week That Is – 9/30

Halfway through their preseason games, here's what's happened and what to expect

The Week That Was

The Kings kicked off their preseason this past week, playing in three games. It was an impressive showing on the scoreboard across the three games as the Kings picked up points in all each tilt, going 2-0-1. While tons of good happened on the ice, the biggest news to come out of this past was the dark cloud of Drew Doughty’s injury. Doughty, the two-time Stanley Cup champion and 17-year veteran defenseman sustained a fractured left ankle in the early stages of the Kings second preseason games against the Vegas Golden Knights. Doughty has since had surgery to repair the fracture and is considered month-to-month.

Game Recaps:

9/23: LAK 2 @ UTA 3 (OT)

9/25: LAK 3 @ VGK 2

9/28: LAK 3 vs. ANA 2

Notable News From The Week That Was:

  • Drew Doughty sustained a fractured left ankle on 9/25. Doughty is considered month-to-month after having had surgery to repair the fracture.
  • Alex Laferriere currently leads the Kings in goals with three. Laferriere has appeared in just two of the three games.
  • The Kings trimmed their NHL training camp roster on Sunday, 9/29, assigning 23 players to the Ontario Reign. You can see those moves here.

The Week That Is

The Kings have a busy week ahead in preparation of the regular season being just over a week and a half away. The Kings have three preseason games on the schedule this week and upon completion they will conclude their six exhibition warm up games. To complete the ladder half of this week’s preseason games, the Kings will have to do some unusual traveling, but more on that later.

The Kings will kick off the week with a gameday against a familiar foe. It’ll be the second half a back-to-back against the Ducks. As mentioned in TWTW, the Kings defeated the Ducks 3-2 on Saturday afternoon in Ontario, and now head to Anaheim to close out their Freeway Face-Off preseason chapter before seeing the their rival four times in the regular season.

Following Monday’s game, the Kings will regroup in El Segundo for training camp for a few days before packing their bags and heading to Quebec, Canada for their last two preseason games. Heading to the hockey-crazed Quebec, the Kings will face off against two of the Eastern Conference’s best in the Boston Bruins on Thursday and the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday.

A midweek big and telling decision for head coach Jim Hiller awaits as the Kings coaching staff will have to select who they want on that road trip for the final two preseason games in Quebec. As we inch closer to opening night, the Kings staff has to narrow down their roster to at most 23 players. Who goes on that trip to Quebec could give Kings fans a solid idea of who they might see when come October 10th in Buffalo.

Upcoming games and events this week:

  • 9/30 @ Anaheim Ducks @ 7:00 PM (Bally Sports West & NHL Network)
  • 10/3 vs. Boston Bruins* @ 4:00 PM (TBA on viewing)
  • 10/5 vs. Florida Panthers* @ 4:00 PM (TBA on viewing)
* = games to be played in Quebec

All Kings games can be heard on the ESPN LA App.