Both the Kings and Reign lost their opening night contests by three goals. On Saturday night, LA’s big club rallied to earn one point in a shootout vs. Carolina. Now, Ontario will look to earn (at least) a point of their own via a rematch with San Diego at Toyota Arena.
Last season, the Reign went 6-1-1 against the Gulls. However, with the Anaheim Ducks prospect pool continuing to get stronger, their AHL affiliate is also looking to flex some muscle, especially with new additions Sasha Pastujov and Olen Zellweger.
The Reign have also added a few notable NHL prospects of their own this season, including Frankie Pinelli and Brandt Clarke. However, the guy to keep an eye on during today’s matinee might be Martin Chromiak. He potted five goals when playing the Gulls in 2022-23. On Friday, the 21-year-old Slovak forward played on a line centered by Alex Turcotte. Although coach Marco Sturm put his team through a practice on Saturday using the same lines from the night before, it wouldn’t surprise us if he flipped RW1 and RW2 for today, thereby pushing Chromiak up to the top line.
Again, this is just speculation as the team did not hold a morning skate today, flipping LW3 and LW4 in the configuration below is probably not out of the question either. Pinelli showed off some of his offensive flair during the preseason and now with an AHL game under his belt, Sturm may want to give him a little more responsibility and opportunity. Also note that Pinelli often played alongside Akil Thomas throughout training camp and during several Kings/Reign preseason games.
One thing is for sure, Jacob Doty is out for the game. He skated yesterday in a red jersey and remains sidelined for the time being.
ONTARIO REIGN PROJECTED LINEUP vs. SAN DIEGO GULLS
Hudon – Tynan – Ward
Maltsev – Turcotte – Chromiak
Madden – Thomas – Hodgson
Pinelli – Helenius – Francis
Other options include: Doty, Johnson, Pavlychev
Moverare – Clarke
Krygier – Santini
Connauton – Hicketts
Other options include: Nousiainen, Wylie
Rittich (starter)
Portillo
Puck drop is scheduled for 3pm Pacific Time and the game can be viewed on AHL TV.
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