Things change quickly, not only in life but pro sports as well.
Last December, Quinton Byfield was in the AHL and Jonathan Quick was tending goal in Los Angeles.
Even just 72 hours ago, the Kings were setting an NHL record for most road victories to start a season.
Now, life is much different. Coming off an overtime loss in Long Island yesterday, the Kings arrive in Madison Square Garden today ready to face a franchise icon in the other goal crease. It will be unfamiliar indeed.
The Rangers are slated to have Quick in net. He’s having a phenomenal season for the blue shirts — who by the way, will be debuting their latest dark blue jersey design in this game. Quick has a 7-0-1 record this season, along with a .918 save percentage and 2.34 goals against average.
In what has already been a season filled with reunions of former teammates in various cities, none of them even come close to what tonight will feel like. For the very first time, Quick will be facing his former team; the club where he cemented his legacy as one of the best American-born goaltenders of all-time and won two Stanley Cups. It’s sure to be a bittersweet night for Quick and those who played with him in LA.
It might as well be 2014 all over again, considering the numbers Quick is putting up this season. He’s been vintage Quick statistically speaking. For a guy who left LA at the Trade Deadline and then sat and watched as the Golden Knights won it all, he is back with a vengeance, and has a chance to beat his former team.
Why was he traded out of LA? We’ve covered that to death. It’s all laid out here, though.
For the Kings, it’s not about the past, it’s about the present — because the future has arrived, namely in the form of Quinton Byfield.
After his stint in AHL Ontario, Byfield rejoined the Kings on Dec. 27, 2022 and finished the season by playing 45 games with the big club. Many pointed to his production of just three goals over that stretch as cause for concern. Meanwhile, those in Kings management continued to buck that narrative and insist that everything was just fine. GM Rob Blake did it rather emphatically here:
On evaluating Quinton Byfield’s season and is he a center or winger moving forward:
I think he took steps this year to become a prominent player on our team, where he wasn’t last year in the playoffs. So, that’s a step forward. I like him at wing there. Ultimately, we still probably feel that he will be a centerman because he can do both, but his effectiveness — with his length, turning pucks over — I thought when he joined that line, with Kopitar and Kempe, gave us some balance throughout the lineup. That’s a transition piece that, whether it works or not, we were excited that he got into the lineup and became an effective player for us.
[reporter: But he does need to be a more productive player…]
Yeah, he’s 20.
And Director of Scouting Mark Yannetti spent quite a bit more time talking about Byfield’s development during this interview last summer:
Kings Of The Podcast: Ep. 158 – Mark Yannetti, 2023 Draft Preview and LA Player Evaluation
Turning to tonight’s game, even though LA’s historic road win streak came to an end last night, they can still finish the road trip with a 3-0-1 mark, something none of the Kings would complain about, as they continue to fight for first place in the Pacific Division.
Without a morning skate, it’s tough to know exactly what coach Todd McLellan is thinking regarding his lineup for today. However, keep an eye out for Vladislav Gavrikov and Trevor Lewis who were shaken up in last night’s tilt. Both players finished the contest, yet Gavrikov in particular did miss several shifts while being looked at by the training staff. The Kings have Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Jacob Moverare available, if needed. It wouldn’t be that surprising to see one, if not both of them, draw in.
Stats Worth Knowing
– Quick won’t be the only former King to face his previous club today. The Rangers should also have former LA prospect Jonny Brodzinski on their top line. He’s bounced back and forth between New York and their AHL affiliate in Hartford for the past several seasons. This year, he’s been up for six games and has not recorded a goal yet. During his time with AHL Ontario (2015-2019), he racked up enough goals to still sit fifth on the team’s all-time list, behind: Brett Sutter, Sammy Fagemo, Martin Frk, and Michael Mersch. Brodzinski notched his 56 goals in fewer games than everybody on that list other than Frk.
— The Kings and Rangers are two of the NHL’s top three teams based on points percentage (PTS%) and are two of four teams this season with at least 18 wins. They’re also two of just seven teams to have scored at least 90 goals.
— Tonight is only the second back-to-back for LA so far this season (they’ll play four total in 2023-24). Last year, the Kings went 14-4-4 in back-to-back contests (8-2-1 in first games, 6-2-3 in second games).
— Despite not scoring last night, Drew Doughty still enters play against the Rangers riding a four-game point streak.
— Kevin Fiala is on the verge of doing something special. With another multi-point performance last night, he now has 97 points (29G, 68A) in 93 games with the Kings organization. The only players in franchise history to record 100 points in 100 games or fewer are: Wayne Gretzky (47 GP), Charlie Simmer (72 GP), Tomas Sandstrom (80 GP), Marcel Dionne (86 GP), Ziggy Palffy (88 GP), Jari Kurri (91 GP), Luc Robitaille (93 GP), Jason Allison (94 GP) and Jimmy Carson (96 GP).
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Rangers
Byfield – Kopitar – Kempe
Fiala – Danault – Moore
Laferriere – Dubois – Grundstrom
Kaliyev – Lizotte – Lewis
Anderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Roy
Englund – Spence
Copley (starter)
Talbot
Likely scratches: Anderson-Dolan, Moverare
Injured: Arvidsson
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 4:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised by Bally Sports.
Across the Ice
New York is coming off a 4-0 shutout loss at Washington yesterday. Here’s how they lined up for that one:
#NYR warmup rushes from DC:
Kreider – Zib – Brodzinski
Panarin – Trocheck – Laf
Cuylle – Bonino – Wheeler
Vesey – Nash – PitlickLindgren – Fox
Miller – Trouba
Gustafsson – SchneiderIgor
Quick— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) December 9, 2023
On This Day in Kings History
Happy 54th birthday to Rob Blake! The @LAKings General Manager and Hall of Fame defenseman was born on December 10, 1969.#LAKings #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/AlrcvTLZhO
— The Kingstorian (@Kingstorian) December 10, 2023
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Game day graphic created by ALo Images
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