Game Thirty-Two Preview: Kings @ Flyers

The Los Angeles Kings take on the Philadelphia Flyers in their fifth of seven games on this road trip amidst rumors that both clubs could be making a trade with one another.

LA is coming off an overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday where Kings Head Coach Jim Hiller felt the team’s effort was, “not good enough,” adding they, “relied on Darcy [Kuemper] way too much.” That could indicate Kuemper has earned tonight off (more on that in a moment).

The Flyers have been even-keel in their last ten games, with a 5-4-1 record and a goal differential of 33 to 34.

Similarly, in their last ten meetings, the Kings have a 5-4-1 record against the Flyers with thirty-two goals for and against.

WILD THING

In his career against the Flyers, Kings Goaltender David Rittich is 5-0-0 with a 1.95 GAA and a .932 SV%, one of those wins in relief. Additionally, he stepped into thirteen minutes of action on January 28th, 2023 (playing for the Winnipeg Jets) with three saves on three shots faced.

Earlier in this article, it was noted the Kings leaned on Kuemper in Tuesday’s game against the Penguins. Since returning from his most recent injury, Kuemper has gone 3-0-1 with a 1.50 GAA and a .943 SV%. Such a strong showing could lead to him getting the nod tonight. However, Kuemper’s career numbers versus the Flyers haven’t been great (3-4-1, 3.16 GAA, .898 SV%).

It would seem like a good night to start Rittich – “the Philly-buster.” But, Hiller could channel his inner Lou Brown and go with Kuemper on, “a hunch he’s due.”

PHILADELPHIA, MI

In the early-to-mid 1990s, Forward Bill Armstrong – playing for the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Albany River Rats – executed a goal he dubbed “the high wrap” four times.

The move caught the attention of U. of Michigan Wolverines Forward Mike Legg, who, on March 24th, 1996, stunned the hockey world by scoring a “high wrap” against the U. of Minnesota Gophers. The move was later renamed – in common parlance – “the Michigan goal” or simply “the Michigan.”

“The Michigan” has been scored successfully ten times in the NHL (Trevor Zegras 4x, Andrei Svechnikov 3x, Connor Bedard 1x, Filip Forsberg 1x, Kent Johnson 1x).

Enter Philadelphia Flyers Forward Matvei Michkov into the discussion, who recently attempted “the Michigan” against Michigan’s own Detroit Red Wings to no avail, drawing public ire from Flyers Head Coach John Tortorella.

This is not the first time Tortorella has voiced his displeasure with “the Michigan.” After Anaheim Ducks Forward Trevor Zegras introduced a “Michigan”-adjacent move commonly referred to as “the alley-oop” on December 7th, 2021, he let it be known that – in his opinion – those types of theatrics are not suitable for the game of ice hockey. Elaborating, Tortorella stated that he would “have a talk,” with any of his players who attempted such maneuvers in a game.

After failing to execute the move against Detroit, the time came to talk with Michkov, and it appears Tortorella may have had better luck negotiating with a brick wall.

BACK-TO-BACKSLIDE

This season, the Flyers have had five back-to-back games – W/L, L/L, W/L, W/W, L/L.

Philadelphia’s 1-4-0 record in the second game of their back-to-backs is a good sign for LA who are 4-0-0 in that regard (L/W, L/W, W/W, W/W).

Puck drop is slated for 4:35 PM PST. You can stream the game via ESPN+ or listen live with the ESPN LA app.

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