January 30, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (8) passes the puck against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period at the Amalie Area. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
The Los Angeles Kings are hoping a return to home territory will get them back to their winning ways.
After playing 10 of their last 12 games on the road, the Kings will open a six-game road trip against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night.
Los Angeles went 2-3-0 on the first five-game road trip last month, came home for two games and then went 1-3-1 on the second five-game trek. They salvaged a win in their last stop against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
“We stopped this stretch (in Carolina) because we stuck to our recipe,” Kings forward Phillip Danault said. “We kept working hard, playing our game and it worked.”
The Kings are still clinging to third place in the Pacific Division, just one point ahead of the Calgary Flames.
The Kings had an eight-point lead over the Flames heading into their matchup in Calgary on Jan. 11, but the Flames earned a 2-1 win and have continued to win in Los Angeles.
“Right now, we just have to believe in ourselves, believe in the team,” Kevin Fiala said.
The Kings will likely be without defenseman Mikey Anderson, who remains day-to-day after suffering a finger injury last week.
“Whatever he has, he’s going to have to heal through treatments and relatively naturally, which is a positive,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said.
Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty has played three games since returning from a broken ankle sustained during the preseason. Doughty said he feels good enough to replace the injured Alex Pietrangelo at the 4 Nations tournament later this month.
“I know I’m in the group of guys that are looking and I told them I wanted to be there,” Doughty said. “I hope I continue to improve. We’ve got a couple more games, hopefully I’ll see myself and see that I deserve that spot.”
The Kings will play a road-weary Montreal team that played Tuesday night at the San Jose Sharks and won 4-3 to end a five-game losing streak.
Jakub Dobes is expected to start in goal after Sam Montembeault made 27 saves in the win against the Sharks.
Dobes won his first five career starts before dropping his last two, most recently surrendering three goals on 26 shots in a 4-0 loss to the visiting Minnesota Wild last Thursday.
The rookie faced future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury in that game and had a brief conversation with the 40-year-old on the handshake line.
“We had a good conversation, but I’m going to keep it to myself,” Dobes said. “He just said work hard. It was a little hard to hear. I don’t want to say everything. I don’t want to create a lot of buzz and nothing. Some things you keep to yourself and it was a good conversation.”
Dobes ultimately said Fleury simply complimented him early in his career.
“I didn’t even know what to say. I wasn’t expecting it. So I was like, ‘Oh, thank you.’” Dobes said. “It shows you how much of a good human being and a good teammate he is that he takes the time to say something to a guy who started a month ago.”