Morning Skate Report: Oct. 14, 2021

The Golden Knights (1-0-0) hit the road to face familiar foes, the Los Angeles Kings (0-0-0), on Thursday night at Staples Center at 7:30 p.m. PT.

NOTES
Vegas is 11-8-2 all time against the Los Angeles Kings. For the Kings, this is their home opener and first game of the season.
Head Coach Pete DeBoer confirmed Jake Leschyshyn and Jonas Rondbjerg will make their NHL debuts Thursday night against Los Angeles. Both players were drafted by the Golden Knights in 2017.
Vegas forward Mattias Janmark remains in COVID-19 protocol.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: AT&T SportsNet (Pregame show 7 p.m.)
Radio: FOX Sports 98.9/1340
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Knights welcomed the Seattle Kraken to the National Hockey League on Tuesday night to open the 2021-22 season. Max Pacioretty started off the scoring early in the first period to give Vegas a 1-0 lead which was led by Chandler Stephenson entering the zone using his great speed. Jonathan Marchessault extended their lead to 2-0 just a couple of minutes later scoring a highlight-reel goal. Early into the second frame, Pacioretty deflected Nicolas Hague's shot to earn himself his second goal of the game and gave the Golden Knights a commanding 3-0 lead. Seattle answered back midway through the second and scored two quick back-to-back goals to narrow the difference to 3-2. Seattle's Morgan Geekie then tied the game for the Kraken in the third period. Chandler Stephenson answered right back 35 seconds later to derail the comeback for Seattle. The Golden Knights won the game 4-3, spoiling the first game for the Kraken in their history.
OPPOSITION UPDATE
The Kings haven't been back to the playoffs since losing to Vegas in the first round back in 2018. Last season they finished 21-28-7 with 49 points in the standings. Los Angeles will look to turn the corner this year after trading with Nashville for Viktor Arvidsson and signing one of the strongest two-way centers in the game, Phillip Danualt. They will also lean on their surplus of young prospects to take the next step. One of these core young players, Quinton Byfield, the 2nd overall pick in 2020 will miss some time after sustaining a broken ankle in preseason against Anaheim.
The Kings have most of their veteran core returning this year, including last year's leading point producer and team captain, Anze Kopitar (13G, 37A). Additionally, their leader on the blueline Drew Doughty is always a factor in both ends of the ice for Los Angeles. Doughty has been considered one of the league's top defensemen for a decade. The Kings' success this season can rely heavily on the continued growth of forwards Adrian Kempe (14G, 15A), Alex Iafallo (13G, 17A) and Gabriel Vilardi (10G, 13A) who all took big leaps forward in 2020-21.
RED HOT STARTS
By no surprise, the Golden Knights top line got off to a great start to the season. The line of Mark Stone (0G, 3A), Max Pacioretty (2G, 1A) and Chandler Stephenson (1G, 1A) contributed a total of eight points on opening night. After scoring against the Seattle Kraken, Max Pacioretty is now the only player to score against all 32 NHL teams.
The Golden Knights will look to earn themselves a 2-0 start to the 2021-22 season with a win over the Kings Thursday night.
KEYS TO THE GAME
Keep Pushing: Points are critical at all times of the year so the Golden Knights will want to bank two more in Los Angeles and keep moving up the standings.
Road Success: Vegas posted a 19-9-0 record on the road last season. The Golden Knights will want to open their 2021-22 road campaign by building on last year's success.