GAMEDAY 9/25/15: Preseason vs Kings Preview + Game Thread

After dropping the preseason opener in Denver, blowing a two-goal third period lead before falling in overtime 5-4, the Ducks open the home portion of the exhibition slate tonight.

It'll be the first time Ducks fans can take in the fully functioning and pretty good looking new scoreboard at Honda Center, in addition to being the first preseason Freeway Faceoff meeting.

Rosters

Expected Ducks lineup via Eric Stephens, Orange County Register. Lines from today's Kings practice via Jon Rosen, LA Kings Insider.

Anaheim Ducks

Jiri Sekac - Ryan Getzlaf - Chris Stewart

Nick Ritchie - Rickard Rakell - Stefan Noesen

Patrick Maroon - Nic Kerdiles - Max Friberg

Joseph Cramarossa - Shawn Horcoff - Tim Jackman

Cam Fowler - Josh Manson

Jaycob Megna - Kevin Bieksa

Shane O'Brien - Sami Vatanen

Frederik Andersen

Los Angeles Kings

Milan Lucic - Anze Kopitar - Brian O'Neill

Tanner Pearson - Jeff Carter - Tyler Toffoli

Kyle Clifford - Andy Andreoff - Trevor Lewis

Michael Mersch - Jordan Weal - Dustin Brown

Jake Muzzin - Alec Martinez

Brayden McNabb - Jamie McBain

Kevin Gravel - Derek Forbort

Jonathan Quick / Jhonas Enroth

Notes

Anaheim trimmed their roster on Thursday, releasing seven players from their amateur tryouts: C Alexandre Alain (Gatineau, QMJHL), G Landon Bow (Swift Current, WHL), G Brendan Burke (Calgary, WHL), D C.J. Garcia (Guelph, OHL), C Wyatt Johnson (Red Deer, WHL), C Nathan Noel (St. John, QMJHL), and C Lane Pederson (Seattle, WHL). The Ducks have 57 players remaining on the roster, including Julius Nattinen, who is expected to head to the OHL once he's released from his amateur tryout.

The Kings are 2-0-0 in the preseason, sweeping a pair from the Arizona Coyotes with a 5-1 win in Bakersfield Monday night, and a 3-2 overtime win at STAPLES Center on Tuesday. Tyler Toffoli and Nick Shore each potted a pair in the first game, with Toffoli also finding the back of the net in the three-on-three overtime exhibition afterward. Jordan Weal scored in Bakersfield, and had the overtime game winner as well as an assist in the game played in LA. The Kings iced an NHL-heavy lineup at STAPLES Center, with Drew Doughty playing a game-high 29:05. 27-year old AHL farm hand Brian O'Neill also had a two point night, scoring Los Angeles' second goal and drawing the secondary assist on the game winner.

Los Angeles took both exhibition games last season, winning 4-3 in a shootout at STAPLES Center and knocking off Anaheim 4-2 at Honda Center. The Ducks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in LA, but goals from Toffoli, Jordan Nolan, and Dwight King helped the Kings take a 3-2 advantage with less than nine minutes to play, but Ryan Kesler knotted the game at 3's 47 seconds after Toffoli's goal (and his second point of the night). John Gibson took the loss in Tinseltown, while Frederik Andersen suffered the defeat in Anaheim as Jeff Carter recorded a hat trick, with Toffoli and Tanner Pearson each earning a pair of assists.