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Kings host a Kraken team that’s already been remade

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When the Kings host the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, fans will be forgiven if they need to peer at a program or ask Siri who the visiting players are.

Not only is Seattle (20-38-6) in its first NHL season, but it experienced considerable turnover near Monday’s trade deadline. General Manager Ron Francis made an NHL-high six swaps. They included sending team captain Mark Giordano to Toronto and forward Calle Jarnkrok to Pacific Division-leading Calgary.

Kings coach Todd McLellan, whose club is five points out of first place, was asked if Seattle’s roster flux made it more difficult to scout.

“Not necessarily, they have developed an identity. They played us really hard in Seattle, they’ve done that to teams and there’s going to be some common stuff that we see throughout the whole team,” McLellan said. “They’ve lost some individuals but they’ll replace them with some hungry players, that’s for sure.”

If the Kings (35-22-9) miss anything in their pre-scout, they’ll have an immediate do-over. For the first time since last season, when the schedule was broken largely into two-game sets, the Kings will host the same team in consecutive games when they welcome the Kraken again on Monday. Previously this season, the Kings played two straight games in St. Louis, which they lost to the Blues by an aggregate score of 10-3, and a pair in Arizona, which they swept from the Coyotes.

The Kings should soon get defenseman Tobias Bjornfot and winger Brendan Lemieux back from injuries. Even so, they are still missing half a dozen other players. They re-inserted winger Viktor Arvidsson into the lineup in a 4-3 shootout loss to Chicago on Thursday.

Arvidsson picked up an assist as he re-joined left winger Trevor Moore and center Phillip Danault, the two of whom accounted for all three Kings goals. Moore scored his league-leading fourth shorthanded goal, while Danault extended his offensive outburst with two tallies.

Danault was attracted to Los Angeles by the opportunity to grow from a shutdown pivot who frequently played on the third line into a true No. 2 centerman. He has rewarded the Kings handsomely for giving him that chance. In addition to his chemistry with Moore, who has exploded for 34 points in as many games since Jan. 1, Danault has continued to excel in the faceoff circle, defensively and in subtle areas of the game that impact possession, production and, ultimately, results.

“He has a knack for stick-on-puck and he may be one of the best players I’ve seen at positioning his body so that he can keep plays alive,” McLellan said. “He’s got something that we’d like to teach all the players.”

Danault has also taken to mentoring some of the younger players on the Kings, whether they be young centers playing behind him or skaters at other positions. That included rookie defenseman Sean Durzi, who racked up a career-high three assists on Thursday.

“He’s been a good leader, for myself. We drive to games together. He kind of talks me through the grind of the NHL season, how to take care of your body and things like that,” Durzi said. “It’s not only physically, but it’s mentally, too. He’s really focused on the mental side of things and it’s helped me.”

Danault scored twice in the first ever meeting between the Kings and Kraken, a 3-1 victory on Jan. 15. The Kraken’s goal was scored by forward Marcus Johansson and assisted by Giordano and Jarnkrok, all three of whom have since been traded. Forwards Yanni Gourde and Jared McCann rank Nos. 1 and 2 in scoring on the remaining roster.

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While Danault and Moore have been consistent contributors for the Kings, the one-time “Steady Eddie,” as McLellan described him, has seen his production plummet. In February and March, winger Alex Iafallo has just three points, all assists. Earlier in the year, he was flirting with a 40-goal pace, but has not found the net in a career-worst 20 games.

“I don’t believe in losing your confidence, I don’t know if it just falls out of your pocket or whatever. I think that he’s had real good opportunities and he’s probably shooting a little bit too fine, the spot he’s looking at is just getting smaller and smaller,” McLellan said.

“When it’s going for him, he’s finding big holes to score on and right now he’s shooting at little holes. Once it comes, it will come.”

Seattle at Kings

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Crypto.com Arena

TV/Radio: Bally Sports West/iHeartRadio

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