There are a couple of things the Kings have hung their hat on this season. For starters, they’ve been downright dominant in games following an initial loss; coach Jim Hiller has had his team ready to play in those situations. That’s why — among several other reasons — Monday night’s defeat in Edmonton was rather disappointing. Not only did LA suffer their second straight loss, but they were also shut out.
Unfortunately, a scoring drought has hit LA. The puck just isn’t going in of late, as they have scored two or fewer goals in four straight contests. If not for the stellar play of Darcy Kuemper, it’s not out of reach to say the Kings would be in the midst of a four-game losing streak.
All of this leads to an obvious reaction heading into tonight’s showdown between the Canucks and Kings — this is as important of a regular season game as Los Angeles has had this season. Not only will it be a chance to get back to .500 on this road trip, but also a chance to right the ship as far as offense goes.
There was perhaps nobody hotter earlier on this season than second-year forward Alex Laferriere. Injured in the aforementioned game vs. the Oilers, he’s scheduled to sit out tonight’s contest. Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise. For those who enjoy a positive slant on things, this could be just enough of a reason to reassemble the Foegele-Byfield-Jeannot line, which had been Hiller’s most effective combo for much of December.
Conversely, Trevor Moore was racking up points before missing about a month due to injury; a stretch where he posted 15 points in 17 games. Since his recent return, he’s been ice cold and getting him off that Byfield line and reuniting him with Phil Danault could be just what the Dr. ordered.
Rookie forward Sammy Helenius was recalled to the NHL on Wednesday after sneaking into a game with AHL Ontario on Tuesday night in Abbotsford (about an hour outside Vancouver). We’ll have to wait until later today to see if he draws in for LA, with Hiller possibly using a 12+6 configuration.
Finally, in some off-ice news, indications are that Drew Doughty will rejoin the team for practice in a non-contact jersey when the team is back home next week. That at least suggests Doughty could return within the next few weeks. While that would be a huge boost, remember the Kings last game before the 4 Nations break will be Sat., Feb. 8. That will be less than three weeks away by the time the Kings wrap up their current road trip, which could lead to Doughty not seeing game action until after the tournament in late February. Either way, getting him back should provide a huge boost to a team that appears to be grinding away in the dog days of the season.
Statistically Speaking
— In his last five starts, Darcy Kuemper is 4-1-0 with a .958 SV% and a 1.19 GAA
— Canucks forward Brock Boeser has 17 goals, 6 assists, and a plus-1 mark over 21 career games against LA.
— Kings captain Anze Kopitar has 17 goals, 43 assists, and a plus-10 mark in 68 career games against Vancouver.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Canucks
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Turcotte – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Byfield – Jeannot
Fiala – Danault – Moore
Lewis – Helenius – Thomas
Anderson – Gavrikov
Moverare – Spence
Edmundson – Clarke
Kuemper (starter)
Rittich
Likely scratches: (F) Laferriere and (D) Burroughs, Englund
Injured Reserve: Doughty
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised locally by FanDuel Sports Network. Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app (which is the new home for Kings radio this season, they’ve moved off of the iHeart platform).
More on the ongoing TV situation here.
Across the Ice
Vancouver is coming off a 6-1 loss to Winnipeg on Tuesday. Here’s how they lined up for that contest:
DeBrusk – Pettersson – Boeser
Hoglander – Miller – Garland
Heinen – Suter – Sherwood
Di Giuseppe – Blueger – Lekkerimaki
Hughes – Hronek
Forbort – Myers
Soucy – Juulsen
Lankinen
On This Day in Kings History
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