For the only time this season, the Kings are to play three straight games in the New York Tri-State area. First up on Thursday will be a visit to the Islanders.
It’s been a good start to the club’s road trip thus far, where interim coach DJ Smith has guided the Kings to a 1-0-1 record and collected three big points of a possible four. A win tonight will find LA back in the playoff picture, but they may have bigger plans than simply slipping into the wild card. They’re likely on the hunt for a spot in the Pacific Division, and it’s not out of the picture quite yet. With games in hand over both Edmonton and Vegas, hope is still alive in LA hockey circles. Things could tighten up real quickly if the Kings are able to win these next few games on the road before returning to Crypto.com Arena late next week.
Overall, there does seem to be a new pace and intensity that the team is playing with since their new bench boss took over. The question now is how much fatigue this may cause over a heavily compacted schedule this month, including three games in four nights beginning with the Islanders.
Looking deeper at tonight’s matchup, the Kings will have to plan on how to handle Matthew Schaefer of the Islanders. The young defenseman has become a phenom and seems to make plays on every shift that lead to dangerous chances. If Los Angeles can lock him down, that should bode well for their chances to escape Long Island with another big two points.
Without a morning skate, little is known regarding Smith’s lineup plans, especially in goal. Below is a projection.
Statistically Speaking
— The Kings aim to sweep the season series against the Islanders just over one week removed from hosting the Long Island-based club at Crypto.com Arena on March 5 (5-3 W).
— In the Kings and Islanders’ last matchup on March 5, forward Artemi Panarin scored his first goal as a member of the LA Kings to reach the 20-goal mark for the 10th time in his career. Per NHL PR, Panarin became the first undrafted player with as many such campaigns since Martin St. Louis (11).
— Darcy Kuemper has two power play assists in five career starts against the New York Islanders as a member of the Kings. He has also posted a 4-0-1 record with a .925 save percentage and 2.20 goals-against average over that span.
— Adrian Kempe skates onto Long Island having scored in his past two trips to UBS Arena, dating back to Dec. 9, 2023, and has four goals and six points in his last five matchups against the club overall.
— Mikey Anderson recorded his eighth assist of the year before scoring his third goal of the season for his first multi-point game of the campaign in his last game against the Islanders on March 5 and scored in his last visit to Long Island on Dec. 10, 2024.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Islanders
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Panarin – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Byfield – Laferriere
Turcotte – Laughton – Wright
Malott – Helenius – Ward
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Kuemper (starter)
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) Joseph and (D) Moverare
Injured Reserve: Armia, Fiala, Kuzmenko (injury status updates here)
How to Watch the Game
Puck drop is set for 4:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised by FanDuel Sports. Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app.
Across the Ice
New York is coming off a 4-3 victory over St. Louis on Thursday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
Heineman – Horvat – Barzal
Palat – Schenn – Ritchie
Lee – Pageau – Holmstrom
Duclair – Cizikas – Gatcomb
Schaefer – Pulock
Pelech – DeAngelo
Soucy – Mayfield
Sorokin
On This Day in Kings History
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