In a year of heartbreaking losses, not many have likely hurt the collective Kings group like what happened two nights ago.
It was an evening of celebration, thanks to Anze Kopitar, who surpassed Marcel Dionne for most points in Kings history. Unfortunately, it was also a game marked by bad penalties that came back to haunt coach DJ Smith’s squad, so much so the penalty kill had no answer for anything the Devils threw at them.
LA now finds themselves back outside the Western Conference playoff picture as they prepare to square off with the red-hot Rangers at the Garden. Adding fuel to the fire, this is bound to be another emotionally fueled contest. Artemi Panarin will be making his return to New York after last month’s trade brought him to SoCal. While the multi-talented winger has fit in like a glove in Los Angeles, there’s no doubt that tonight will be a heavy one for the star forward, given the success he had in the Big Apple for so long.
There’s also the Jonathan Quick factor. This will be the last time the future Hall of Famer will share a rink with his former teammate and captain in Kopitar (even though No. 32 isn’t expected to start).
Overall, this looms as a massive game for the Kings to round out their current road trip. A win gives them a 3-1-1 record over a crucial stretch of the regular season and should do massive things for any mojo in the room. A loss swings things the other way — where treading water simply isn’t good enough right now.
Possible Player Additions
While not directly impacting the Kings-Rangers game, there is still an important story bubbling below the surface. LA is currently believed to be working on signing several college free agents. We’ve pulled together a potential list of likely candidates and took a deep dive on the subject here over the weekend:
Statistically Speaking
— Panarin, who has 12 points and four multi-point performances in 10 games with the Kings, returns to Madison Square Garden for his first game as a member of the Kings since being acquired from the Rangers on Feb. 3.
— Kopitar scored his 449th and 450th career goals on Saturday in Newark as part of his 1,307th and 1,308th career points to surpass Marcel Dionne as the LA Kings’ all-time leading scorer.
— Kopitar’s pair of goals were part of his 322nd career multi-point performance, breaking a tie with Luc Robitaille (321) for the second-most multi-point games in Kings history, behind only Dionne (392).
— Brandt Clarke registered his 27th, 28th and 29th career assists on Saturday as part of his third career three-point and assist game to set a new single season career-high (28A in 2024-25).
— Mathieu Joseph made his LA Kings debut on Saturday, skating in 11:42 minutes of time-on-ice (TOI) over 16 shifts.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Rangers
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 4-2 victory over Minnesota on Saturday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
Miller – Zibanejad – Perreault
Cuylle -Trocheck – Lafreniere
Kartye – Laba – Sheary
Brodzinski – Parssinen – Chmelar
Gavrikov – Fox
Robertson – Schneider
Vaakanainen – Borgen
Shesterkin
On This Day in Kings History
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