One more in the Shark Tank.
In a familiar theme of late, Anze Kopitar will skate in his final game in San Jose later tonight. This is also the final stop of a six-game stretch of road games, and one that’s featured LA’s captain taking his last laps in other places like Toronto and Montreal, as well.
For the better part of two decades, Kopitar has been a Shark killer, feasting on his Northern California rival. From knocking San Jose out of the playoffs twice, including a historic series comeback in 2014, Sharks fans have come to know Kopitar all too well.
When the puck drops on Thursday’s game, Kings coach Jim Hiller will offer up a completely different lineup vs. Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks. LA’s bench boss has made at least one change to all four forward lines.
Following back-to-back contests where the Kings could muster just one goal, Hiller has seen enough and decided to adjust things in a big way. Most notably, Andrei Kuzmenko will draw back in after a three-game reset in the press box. He’s going back to Kopitar’s line; however, Trevor Moore is now the other winger comprising the trio.
Adrian Kempe has been moved to play with the pair of Fiala and Byfield. Arguably, this will most likely be the Kings top line next season and beyond, once Kopitar has retired. It’s also a look that Hiller has sent out for a test drive several times this season — including a few nights ago in Washington — so it isn’t that surprising.
With these changes, the Foegele–Danault pairing will inherit Alex Laferriere. And Joel Armia returns to the fourth line, where he’ll join Turcotte-Perry.
In other news, Darcy Kuemper remained in Los Angeles for this game to rest for tomorrow night’s showdown with Boston, so look for Anton Forsberg to get the nod in net. Veteran Pheonix Copley has been recalled from AHL Ontario for the next 24 hours. He’ll serve as tonight’s backup.
Overall, Los Angeles is 4-1-0 thus far on the roadie, with a chance to bring home 10 out of a possible 12 points. Tonight is a big game for the Kings, as they continue to be in the thick of things in the Pacific Division.
Statistically Speaking
— Kopitar is set to play in his 50th and final career regular-season game in San Jose. Only Shane Doan (56 GP) has played at SAP Center more in NHL history.
— Perry has four points (3G, 1A) over his last three outings vs. San Jose, including goals in each of those contests. The 40-year-old is also slated to tie Dale Hunter (1,407 GP) for 43rd most games played in NHL history when he takes the ice tonight.
— Fire away! Entering Thursday’s game, Kempe (5 GP) is joined by Buffalo’s Tage Thompson (6 GP) and Calgary’s Matthew Coronato (5 GP) as the only players to have four or more shots on goal in at least five consecutive games.
What You May Have Missed
There are two other articles you won’t want to miss before tonight’s game. One goes rather in-depth on Brandt Clarke’s situation, and the other features thoughts from Sharks forward Tyler Toffoli.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Sharks
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Kuzmenko – Kopitar – Moore
Fiala – Byfield – Kempe
Foegele – Danault – Laferriere
Armia – Turcotte – Perry
Anderson – Dumoulin
Edmundson – Clarke
Moverare – Ceci
Kuemper
Copley
Likely scratches: (F) Helenius, Malott and (D) Doughty
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised locally by ESPN+ (not FanDuel). Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app.
Get to know new Kings play-by-play voice John Kelly by checking out his interview here. He tells some interesting stories about joining the Kings broadcasts and what it was like calling games against them for most of his career.
Across the Ice
San Jose is coming off a 3-2 victory over Utah on Tuesday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
Kurashev – Celebrini – Smith
Eklund – Wennberg – Graf
Gaudette – Dellandrea – Toffoli
Goodrow – Ostapchuk – Reaves
Orlov – Leddy
Ferraro – Mukhamadullin
Dickinson – Desharnais
Askarov
On This Day in Kings History
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