Before the Kings can focus on their biggest game of the year on Saturday, they must first take care of business tonight in Utah. And for the sake of coach Jim Hiller’s sanity, he’s likely hoping this isn’t a trap game.
Looking past this game and thinking about Edmonton shouldn’t even really be an option, as LA still has plenty to prove on the road. Like we’ve written so many times this season, here is another opportunity for the Kings to carry over some of their dominant play at home into a road contest. For whatever reason, they’ve yet to consistently replicate their style of play away from Crypto.com Arena. With the Stanley Cup Playoffs less than three weeks away (ed note: the Kings will most likely begin Round 1 on Sunday, April 20), Hiller and his players will need to find a solid road formula quickly if they want to find success in the postseason.
Injury-wise, forwards Alex Turcotte and Tanner Jeannot did not travel with the team on this one-game road trip. While both are listed as day-to-day, Turcotte may be closer to making a return, with Jeannot allegedly a way out from rejoining the lineup.
With just a handful of games remaining on the regular season schedule, it will be interesting to see how Hiller goes about providing some rest to a few players down the stretch. Despite being in a dog fight for home-ice advantage, will players like Darcy Kuemper, Anze Kopitar, or Drew Doughty get a little extra downtime before beginning their playoff run? We’d assume Hiller is more likely to ride the best 20 guys in the lineup night after night until the two seed is wrapped up.
Statistically Speaking
— Kopitar’s goal Tuesday night marked the 300th even-strength tally of his career. Only Marcel Dionne (369), Luc Robitaille (344), and Dave Taylor (304) have scored more in Kings history.
— Andrei Kuzmenko skates into Salt Lake City with four goals and nine points in his last seven games with the Kings.
— Tonight’s game marks the Kings’ first regular-season trip to Salt Lake City against the Utah Hockey Club in franchise history. LA swept their two home games played against Utah earlier this season.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Utah HC
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Kuzmenko – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Danault – Moore
Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Malott – Helenius – Lewis
Anderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Spence
Edmundson – Clarke
Kuemper (starter)
Rittich
Likely scratches: (F) Thomas and (D) Burroughs, Moverare
Injured: Turcotte (day-to-day, upper body), Jeannot (out for extended time period)
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 6:00 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
Utah is coming off a 3-1 victory over Calgary on Tuesday. Here is how they lined up for that contest:
Keller – Cooley – Guenther
Schmaltz – Hayton – Yamamoto
Crouse – McBain – Doan
Kerfoot – Stenlund – Bjugstad
Sergachev – Marino
Cole – Durzi
DeSimone – Kesselring
Vejmelka
On This Day in Kings History
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