After a disappointing and frustrating road trip, the Kings return home tonight for some good old revenge against the St. Louis Blues.
Home is where the heart is, and it’s also where LA has found most of their success this season. For all their struggles on the road, and there have been many, the Kings have found a way to produce the league’s best record on home ice. It’s just a different feeling when the team is at home, and nobody seems to have the answer as to why. Perhaps it’s the new home jerseys, the fact all the players get to sleep in their own beds, good home crowds, or some unknown magic potion that allows them to turn into a rather different team at Crpyto.com.
Through it all, the Kings enter play tonight with a 95.3% chance of making the playoffs, per MoneyPuck.com.
In the more immediate future, coach Jim Hiller quickly needs to find a way for his club to flip the switch and get back to winning. His team’s play over the last four games has been unacceptable, especially while in the hunt for a potential Pacific Division title. In an effort to help kickstart this process, the Kings recalled forward Sammy Helenius from AHL Ontario earlier today and plan to insert defenseman Brandt Clarke back into the defensive group after he’s spent a few games as a healthy scratch.
More on both players and the situation they’re facing over the next 48 hours was explained here:
The other side of this coin is that a portion of the answer to LA’s problems might be from outside the organization. If that’s the case, GM Rob Blake has two days to get that all squared away before the official NHL Trade Deadline at noon on Friday. With the team on the hunt for a scoring forward, preferably a right-shot, what happens later this week could have just as many implications on the team as tonight’s game.
Statistically Speaking
— Darcy Kuemper (8-0-0 in his most recent starts at Crypto.com Arena) enters tonight’s contest with St. Louis tied with Kelly Hrudey for the longest home win streak by a goaltender in Kings history.
— Adrian Kempe has notched five goals and six points over his last four home games against the Blues, dating back to Nov. 3, 2021.
— Tonight’s game marks the first of a 10-home game month in March for the Kings.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Blues
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Turcotte – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Danault – Moore
Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Jeannot – Helenius – Lewis
Anderson – Gavrikov
Edmundson – Doughty
Moverare – Clarke
Kuemper (starter)
Rittich
Likely scratches: (F) Thomas and (D) Burroughs, Spence
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 7:30 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.
For those live in attendance, the LA Kings Booster Club will offer their popular ‘Puck for a Buck’ contest — featuring Darcy Kuemper for this game. Just $1 could win you an autographed puck from an NHL star. Visit their table outside sections 317-318 on the upper concourse for more information.
Across the Ice
St. Louis is coming off a 6-3 loss to Dallas on Sunday. Here is how they lined up for that contest:
Neighbours – Thomas – Buchnevich
Holloway – Schenn – Kyrou
Joseph – Sundqvist – Bolduc
Toropchenko – Faksa – Walker
Fowler – Parayko
Broberg – Faulk
Suter – Leddy
Hofer
On This Day in Kings History
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