Finally! The Kings begin a traditional Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday home schedule for the first time in quite a while, as the New York Islanders arrive in town for a game at Crypto.com Arena.
For LA coach Jim Hiller and his team, it’s all right in front of them. With twenty games remaining on the regular season schedule, the Kings are in total control of their playoff destiny. While their opponent is still up in the air for Game 83, home-ice advantage is up for grabs.
If the last two games are any indication, several things are true all at once. First off, the lineup is much deeper up front since the acquisition of Andrei Kuzmenko. He’s been a solid addition to the club’s top line thus far; with Hiller hoping the revolving door at LW1 is now over. Secondly, this team has the ability to put the puck in the net. Despite being plagued by various scoring droughts throughout the season, every once in a while (i.e. Sunday night), the Kings show they have the ability to be an offensive juggernaut when things are clicking. Lastly, Los Angeles might only have one goaltender who has the coaching staff’s trust, as David Rittich has struggled nightly over the last couple of weeks. If Hiller hesitates to give Rittich playing time, he risks overworking Darcy Kuemper before the playoffs begin. Thus, this will be a delicate balance; one that at the very least is aided by the fact that LA’s next set of back-to-back games is more than 10 days away.
All things considered, perhaps things are looking up once again, as the Kings are back to playing better hockey; perhaps aided by a heavier than usual home schedule this month. No lineup changes are expected tonight, other than Kuemper looks to return for his first game back since Saturday’s overtime victory.
If you missed it, be sure to catch this week’s Kings Of The Podcast, where they broke down all of the NHL Trade Deadline fallout and looked at five new contracts for the Kings:
Statistically Speaking
— The Islanders last visited Los Angeles exactly one year ago tonight, a game that resulted in a win for the Kings. In fact, the New York based franchise has not won a game in LA since October 18, 2018.
— With his first-period goal Sunday night in Vegas, Anze Kopitar became just the third player in NHL history born and trained outside of North America to record 18 career 50-point campaigns. He is joined by Jaromir Jagr (20) and Alex Ovechkin (18).
— Defenseman Brandt Clarke made a little history of his own in that same contest, notching his fifth goal of the season. It came as part of his fourth multi-point outing this season, making him the first Kings defenseman, age 22 or younger, with at least five goals in a single season since Drew Doughty (10 in 2011-12).
— Both Warren Foegele and Vladislav Gavrikov each notched their 100th career assists Sunday night in Vegas.
— Following a win earlier this year in New York, a victory over the Islanders tonight would give the Kings a sweep in the season series for the 13th time in franchise history and the third time in the past four seasons.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Islanders
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Kuzmenko – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Danault – Moore
Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Jeannot – Helenius – Turcotte
Anderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Spence
Edmundson – Clarke
Kuemper (starter)
Rittich
Likely scratches: (F) Lewis, Thomas and (D) Burroughs, Moverare
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 Alex Laferriere 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
New York is coming off a 4-1 loss to Anaheim on Sunday. Here is how they lined up for that contest:
Duclair – Horvat – Palmieri
Lee – Pageau – Holmstrom
Fasching – Cizikas – Tsyplakov
Engvall – Boqvist – Gatcomb
Romanov – DeAngelo
Pelech – Dobson
Mayfield – Pulock
Hogberg
On This Day in Kings History
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