With six games remaining on their regular season schedule, the Kings are still searching for every point possible, as their final spot in the Pacific Division remains very much in flux. With one eye on a possible run at first place and another eye keeping on their four-point cushion for home ice advantage in Game 83, coach Jim Hiller’s squad will welcome the Seattle Kraken to town on Monday night.
Even with LA’s postseason spot already clinched, Hiller is not expected to employ any sort of ‘load management’ with his roster, sans one key name, maybe two — Drew Doughty and Darcy Kuemper.
It’s public knowledge that the future Hall of Famer is still recovering from his early season injury and isn’t back to being 100% healthy. With that in mind, the organization has limited Doughty’s practice time and allowed him to opt out of gameday morning skates. Undoubtedly, LA management wants Doughty as healthy as possible once the playoffs begin, so some nights off in the next week or so wouldn’t be shocking. Add in the fact that he didn’t play the final seven-plus minutes of regulation on Saturday and the entire situation becomes a bit murkier.
And just last week, when Mayor’s Manor asked Hiller to assess where Doughty’s game was at currently, LA’s bench boss replied:
“I think it’s good. I don’t think he’s 100 percent; he’s not 100 percent physically, I think that’s clear. So, it’s hard to evaluate him based on who he’s been over time, because just physically, he’s just not there. So, I think based on the circumstances [and what he] continues to do on a daily basis, I think he’s doing a really good job for us.”
Turning to the goaltending, that’s a little more of a fluid situation. As discussed on this week’s Kings Of The Podcast, most NHL head coaches prefer not to let their netminders sit too long. Keeping them active often helps with tracking the puck, etc. With that in mind, we’ll have to see how Hiller plans to utilize Darcy Kuemper over the next two weeks? Games off aren’t always the answer for a goalie, but we would not be surprised to see Rittich get two, or maybe even three of the next six starts.
Statistically Speaking
— Since joining the Kings, Andrei Kuzmenko’s 10 points (5G, 5A) in 11 games at Crypto.com Arena are tied for second-most at home on the team behind only Anze Kopitar’s 12 points (4G, 8A).
— Adrian Kempe enters tonight’s game vs. the Kraken on a three-game goal-streak against Seattle.
— The Kings are 3-3-1 at home against the Kraken all time.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Kraken
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 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 David Rittich 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
Seattle is coming off a 5-1 victory over San Jose on Saturday. Here is how they are projected to line up tonight.
Nyman – Beniers – Kakko
Schwartz – Stephenson – Eberle
McCann – Wright – Burakovsky
Tolvanen – Hayden – Eyssimont
Dunn – Larsson
Evans – Montour
Oleksiak – Mahura
Daccord
On This Day in Kings History
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