While every game remaining on the Kings regular season schedule is essentially a must-win affair, the next 24 hours will likely impact their playoff hopes.
With a back-to-back weekend set ready to kick off this afternoon against the Buffalo Sabres, it’s officially all hands on deck for coach DJ Smith’s squad — especially with another contest in Utah looming Sunday.
As of this morning, Los Angeles sits eighth in the Western Conference; and with several teams right on their tail, every single game matters that much more from here on out.
It’s largely been covered that LA has one of the “easiest” schedules on paper, meaning the level of competition is not as difficult as it could be. That absolutely does not apply today, though. Buffalo has been on a tear for months, and are coming off a dominant performance in San Jose a few nights ago. The strength of schedule metric only matters if you actually take care of business, and considering how the Kings have played on home ice all season, nothing is a given.
There’s also question looming large for Smith and his staff, and it has do with goaltending. It’s unfair to say that Darcy Kuemper has been bad. The truth is that the veteran netminder was coming off a career year last season, and it was unlikely he could repeat some of those numbers. However, there is no denying that he has not been as consistently sharp since his upper-body injury suffered in Dallas months ago, when he took a hit up high.
The goaltending has not lost Los Angeles many games, yet it’s not winning any either. That’s a problem for a team that struggles to score goals at times. With just 14 games remaining on the regular season docket, the question is whether Smith will continue to rely on Kuemper, or switch things up and allow Anton Forsberg to get some of these wins.
Without a morning skate, the lineup below is a projection. Smith is expected to address the media about an hour before warm-ups.
Statistically Speaking
— The Kings will play their 17th Saturday game of the season. The team is 9-3-4 on Saturdays and have outscored opponents 49-39. The Kings are 5-2-2 on Saturdays at Crypto.com Arena so far this season, outscoring opponents by a total of 29-20.
— Artemi Panarin notched his 23rd goal and 49th assist of the season Thursday night vs. the Flyers, marking his fifth multi-point game through his first 12 games as a member of the Kings. In total, Panarin has 15 points since joining the club.
— Brandt Clarke skates into Saturday’s matinee fresh off clinching his first career 30-assist season. In doing so, Clarke is the 12th different blueliner in Kings history to establish a 30-assist campaign prior to their 24th birthday and the third to accomplish such feat in the last 30 years following Drew Doughty (43 A in 2009-10) and Kyle Quincey (34 A in 2008-09).
— Anze Kopitar scored his 451st career goal Thursday night to mark his 699th career home point and move one shy of tying Marcel Dionne for the most home points all-time in franchise history. In 14 career games against the Sabres at Crypto.com Arena, Kopitar has registered six goals and 14 points.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Sabres
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Panarin – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Byfield – Laferriere
Turcotte – Laughton – Wright
Malott – Helenius – Ward
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Forsberg (starter)
Kuemper
Likely scratches: (F) Joseph and (D) Moverare
Injured Reserve: Armia, Fiala, Kuzmenko (injury status updates here)
How to Watch the Game
Puck drop is set for 1:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised by FanDuel Sports. Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app.
Across the Ice
Buffalo is coming off a 5-0 victory over San Jose on Thursday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
Benson – Thompson -Tuch
Zucker – McLeod – Quinn
Ostlund – Norris – Doan
Krebs – Carrick – Malenstyn
Samuelsson – Dahlin
Byram – Power
Stanley – Metsa
Lyon
On This Day in Kings History
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