The Kings host the Golden Knights tonight as they look to get back into a playoff spot and close the gap on Vegas, which currently sits atop the Pacific Division. The Kings are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Monday. Their schedule has recently pitted them against some of the best NHL teams, and tonight's game is no different, as Vegas currently sits 9th in the NHL. Vegas is coming off a 7-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks and is looking for its 5th straight win.
Projected Kings Lines
Here are the projected Lines for the Kings tonight:
Jeff Malott - Alex Laferriere - Adrian Kempe
Warren Foegele - Quinton Byfield - Taylor Ward
Kevin Fiala - Alex Turcotte - Andrei Kuzmenko
Andre Lee - Samuel Helenius
Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke
Brian Dumoulin - Cody Ceci
Jacob Moverare
Darcy Kuemper
Anton Forsberg
Projected Knights Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Golden Knights tonight:
Ivan Barbashev - Jack Eichel - Mark Stone
Reilly Smith - Mitch Marner - Pavel Dorofeyev
Alexander Holtz - Tomas Hertl - Keegan Kolesar
Cole Reinhardt - Colton Sissons - Branden Bowman
Noah Hanifin - Zach Whitecloud
Jeremy Lauzon - Shea Theodore
Ben Hutton - Kaedan Korczak
Akira Schmid
Carl Lindbom
Line Changes and Injuries
The Kings will be without Corey Perry tonight due to a family matter. With Perry out and Jacob Moverare in, the Kings will have 11 forwards and 7 defencemen in tonight's matchup. Kopitar, Armia, and Moore all had on-ice workouts but will not be playing in tonight's game. The goaltending matchup looks to be Kuemper vs Schmid, as the Knights are without Hart and Hill, both out due to lower-body injuries.
Key Factors
The Kings' schedule has not been kind to them recently, as they have faced some of the NHL's best teams, yet they have been able to hold their own. Vegas is a tough opponent, and the Kings can close the gap with a win tonight. With the Kings having only 11 forwards in tonight's game, they will once again look not only to their big guys to provide offence but also to their depth skaters to provide energy.
One player who can provide that spark for them is Kuzmenko, who has been moved up and down throughout the lineup. With him on the 3rd line alongside Kevin Fiala, that line will be looked to for depth scoring against a Vegas team that has deep depth throughout its roster.
Darcy Kuemper has not been his usual self over the last 3 games; in that span, he is 0-2-1, allowing 11 goals. Also, in those 3 games, he has not posted a save percentage higher than .900; in one of those games, he posted a .688, so the Kings will need him to be at his best tonight against a strong offensive Vegas team.
Overall, if the Kings can stay smart defensively and have the depth forwards provide good offensive chances alongside the top lines, they can walk away with a win.
My prediction for tonight's game is a 4-1 Kings win.