The LA Kings are hosting the Seattle Kraken tonight as they hope to go into the winter break with a win.
The LA Kings are on their 2nd game in a back-to-back, after losing 3-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets yesterday. The Kings have lost 4 of their last 5 games and are 3 points behind the Edmonton Oilers for 3rd in the Pacific. The Kraken are coming into this game riding a two-game win streak. They defeated the Sharks on Saturday, 4-2, then last night defeated the Ducks, 3-1, and they are looking to also go into the winter break with a win.
Projected Kings Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Kings tonight:
Warren Foegele - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe
Kevin Fiala - Quinton Byfield - Alex Laferriere
Trevor Moore - Alex Turcotte - Andrei Kuzmenko
Joel Armia - Samuel Helenius - Corey Perry
Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke
Brian Dumoulin - Cody Ceci
Pheonix Copley
Anton Forsberg
Projected Kraken Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Kraken tonight:
Kaapo Kakko - Matty Beniers - Jordan Eberle
Eeli Tolvanen - Chandler Stephenson - Frederick Gaudreau
Jani Nyman - Shane Wright - Ryan Winterton
Tye Kartye - Ben Meyers - Jacob Melanson
Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Larsson
Ryker Evans -- Jamie Oleksiak
Cale Fleury -- Josh Mahura
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
Line Changes and Injuries
The Kings seem to be keeping the lineup the same as last night. The starting goaltender is unknown, and in the Kings' last back-to-back games, Forsberg started both. The Kraken lineup is also similar to last night, but one player missing is defenseman Vince Dunn, who will not be playing tonight after he left the game after getting hit by Ducks forward Ross Johnston. The Kraken will also be starting Joey Daccord tonight after Philipp Grubauer started yesterday.
Key Factors
The Kings need offence, which is their biggest issue this season. They are averaging 2 goals per game, which ranks 30th in the NHL. On the defensive end, they have been strong; over the last 5 games, the most goals they have allowed is 4, with one of those being an empty-net goal. The Kings are desperate for scoring, and aside from Kempe and Fiala, they are not getting the offence they need to win games.
Kempe is the only player on the Kings with 30 points, and the next closest is Fiala, who has 23 and is the only King other than Kempe with 20-plus points. The big issue that keeps repeating itself is that Quinton Byfield in December has 0 points and a 0 plus/minus. While many players have slumps, the Kings continue to give him playing time, as he is averaging nearly 18 minutes per game this month alone.
The Kraken are coming off a huge win against the Ducks, and the Kings are desperate for a win. If they can generate more offence than normal, this team can be competitive now and when the playoffs start. My prediction for tonight's game is a 3-2 win for the Kings.