The first of their two Western Canada road trips will feature the very first matchup this season vs the high-scoring Vancouver Canucks. The Kings have played premiere teams this season with mixed results thus far, and late into the season, they will play Vancouver four times in the season's final stretch.
Vancouver has established itself as a legitimate cup contender this year, and they've been able to do it with their depth, much like the early success this year for the Kings.
The Kings have been successful this year when their depth wins matchups. The marquee move was for PL Dubois in the offseason, giving them three excellent centers down the middle (in theory) and arguably a fourth in Blake Lizotte at 4C. The Canucks, however, have excellent depth at center as well, levying off Andrei Kuzmenko to Calgary, abling them to land Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames.
While Lindholm is a credible and established 1C in the NHL, their star center is the other Elias, Elias Pettersson, who has recently acted as a winger next to Lindholm. Down the middle with Pettersson, Lindholm, and JT Miller acts as dangerous and as good as any contender in the league.
Miller leads the Canucks with 79 points in 60 games (29-50). Pettersson has 74 points in 60 games (29-45). The King's top two centers, Phillip Danault and Anze Kopitar, are far different players. The Kings have two Selke-type centers playing in their top six. The center matchup may come down to the depth center battle, which should favor Dubois and Lizotte.
The defense is where the matchup gets tilted toward Vancouver. Quinn Hughes will finish first or second in the Norris Voting (12-58-70 +32 in 60GP). The D core has gritty and sizable defensemen in Tyler Mylers and Nikita Zadorov. Fleshing out the other two notable defensemen are veteran stalwart Ian Cole and underrated Filip Hronek.
The Kings are currently without half their top pair in, Mikey Anderson, who did not travel with the team for this trip. They are fielding two young righties in their D core, with Brandt Clarke playing his offside. The depth is being tested via a call-up for Jacob Moverare. Even if fully healthy, the matchup would be a coin toss.
In goal is where Vancouver has the star power. Cam Talbot and Dave Rittich have created excellent seasons for their AAV and market value. After having a terrible January, Talbot still holds impressive numbers. However, Thatcher Demko is a star in this league, and while he's had a couple of rough seasons in Vancouver, he's re-emerged.
Special Teams would favor the Kings, with the Kings barely edging their percentage by a decimal point as of 2/26. The Kings PK reigns supreme across the entire NHL. When you are missing two key contributors in Adrian Kempe (PP1/PK1), and Mikey Anderson (PK1) trouble will loom.
The matchup represents a new one for the Kings. If healthy, the Kings and Canucks would have the potential to be an excellent playoff series. In regular season games, anything can happen. On the road, the Kings have played games with a simplistic approach and a ton of pace.
Mistakes will have to be very limited as the Canucks will likely finish the season with a 40-goal scorer in Brock Boeser and two thirty-goal scorers in their top two centers.
Intriguingly enough, the Vancouver matchup will test the foundations of the potential for the Kings in the playoffs. While they aren't fully healthy, they still have the depth and team structure to grind out a win.
Without a win, the road trip becomes a 0-3 flop, just hoping to get out without another man down.
Projected Los Angeles Kings Lines:
Forwards:
Alex Turcotte - Anze Kopitar - Quinton Byfield
Trevor Moore - Phil Danault - Kevin Fiala
Jaret Anderson-Dolan - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Alex Alex Laferriere
Arthur Kaliyev - Blake Lizotte - Trevor Lewis
Defense:
Vladislav Gavrikov - Drew Doughty
Jacob Moverare - Matt Roy
Andreas Englund - Jordan Spence
Goalies:
Cam Talbot
David Rittich
Projected Vancouver Canucks Lines:
Forwards:
Höglander- Pettersson- Mikheyev
Suter- Miller- Boeser
Bains- Lindholm- Garland
Di Giuseppe- Blueger- Lafferty
Defense:
Hughes- Juulsen
Cole- Myers
Zadorov- Hronek
Goalies:
Demko
DeSmith