The Kings are looking to get back into a playoff spot as they host the Anaheim Ducks.
The Kings host the Ducks tonight as they look to get back into the playoff picture, and facing a divisional opponent tonight makes this game even more important. The Kings are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss against Vegas, which saw the Kings tie up the game late in the 3rd, but Mark Stone scored the winner just 25 seconds into overtime. The Ducks just ended their 9-game losing skid as they beat the Dallas Stars 3-1 on Tuesday. During that losing skid, the Kings did defeat the Ducks 6-1, and they look to do so again.
Projected Kings Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Kings tonight:
Jeff Malott - Alex Laferriere - Adrian Kempe
Warren Foegele - Quinton Byfield - Joel Armia
Kevin Fiala - Alex Turcotte - Andrei Kuzmenko
Andre Lee - Samuel Helenius - Taylor Ward
Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke
Brian Dumoulin - Cody Ceci
Darcy Kuemper
Anton Forsberg
Projected Ducks Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Ducks tonight:
Chris Kreider - Mason McTavish - Ryan Strome
Alex Killorn - Mikael Granlund - Beckett Sennecke
Cutter Gauthier - Ryan Poehling - Troy Terry
Ross Johnston - Tim Washe - Jansen Harkins
Jackson LaCombe - Jacob Trouba
Olen Zellweger - Radko Gudas
Pavel Mintyukov - Drew Helleson
Lukas Dostal
Ville Husso
Line Changes and Injuries
The Kings are getting Joel Armia back after he missed the last 5 games due to a lower-body injury. The Kings will be without Corey Perry and Jacob Moverare, who are scratched for tonight's game. The Kings will also still be without Anze Kopitar and Trevor Moore. The Ducks are getting Troy Terry back after he missed the last 3 games. Cutter Gauthier is back after missing the Stars game due to an illness, and Chris Krider is a game-time decision due to an illness.
Key Factors
The Kings have to be strong defensively tonight, especially with the Ducks getting some of their big players back. This Ducks team is young and fast, and the Kings will have to be smart defensively to succeed. The Kings are rolling with Darcy Kuemper, who posted a .889 save percentage in the Vegas game. The Ducks are starting Lukas Dostal, who posted a .960 save percentage in the 3-1 win over Dallas.
This Ducks team has only 1 win in January, and has struggled in those games, so the Kings need to take advantage and get 2 points against a divisional team.
With the way the Ducks play, the Kings will need all 3 lines of defence to be strong tonight, and they have been throughout the entire season. Another player the Kings could be looking at is Brandt Clarke, who has 4 points in his last 5 games and has been a key component of the Kings' offence recently. Kuemper is the biggest player in tonight's game, as he has been off his usual game recently, and a big win tonight could help get his confidence back up.