The Kings have played 2 games with Artemi Panarin as they look to get their first win since acquiring him.
The Kings are coming off an 8-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, and there were few positives to take away from that game. The Kings are 3 points back of the last wild-card spot, held by the Seattle Kraken. The Kings host the Calgary Flames, who currently sit 28th in the NHL, so the Kings, if they want to stay in the playoff race, have to treat this game as a must-win.
Projected Kings Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Kings:
Warren Foegele - Anze Kopitar - Corey Perry
Artemi Panarin - Alex Laferriere - Adrian Kempe
Trevor Moore - Quinton Byfield - Taylor Ward
Jeff Malott - Alex Turcotte - Samuel Helenius
Mikey Anderson - Brian Dumoulin
Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke
Jacob Moverare - Cody Ceci
Darcy Kuemper
Anton Forsberg
Projected Flames Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Flames:
Yegor Sharangovich - Mikael Backlund - Matt Coronato
Connor Zary - Nazem Kadri - Joel Farabee
Blake Coleman - Morgan Frost - Matvei Gridin
Martin Pospisil - John Beecher - Adam Klapka
Kevin Bahl - Mackenzie Weegar
Yan Kuznetsov - Zach Whitecloud
Joel Hanley - Zayne Parekh
Dustin Wolf
Devin Cooley
Line Changes and Injuries
Earlier today, the Kings announced that forward Andrei Kuzmenko underwent successful surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He will be out week to week. The Kings will also be without Joel Armia (upper body) and Drew Doughty (lower body). With Drew Doughty out, Jacob Moverare is now in the lineup for the Kings. The Flames have scratched Ryan Lomberg and Brayden Pachal in tonight's matchup as well.
Key Factors
Since returning from the Olympic Break, the Kings are 0-2, allowing 14 goals and scoring only 5. The Kings have to treat tonight's game against the Flames as a must-win, as they look not only to bounce back from the 8-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers but also to secure their first win with Artemi Panarin.
The Kings have elected to keep Panarin with Kempe, forming a new duo that could make a huge offensive impact for the Kings, who rank 4th-worst in goals per game. Calgary is ranked 2nd last in goals per game, so the Kings need to take advantage in tonight's game. With a win tonight, the Kings would move within 1 point of the Seattle Kraken for the final wildcard spot.