The Kings host the New York Islanders in what is Anze Kopitars 1500th career game.
The Kings are looking to get back in the playoff race as they faceoff against the New York Islanders. Currently, the Kings are sitting 5 points back of the final wild card spot with 1 game in hand. This game has an extra incentive tonight as Anze Kopitar becomes the 8th player in NHL history to play 1500 career games with the same franchise. Kopitar becomes the second active player to reach 1500 career games as he joins Alex Ovechkin.
Kings Projected Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Kings tonight:
Artemi Panarin - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe
Warren Foegele - Alex Turcotte - Alex Laferriere
Corey Perry - Kenny Connors - Trevor Moore
Jeff Malott - Samuel Helenius - Taylor Ward
Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke
Brian Dumoulin - Cody Ceci
Darcy Kuemper
Anton Forsberg
Islanders Projected Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Islanders tonight:
Ondrej Palat - Bo Horvat - Mathew Barzal
Jonathan Drouin - Calum Ritchie - Emil Heineman
Anders Lee - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Simon Holmstrom
Kyle MacLean - Casey Cizikas - Marc Gatcomb
Matthew Schaefer - Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech - Tony DeAngelo
Carson Soucy - Scott Mayfield
Ilya Sorokin
David Rittich
Injuries and Line Changes
The Kings have a couple of players returning to the lineup after missing some games. Drew Doughty returns tonight after his lower-body injury, and Trevor Moore and Darcy Kuemper are back in the lineup after both were out due to illness. Quinton Byfield will miss his second straight game due to an undisclosed injury, and he may be placed on injured reserve.
The Islanders did not have a morning skate after losing to the Ducks 5-1 last night. The Islanders have also scratched Maxim Shabanov, Anthony Duclair, and Adam Boqvist in tonight's game.
Key Factors
Since returning from the Olympic break, the Kings have played 4 games and are 1-3, with their only win coming against the Calgary Flames. The Kings' point gap to a playoff spot has been slowly widening, and if they do not start changing things now, it could be too late.
The Kings get Darcy Kuemper back, and he is likely to start tonight. For the Islanders, it looks like Ilya Sorokin gets the start after David Rittich started in last night's game. The Kings, since returning from the Olympic break, have still struggled to score, even with the addition of Artemi Panarin.
For the Kings to be succesful in tonight's matchup, they will have to focus on the number 1 overall pick in the 2025 NHL draft, Matthew Schaefer, who has 4 goals and 5 points in his last 4 games.
If the Kings want to stay in the playoff race, they have to start winning more, and for Kopitar's 1500th career game, there's no better time to start now. My prediction for tonight's game is a 4-1 Kings win.