The Kings could potentially clinch the Playoffs tonight for the 5th straight season.
The Kings play their 80th game of the season, and they are still chasing down the final wildcard spot. The Kings are coming off a big 1-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers, which saw Anton Forsberg make 27 saves for the shutout. The Kraken, on the other hand, are coming off a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames. The way the Kings can clinch a playoff spot tonight is with a win against Seattle in any fashion, and the Nashville Predators lose to the San Jose Sharks in regulation.
Projected Kings Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Kings tonight:
Artemi Panarin - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe
Trevor Moore - Quinton Byfield - Alex Laferriere
Joel Armia - Scott Laughton - Jared Wright
Mathieu Joseph - Samuel Helenius - Taylor Ward
Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke
Brian Dumoulin - Cody Ceci
Anton Forsberg
Darcy Kuemper
Projected Kraken Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Kraken tonight:
Bobby McMann - Matty Beniers - Jordan Eberle
Eeli Tolvanen - Chandler Stephenson - Jaden Schwartz
Berkly Catton - Frederick Gaudreau - Kaapo Kakko
Ryan Winterton - Oscar Fisker Molgaard - Jacob Melanson
Vince Dunn - Adam Larsson
Josh Mahura - Brandon Montour
Ryker Evans - Jamie Oleksiak
Nikke Kokko
Victor Ostman
Line Changes and Injuries
The Kings have scratched Jacob Moverare for tonight's matchup. The Kings will also be without Jeff Malott (undisclosed), Alex Turcotte (undisclosed), and Andrei Kuzmenko (meniscus). The Kraken are without Shane Wright (upper body), Philipp Grubauer (lower body), Joey Daccord (lower body), Matt Murray (personal), and Jared McCann (lower body).
Key Factors
The Kings are also expected to start Anton Forsberg, who was named the NHL first star of the week. Forsberg has also been playing his best hockey this season. In his last 5 starts, Forsberg has not had a save percentage lower than .935.
Once again, this game for the Kings is the biggest of the season, especially with the Kings potentially clinching tonight. The most important factor for the Kings tonight is to control what they can control and focus on beating Seattle, as even if the Sharks do not beat the Predators in regulation, a win tonight could be the reason they make the playoffs.