Kings Vs Kraken Game Preview: Kings Looking to Extend Point Streak to 3 Games

The Kings have had a busy day today after they traded for Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers in exchange for Liam Greentree, a conditional 3rd and 4th round pick, with the Rangers retaining 50%. While we will not see Panarin make his Kings debut tonight, the Kings have a big game, as they have 1 game in hand on the Seattle Kraken and are behind Seattle by 1 point for the last wild card spot in the west. 

Here are the projected lines for the Kings tonight: 

Trevor Moore - Anze Kopitar - Joel Armia

Corey Perry - Alex Laferriere - Adrian Kempe

Kevin Fiala - Quinton Byfield - Andrei Kuzmenko

Jeff Malott - Samuel Helenius - Taylor Ward

Brian Dumoulin - Drew Doughty

Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke

Jacob Moverare - Cody Ceci

Darcy Kuemper

Anton Forsberg

Here are the projected lines for the Kraken tonight: 

Jared McCann - Matty Beniers - Jordan Eberle

Ryan Winterton - Chandler Stephenson - Eeli Tolvanen

Jaden Schwartz - Shane Wright - Kaapo Kakko

Tye Kartye - Frederick Gaudreau - Jacob Melanson

Vince Dunn - Adam Larsson

Jamie Oleksiak - Brandon Montour

Ryker Evans - Ryan Lindgren

Joey Daccord

Philipp Grubauer

The Kings will be without defensemen Mikey Anderson, who is out with an upper-body injury, so Moveare will slot into the lineup for the first time since January 20th. The Kings also recalled Hicketts from the Ontario Reign on an emergency basis. The Kraken placed Catton on injured reserve on Wednesday.

The Kraken also recalled Fisker Molgaard from Coachella Valley, and he could play tonight. The Kings are starting Darcy Kuemper tonight. Kuemper last played against the Flyers, where he posted a .905 save percentage. The Kraken are starting Joey Daccord, who last played against the Golden Knights and posted a .931 save percentage.

The Kings are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss against Carolina, which saw them battle back from a 2-0 deficit to get the one point, which was a big performance for the Kings. They were down 2-0 with 10 minutes left, and the Kings battled back. While they lost, it was encouraging to see them battle back and earn at least a point. 

Tonight's matchup is very important for the Kings, who have 1 more game after today before the Olympic break. The Kraken are coming into this game having won 4 of their last 5 games, and the Kings will need to play their best tonight, as a win would move them into a playoff spot. 

It was a very busy day for the Kings, and they are looking to get a big win that puts them into a playoff spot before Panarin puts on a Kings jersey for the first time. My prediction for tonight's game is a 4-1 Kings win.