The kings look to bounce back after a loss against Vegas last night.
The Kings are coming off a 6-4 loss against the Vegas Golden Knights, who were without Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin, Shea Theodore, Mark Stone, and Mitch Marner, but the Kings could not get it done. On the positive side, Artemi Panarin, who played his first game with the Kings, made an immediate impact as he had 2 assists in his Kings debut. He played alongside Kempe and Kopitar, and they even had a beautiful tic-tac-toe goal, which could be something we see as the season progresses. But tonight the Kings take on their divisional rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, who are coming off a 6-4 loss against the Anaheim Ducks.
Kings Projected Lines
Here are the Kings' projected Lines for tonight:
Artemi Panarin - Alex Laferriere - Adrian Kempe
Quinton Byfield - Anze Kopitar - Trevor Moore
Warren Foegele - Alex Turcotte - Andrei Kuzmenko
Joel Armia - Samuel Helenius - Corey Perry
Brian Dumoulin - Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke
Mikey Anderson - Cody Ceci
Darcy Kuemper
Anton Forsberg
Oilers Projected Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Oilers tonight:
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Connor McDavid - Zach Hyman
Matt Savoie - Leon Draisaitl - Jack Roslovic
Vasily Podkolzin - Adam Henrique - Trent Frederic
Andrew Mangiapane - Curtis Lazar - Josh Samanski
Mattias Ekholm - Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse - Jake Walman
Spencer Stastney - Ty Emberson
Connor Ingram
Tristan Jarry
Injuries and Line Changes
Neither team had held a morning skate today since both teams played last night. The Kings are seemingly starting Darcy Kuemper since Anton Forsberg played last night. For the Oilers, it's the same: Connor Ingram will most likely get the start, even though he played last night after Tristan Jarry got pulled.
The top line changes a little for the Kings compared to last night, as Anze Kopitar is on the second line and Alex Lafreniere is on the first line with the new dynamic duo of Panarin and Kempe. The Oilers' lines are also similar to what they used last night.
Key Factors
The Kings played one of their best offensive games last night against Vegas, and while the result wasn't what they wanted, it's a positive sign given the Kings' very lacklustre offensive output. The Kings can also take advantage of the Oilers' subpar goaltending. While the Oilers' goaltending is not the best, the Kings will still have to be careful of McDavid and Draisaitl, who are fully capable of taking over a game regardless of how many goals the Kings score.
With Panarin providing the Kings with a new offensive spark, the Kings could get a big win tonight, as the Ducks moved into 2nd place in the Pacific after yesterday's win. The Kings are currently 3 points back of the Seattle Kraken for the final wildcard spot, and if they get a big win tonight against Edmonton, they will be within 1 point.