Kings Vs Sabres Game Preview: Kings Look To Stay In Wildcard Spot

The Kings are coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. The Kings earned 1 point in that game, which moved them into the final Western wildcard spot, and today's matchup won't be easy: the Kings host the Buffalo Sabres, who have been one of the NHL's best teams this season. The Sabres are coming off a 5-0 win over the San Jose Sharks and have not lost since March 12, when they faced the Washington Capitals.

Here are the projected lines for the Kings tonight: 

Artemi Panarin - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe

Trevor Moore - Quinton Byfield - Alex Laferriere

Alex Turcotte - Scott Laughton - Joel Armia

Jeff Malott - Samuel Helenius - Taylor Ward

Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty

Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke

Brian Dumoulin - Cody Ceci

Darcy Kuemper

Anton Forsberg

Here are the projected lines for the Sabres tonight: 

Zach Benson - Tage Thompson - Alex Tuch

Jason Zucker - Ryan McLeod - Jack Quinn

Noah Ostlund - Josh Norris - Josh Doan

Peyton Krebs - Sam Carrick - Beck Malenstyn

Rasmus Dahlin - Mattias Samuelsson

Bowen Byram - Owen Power

Logan Stanley - Zach Metsa

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Alex Lyon

The Kings get Joel Armia back after he missed the last 10 games, and they will also have Adrian Kempe in the lineup. The Kings have scratched Mathieu Joseph, Jacob Moverare, and Jared Wright in tonight's matchup. The Sabres have scratched Luke Schenn, Michael Kesselring, and Josh Dunne. 

The Kings are facing a very strong team in the Buffalo Sabres, so the big names of Kempe and Panarin will be looked to for a spark tonight. Panarin continues his impressive play with the Kings this season, as in his last 3 games, he has 6 points. For the Sabres, they have talent everywhere, but Rasmus Dahlin is the one to watch for the Kings because he is not only a very strong defenseman, but has 5 points in his last 5 games. 

The Kings are likely to start Darcy Kuemper in tonight's matchup, and it looks like he will be going up against Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who last played against the Vegas Golden Knights, where he recorded a shutout.

Overall, this is a very tough matchup for the Kings, but if they stick to their game and stay strong defensively, they can battle for a win. My prediction in tonight's matchup is a 3-2 Kings win.