The Los Angeles Kings are back in action on Thursday after a much-needed four-day break to take on the Florida Panthers.
The Los Angeles Kings are back in action on Thursday after a much-needed four-day break to take on the Florida Panthers.
The Kings need to find their game at home, where they boast a 1-3-3 record. Last time out against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Kings were outworked and didn't look like themselves.
They could also use a strong performance in net on Thursday. I'm expecting Cam Talbot to get the start, and if he can provide the solid goaltending he has for most of this season, the Kings are in a good spot.
Another thing to keep an eye on is the lines. Todd McLellan shifted them around to try and get both Kevin Fiala and Pierre-Luc Dubois going against Philadelphia, but that didn't work.
I'd imagine he keeps those changes intact and it will be interesting to see if those two have a big impact on the game.
Two players who have consistently impacted games recently are Quinton Byfield and Adrian Kempe. Byfield is on a six-game point streak with 10 points in that period, while Kempe is on a nine-game point streak with 14 points in those nine games.
It's great to have your top players firing on all cylinders, but those point streaks will end and the Kings need others to pick up the slack when they do.
One line that is picking up the slack is the fourth line. Carl Grundstrom, Blake Lizotte and Trevor Lewis have been fantastic this season and given the King's true four-line depth.
Grundstrom, in particular, has started strong with six goals in his first 14 games, good for second on the team.
There's one change expected with Alex Laferriere coming out and Jaret Anderson-Dolan drawing in.
This move makes sense. Laferriere's play has dipped a little recently and a game up in the press box could be what he needs.
On the other side, Anderson-Dolan hasn't played much hockey this season and can use the game.
The Panthers will present a big challenge for the Kings though, they're currently on a six-game winning streak and are sitting second in the Atlantic Division.
Sam Reinhart will be a player to keep an eye on, as he's started the season red-hot with 23 points in 15 games.
Of course, there's also the Drew Doughty versus Matthew Tkachuk rivalry to look forward to. Maybe Andreas Englund will get involved in that one this season.
Los Angeles Kings Projected Lines:
Forwards:
Quinton Byfield - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe
Kevin Fiala - Phil Danault - Trevor Moore
Alex Laferriere - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Arthur Kaliyev
Carl Grundstrom - Blake Lizotte - Trevor Lewis
Defense:
Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty
Vladislav Gavrikov - Matt Roy
Andreas Englund - Jordan Spence
Goalies:
Cam Talbot
Pheonix Copley
Projected Florida Panthers Lines Per THN Florida:
Forwards:
Evan Rodrigues – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Nick Cousins
Ryan Lomberg – Kevin Stenlund – Steven Lorentz
Defense:
Gus Forsling- Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Josh Mahura – Uvis Balinskis
Goalies:
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Solarz