The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] are coming off a 5-4 shootout victory over the St. Louis Blues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues], where Trevor Moore scored the shootout winner. The Kings' issues with holding a lead were front and centre during that game, as they were up 2-0 before the Blues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues] stormed back and took a 3-2 lead. The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] would then make it 4-3 with 3 minutes left before the Blues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues] eventually tied it up again. The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] were able to escape, but they cannot do that tonight against one of the league's best teams, the Detroit Red Wings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings], who are looking for their 6th consecutive win. PROJECTED KINGS LINES Here are the projected lines [https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-lineup-projections-2025-26-season] for the Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] tonight: Corey Perry - Alex Laferriere - Adrian Kempe Trevor Moore - Quinton Byfield - Warren Foegele Kevin Fiala - Joel Armia - Andrei Kuzmenko Jeff Malott - Samuel Helenius - Taylor Ward Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty Jacob Moverare - Brandt Clarke Brian Dumoulin - Cody Ceci Darcy Kuemper Anton Forsberg PROJECTED RED WINGS LINES Here are the projected lines [https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-lineup-projections-2025-26-season] for the Red Wings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings] tonight: James van Riemsdyk - Dylan Larkin - Lucas Raymond Alex DeBrincat - Andrew Copp - Patrick Kane Emmitt Finnie - J.T. Compher - Marco Kasper Elmer Soderblom - Michael Rasmussen - Mason Appleton Travis Hamonic - Moritz Seider Ben Chiarot - Axel Sandin-Pellikka Albert Johansson - Jacob Bernard-Docker John Gibson Cam Talbot LINE CHANGES AND INJURIES The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings]' coach, Jim Hiller, had a couple of updates ahead of tonight's matchup. Joel Edmundson is a game-time decision. Alex Turcotte is out, and the Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] are hopeful that Kopitar may play before the end of the trip, but he will not be in the lineup tonight. The Red Wings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings] will be without defenseman Simon Edvinsson, who will miss his 3rd straight game. KEY FACTORS The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] will need to play their best hockey tonight, as the Red Wings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings] have been incredible this season and can capitalize on every mistake. Lucas Raymond has 58 points in 51 games and will be on the Kings' radar tonight. The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] need to play better than they did against the Blues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues], as they blew several leads, and with how good the Red Wings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings] have been, that cannot happen tonight. The Kings will be looking for their defence to step up in a big way, especially Drew Doughty [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings/latest-news/will-kuemper-and-doughty-even-get-to-play-for-canada-at-the-olympics], who has not been playing his best hockey recently. If the Kings want to continue being a great defensive hockey team, they will need him at his best. Darcy Kuemper [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings/latest-news/will-kuemper-and-doughty-even-get-to-play-for-canada-at-the-olympics] gets the start tonight as he will be going up against John Gibson, who has won his last 5 starts. Gibson has allowed only 2 goals in his last 2 games. Overall, the Kings will need to focus on stopping the Red Wings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings]and creating counterattacks and quick transitions to generate some valuable offence. The top line of Perry, Laferriere, and Kempe will have to generate offence early and create momentum chances. Overall, this game is an uphill battle for the Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings], but if they stay strong on defence, their offence can feed off that energy and create high-quality scoring chances. If the Kings can do all of that, it can result in a very close game. My prediction is a 3-2 Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] win.
