The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings#google_vignette] are looking to win their 3rd straight game after beating the Minnesota Wild [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild] in back-to-back games. The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings#google_vignette] are fresh off a 4-2 win against the Wild [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild] on Monday. The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings#google_vignette] have put together strong performances against the Wild in both games and look to continue that play against the Sharks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks], who are fresh off a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets]. 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#google_vignette] tonight: Taylor Ward - Alex Laferriere - Adrian Kempe Warren Foegele - Quinton Byfield - Jeff Malott Kevin Fiala - Alex Turcotte - Andrei Kuzmenko Samuel Helenius - Andre Lee Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke Brian Dumoulin - Cody Ceci Jacob Moverare Darcy Kuemper Anton Forsberg PROJECTED SHARKS LINES Here are the projected lines [https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-lineup-projections-2025-26-season] for the Sharks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks] tonight: William Eklund - Macklin Celebrini - Igor Chernyshov Pavol Regenda - Alexander Wennberg - Tyler Toffoli Jeff Skinner - Ty Dellandrea - Collin Graf Barclay Goodrow - Zack Ostapchuk - Ryan Reaves Dmitry Orlov - Timothy Liljegren Mario Ferraro - Vincent Iorio Sam Dickinson - Nick Leddy Yaroslav Askarov Alex Nedeljkovic KEY CHANGES AND LINES The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings#google_vignette] will be without Kopitar and Armia after they both got injured in the game against the Wild. Trevor Moore is considered day-to-day and has missed the last 3 games due to an illness. Corey Perry has been scratched tonight and placed on the designated non-roster list due to a family matter. The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings#google_vignette] will dress 11 forwards and 7 defencemen, with Jacob Moverare as the extra defenceman. The Sharks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks], who played yesterday, did not have a morning skate, and Yaroslav Askarov is likely to get the start tonight after Alex Nedeljkovic played last night. KEY FACTORS The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings#google_vignette] are coming into this game after beating the Minnesota Wild [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild] twice, and they are looking to continue their winning ways. The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings#google_vignette] played very good games against the Wild [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild], and every player played their absolute best, generating chances from all lines in both games. Kuzmenko had a goal and an assist in the 4-2 win on Monday, as well as the Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings#google_vignette]' entire team played 2 complete, solid games, and they look to continue it against the Sharks. The Sharks are on the second game of their back-to-back, and the Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings#google_vignette] can take advantage, considering they haven't played since Monday. This game is very big for both teams, as they each have 45 points at this point in the season and hold the 2 wild-card spots in the west. While the Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings#google_vignette] beat a very strong Wild team, they cannot take tonight off against the Sharks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks], as they have Macklin Celebrini, who is 3rd in the NHL in points and very capable of taking over games. Overall, if the Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings#google_vignette] play as they did against the Wild [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild], they should be able to walk away with a win and close the gap between them and 3rd place in the Pacific. My prediction for tonight's game is a 5-2 win for the Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings#google_vignette].
