The Kings host the Ottawa Senators tonight as they look to avoid losing 4 in a row.
The Kings are hosting the Senators tonight as they try to avoid a 4-game losing streak. The Kings’ last win came against the Senators on November 15th. The Sens are looking for their 3rd straight win.
Here are the projected Kings lines for tonight:
Kevin Fiala – Quinton Byfield – Adrian Kempe
Andrei Kuzmenko – Anze Kopitar – Trevor Moore
Joel Armia – Phillip Danault – Alex Laferriere
Warren Foegele – Samuel Helenius – Corey Perry
Mikey Anderson – Joel Edmundson
Brian Dumoulin – Brandt Clarke
Jacob Moverare – Cody Ceci
Darcy Kuemper
Anton Forsberg
Here are the projected Senators lines for tonight:
David Perron – Tim Stutzle – Drake Batherson
Lars Eller – Dylan Cozens – Fabian Zetterlund
Michael Amadio – Shane Pinto – Claude Giroux
Nick Cousins – Stephen Halliday – Hayden Hodgson
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub
Tyler Kleven – Jordan Spence
Nikolas Matinpalo – Nick Jensen
Leevi Merilainen
Linus Ullmark
The Kings are still without Drew Doughty, who remains out with a lower-body injury. As for the lineup, Kuemper gets the start for the Kings tonight. Jeff Malott is scratched tonight, and Samuel Helenius is in for Alex Turcotte. For the Senators, they are without Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot, Ridly Greig, and Olle Lycksell. Goaltender Leevi Merilainen is getting the nod for the game tonight.
The Kings have shifted the lines, moving the Kopitar line down and the Byfield line up. The Kings are changing things up as they try to get back into the win column. The top line of Kempe, Fiala, and Byfield is going to have to be a difference maker tonight if the Kings want to have a chance of winning. Ottawa, on the other hand, is coming into this game with lots of momentum after beating both the Sharks and the Ducks. With Brady Tkachuk out, the Senators have been looking at Tim Stutzle, who has 21 points in 21 games this season.
Ottawa is ranked 31st in the NHL for penalty kill, and the Kings’ power play is ranked 28th, so the Kings can get their power play back on track if they attack the weak penalty kill of the Ottawa Senators.
The Kings also have a leg up in the goaltender matchup tonight, as Merilainen has a 3.53 GAA and a .868 SV%, while Kuemper has a 2.38 GAA and a .906 SV%. Even with the goaltending duel leaning towards the Kings, they will still have to play a complete game to break their losing streak.
If the Kings can get to Merilainen early, they can control the game and win, breaking the losing streak. My prediction for tonight is that the Kings will defeat the Senators 4-2.
