The Kings are in the nation’s capital tonight as they face off against the Washington Capitals.
The Kings are playing the best hockey so far this season, having won their last 4 games and coming off a 1-0 win over the Ottawa Senators. The Capitals are currently on a 2-game losing streak after a 3-2 shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils.
Here are the projected lines for the Kings tonight:
Joel Armia – Anze Kopitar – Adrian Kempe
Kevin Fiala – Quinton Byfield – Alex Laferriere
Warren Foegele – Phillip Danault – Trevor Moore
Jeff Malott – Alex Turcotte – Corey Perry
Mikey Anderson – Brian Dumoulin
Joel Edmundson – Brandt Clarke
Jacob Moverare – Cody Ceci
Darcy Kuemper
Anton Forsberg
Here are the projected lines for the Capitals tonight:
Connor McMichael – Dylan Strome – Alex Ovechkin
Aliaksei Protas – Justin Sourdif – Tom Wilson
Anthony Beauvillier – Hendrix Lapierre – Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime – Nic Dowd – Ethen Frank
Martin Fehervary – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Jakob Chychrun – Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin – Declan Chisholm
Charlie Lindgren
Logan Thompson
The Kings will be without defenseman Drew Doughty, who suffered a lower-body injury during the Senators game and was seen leaving the arena with a walking boot. The Kings have made a couple of changes on defence, as Jacob Moverare will play his second game of the season tonight. As well, Brian Dumoulin is moving to the right side, and Mikey Anderson is the 1st defenseman on the left side.
Kings coach Jim Hiller said Dumoulin is comfortable & experienced on both sides and that it shouldn’t be a difficult transition. The Kings are also scratching Andrei Kuzmenko, who did not play in the 1-0 win over the Ottawa Senators. The Capitals will be without defenseman John Carlson, who is out with an upper-body injury.
The Kings recently signed forward Adrian Kempe to an 8-year, $10.625 million deal, and tonight he is a key factor in the game as he is a point-per-game player so far this season, with 19 points in 19 games. The Kings also face goaltender Charlie Lindgren, and while he has been solid for the Capitals this season, the Kings get a little lucky because they do not have to face Logan Thompson, who has had an incredible start to the season.
The Kings will be starting Darcy Kuemper tonight after Forsberg stopped all 17 shots he faced. The Kings will have to be wary of their defence, as without Doughty, they are missing a leader and a guy who plays top-line minutes, so both Anderson and Dumoulin will have to be great tonight against a strong Capitals team. The Kings have to stay out of the penalty box tonight as best as possible, as they do not want to face Alex Ovechkin on the power play.
Overall, if the Kings want to win their 5th straight game, they will have to focus on defence most of all due to the loss of Doughty. I predict the Kings will play a tight defensive game tonight and win 3-2 against the Capitals.
