MayorsManor First Goal Contest: Game 43 – Kings at Sharks

April 16, 2013 By John Hoven

Tonight very well could be a preview of next month’s playoff match-up – Kings v Sharks, SoCal v NoCal.

In their two previous contests this year, the home team has won each time, with the Sharks earning a 4-3 victory in San Jose on March 14 and the Kings coming out on top 5-2 in Los Angeles a few nights later. They’ll meet again in two weeks, on the final day of the NHL regular season, at Staples Center. Of course, that game may end up determining who gets home ice advantage in the playoffs.

There’s still plenty of hockey left to be played between now and then though, and best of all you might win a prize for correctly guessing who will score first for the Kings later this evening.

Before we go any further here, it should be noted, defenseman Matt Greene is still on IR and will not be playing tonight. Yes, he’s traveling with the team and is expected back soon – just not yet.

Now, on with the show. To enter, just follow these three simple steps…

STEP 1 – Some required reading:

– Even more fun with Doughty and Lewis

– Doughty and Sutter talk about the fight with Sharks captain Joe Thornton

– LA Kings players talk Ryan Clowe stick play from last season

STEP 2 – Click here to check out all the cool stuff Hockey Soda Energy has to offer because they’re putting together a prize pack for the winner. Their full line of Hockey Energy products are designed to improve protein metabolism, reduce fatigue and appetite, plus sharpen perception.

STEP 3 – Place a comment below with the LAST NAME of the LA Kings player you think will score first vs. the Sharks (one entry per person). We’ll pool all the correct entries and one person will be randomly selected to receive a free Hockey Soda Energy prize pack featuring a hockey puck and a 6-pack of Hockey Energy Soda (must be 16 years of age or older).

To get you started, here are the line combinations and D-pairings that coach Darryl Sutter is expected to use:

FORWARDS

Dustin Brown – Anze Kopitar – Justin Williams

Dustin Penner – Mike Richards – Jeff Carter

Dwight King – Jarret Stoll – Trevor Lewis

Kyle Clifford – Brad Richardson – Jordan Nolan

DEFENSE

Robyn Regehr – Drew Doughty

Rob Scuderi – Slava Voynov

Jake Muzzin – Keaton Ellerby

Healthy Scratches: Colin Fraser, Alec Martinez and Tyler Toffoli

Goaltender Jonathan Quick is expected to get the start in net. He’s 8-4-4 vs. San Jose in his career, with a 2.63 goals against average.

Good luck in the contest!

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About John Hoven

John Hoven is a member of the of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and co-hosts Kings of the Podcast. He is also the founder and editor of MayorsManor.com, which has been named Best Sports Blog in Los Angeles by LA Weekly and Hockey Blog of the Year by Yahoo Sports. Click "ABOUT OUR TEAM" above for a full bio.