Things change quickly in 2021. Entering LA’s recent two-game set vs. Vegas there was a dark cloud hanging over the Kings. Now, coming off a dominant win vs. the Golden Knights on Wednesday, everybody is smiling and pumped for back-to-back games with the Sharks this weekend.
Two tweets to share, one from yesterday and one from early this morning:
Björnfot doubtful tomorrow, per McLellan
Also said Lemieux will need a practice or two before the Kings put him in the lineup. (He's still going through protocol. Should be cleared in the next few days.)
— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) April 1, 2021
LA Kings roster note:
Slight update on @blemieux22 – hearing he would clear protocol on Monday at the earliest.
Then, as McLellan noted yesterday, they'd probably like to get him in a practice or two before playing.
— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) April 2, 2021
Coach Todd McLellan usually doesn’t reveal too much about his lineup in advance, however he did indicate the forward groups will probably stay the same tonight and Kurtis MacDermid could possibly draw in on defense.
Leading to a question of… Would MacDermid replace the injured Toby Bjornfot alongside Matt Roy, or would he slide onto the third pair opposite Austin Strand?
LA Kings projected lineup vs. San Jose Sharks
Iafallo – Kopitar – Brown
Moore – Vilardi – Carter
Athanasiou – JAD – Kempe
Andersson – Lizotte – Wagner
Anderson – Doughty
MacDermid – Roy *
Walker – Strand *
* these pairings will be updated later today should the Kings activate Clague off of taxi Update – Clague activated, so we’ll assume MacDernid is not playing, leaving:
Clague – Roy
Walker – Strand
Petersen (starter)
Quick
Other players available:
Toby Bjornfot
Carl Grundstrom
Not available:
Martin Frk (IR)
Olli Maatta (out week-to-week)
Brendan Lemieux (story here)
The taxi squad is currently comprised of Matt Luff, Kale Clague, Austin Strand, Lias Andersson, Drake Rymsha, and Troy Grosenick… ADD Sean Durzi
Matt Luff has cleared waivers. Hearing LA Kings will assign him to the taxi squad now. pic.twitter.com/dRW3z4v70J
— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) April 2, 2021
He's on the ice as a 58 right now for Kings morning skate, but could it finally happen tonight… has the moment arrived, after all the maneuvering… this could be it, the final domino pic.twitter.com/OMjFbs11Ze
— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) April 2, 2021
NOTE: Following the Kings media availability this morning, we’ll add a few relevant quotes to this article, if applicable.
On what he likes to see when a defenseman draws back in after sitting out a few games
You’re obviously talking about MacDermid in that situation. Dermy has a specific role to play. He’s physical, he has to be positional. Granted, we don’t look for a lot of offense from him. He does have a good shot and he’s been able to use it a few times, but the majority will come from defending and being positionally sound, understanding his range and how to use it. Whether he comes back into the lineup, as you mentioned, or he plays every day, that’s part of his recipe. He has to follow that on a nightly basis. For the most part, he does.
On if he views the games vs. teams around them in the standings as any more important
I think that’s fair to say, but this is gonna sound very cliché-ish, they’re all important. It doesn’t matter whether the team is next to you in the standings or not. When you’re a seven or eight team division, and four are gonna make it, every night is a four-point game. Even when we play against a team like Vegas, to come out of the road trip and basically play .500, I don’t think it affects them a lot in the standings, but it sure does for us. It’s important for us to approach every game like that.
On finding the right combos in the bottom-9 and if he’d like to keep things together coming off the last win
Coming off a win, we’d like to keep what we have. I thought the fourth line in particular, Lizotte’s line, played a real solid game in Vegas. It was an unbalanced night. Vegas was short a player, so their level of competition likely went up with one of their top three often occupying that spot. I thought they did a good job defensively. I think Trevor Moore has given Gabe Vilardi’s line a little a balance when it comes to playing defensive and checking. The wild card for us is really JAD’s line. The other night, it produced with a goal and some real good chances. If we can keep that up and have all four lines producing at both ends of the rink, never mind offense, but at both ends of the rink, then we have a chance.
On if there has been any thought to move away from the 50/50 goalie rotation and ride a hot hand during this important stretch
Well we’ve done that in small portions during the year. Sometimes our hand was forced due to injury or illness or COVID. Yes, we would like to get into that situation, but when you look at the number of games we play – I’ve said it all along, both of them are important and will continue to be important.
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