In a season where teams are only playing opponents from the same division, it’s a little odd that this late into the year the Kings and Coyotes have only met three times thus far. LA took the first two games, played in February, while Arizona came out on top in the lone matchup from February. Now, with both teams desperate for points in the standings, they’ll faceoff for a pair of games at Staples Center.
Coach Todd McLellan will again be shorthanded entering Monday’s game, as Matt Roy and Tobias Bjornfot
LA Kings projected lineup vs. Arizona Coyotes
Iafallo – Kopitar – Brown
Moore – Vilardi – Carter
Athanasiou – JAD – Kempe
Grundstrom – Lizotte – Wagner
Anderson – Doughty
MacDermid – Walker
Clague – Strand
Petersen (starter)
Quick
Other players available:
Toby Bjornfot
Sean Durzi
Brendan Lemieux
Not available:
Martin Frk (IR)
Matt Roy (protocol)
Olli Maatta (IR, out week-to-week)
The taxi squad is currently comprised of Matt Luff, Lias Andersson, Drake Rymsha, and Troy Grosenick.
LA Kings morning skate is underway for tonight's game vs Arizona Coyotes.
Matt Roy still missing, as is Toby Björnfot.
All other players are accounted for and Brendan Lemieux is skating.
Lineup projection coming soon.
— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) April 5, 2021
And Frk is no longer in a red no-contact jersey. Full participant in the skate.
— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) April 5, 2021
McLellan didn't offer any real clarity on Bjornfot. Day to day and he's being evaluated every morning. When he's ready to go, he'll be back in.
Not expected to play today, unless there is a swerve coming.
— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) April 5, 2021
Lemieux will not play tonight. Probably Wednesday.
— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) April 5, 2021
Additional comments from McLellan following Monday’s morning skate…
McLellan on the reconfigured blueline last game, including after Matt Roy was a late scratch
With the pair that went in that have spent the majority of the season in the minor league [Clague and Strand], they gave us a pretty darn good game. Obviously, everybody is gonna look at the miscommunication with Quickie on the winning goal and the two young defensemen, but that happens in a game. It happens with veteran defensemen, as well. It was a mistake, we couldn’t overcome it, but no big deal. They’re both getting better. They’re both gaining more confidence. MacDermid coming back into the lineup, we’re asking him to do a little bit more right now too. There’s no doubt we’re thin on the blue line, but we think that the players that have put the jerseys on and got in for the three players who are out, they’ve done a real good job and will continue to.
On the Coyotes coming into the second game of a back-to-back, while the Kings had yesterday off
It can go two different ways. We’ve witnessed it when we’ve been the team coming off a back-to-back. You’re on the road, you played the night before. Yeah, you expended some energy, but you also get a little rest in the hotel. Where we took a day off, there’s always concern about can you find your legs quick enough after an off day? We had a morning skate, which should help. The investment that we make early in the game, hopefully it pays off later on. Late in the third period or halfway through the third you’re hoping that you have better legs and a little more energy than the opposition. It doesn’t always work out that way. I think a lot of times back-to-backs are overrated. It’s often when you get a number of games in a row and your team is tired — four in six, or five in eight, something like that. And that’s happening to everybody right now. There’s no one single team that is getting punished for that. It exists everywhere.
On Alex Iafallo’s consistency
I’ve said this before, all aspects of his game are a real good modeling tool for a lot of young players coming up because he can check, he’s responsible defensively, and understands structure. On the other end of it, he may not be the most gifted player in any area, but he puts all his tools together and, as a result, he becomes a pretty consistent, trusting player. We have some individuals right now that are very, very streaky. They’re outstanding when they’re going well offensively, but then we miss them for 10 or 11 games. That’s the trick to becoming a real good player in the league – when you’re hot, stay hot and when you’re cold, get out of it quick. Every extra day you stay cold, it hurts that individual and it also hurts the team.
On if he wants to keep Moore on the line with Vilardi and Carter
For a little while we will. We’re just trying to find a little consistency with our lines and getting them to gel. We’re through 2/3 of the season. When you split them 18 games, special teams were pretty close to each other in those splits. We won more games in the first 18 than we did in the second 18. The consistency of units in the second half wasn’t anywhere near the first half. That’s due to a number of reasons – performance, both offensively and defensively; injury; COVID. You name it, it came into play for different reasons and we’d like to get consistent. We’d like to find a group that works. Sometimes it works well offensively, but defensively the lines are getting eaten alive. Just trying to balance it out. It’s such a fine line for us right now, winning and losing, that we need that balance. We need four lines. We can’t play a three line game with the amount of games that we have.
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