“Speak softly and carry a big stick,” Theodore Roosevelt once said… and it appears Kings goalie Jonathan Quick subscribes to that theory.
Not known for his lengthy post-game quotes, the 35-year-old netminder has shown vintage form thus far this season. He enters the weekend with a 1.88 goals against average and .940 save percentage. Both marks are currently top 5 in the NHL and are well above his career-bests in each category. Will they normalize at some point? Most likely. However, until then, look for coach Todd McLellan to make sure he gets plenty of starts when possible.
With the back-to-back games this weekend, Quick and Petersen are expected to split the games.
Following LA’s loss to Washington on Saturday, we tweeted out some suggestions for line combos that were explored in depth on last week’s King Of The Podcast.
So….
9-11-33
19-24-22
17-89-23
48-46-12-34-91Discussed in detail here 👇 https://t.co/m2lS8emazN
— The Mayor | Team MM (@mayorNHL) November 18, 2021
McLellan seemed to be thinking in the same direction at practice over the last two days. Without a morning skate in advance of Saturday’s game vs. Carolina, nothing is for sure. Yet, all indications are Dustin Brown will slide down to the third line, leaving the fourth line as the only real question marks heading into today. At some point, Lias Andersson will return to the lineup; although probably not vs. the Hurricanes.
Defensively speaking, the same six McLellan has been using of late appears to be the direction. Look for a slight change tomorrow.
Update — sounds like Durzi could be making his NHL debut on Sunday
He's the current leader in scoring among active AHL defensemen, posting 13 points (5g, 8a) in 12 Reign games https://t.co/lTC0FA3pgZ
— The Mayor (@mayorNHL) November 19, 2021
And then a little further down the road, Drew Doughty will be returning. There’s nothing imminent there, as Friday was his first day back on the ice in a red non-contact jersey.
— The Mayor (@mayorNHL) November 19, 2021
LA KINGS PROJECTED LINEUP vs. CAROLINA HURRICANES on 11/20
Kempe – Kopitar – Arvidsson
Iafallo – Danault – Athanasiou
Moore – Kupari – Brown
Lemieux – Lizotte – Kaliyev
Other options: Andersson and Grundstrom
Edler – Roy
Bj̦rnfot РAnderson
Maatta – Clague
Other options: Durzi
Quick (starter)
Petersen (starter)
Injured Reserve: Doughty and Walker
On the Hurricanes side of things:
Today is expected to be the all-important ninth game for Seth Jarvis, making it decision time for #Canes management before Monday night in San Jose.
Either he will remain with the team, beginning year one of his entry-level contract, or he'll head back to the @pdxwinterhawks. https://t.co/azuHT0ypNT
— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) November 20, 2021
Per Walt Ruff, their projected lineup is:
Svechnikov – Aho – Jarvis
Teravainen – Trocheck – Necas
Niederreiter – Staal – Fast
Lorentz – Kotkaniemi – Stepan – Martinook
Slavin – Bear
Skjei – Pesce
Cole – DeAngelo
Andersen (starter)
Raanta
KINGS MILESTONES WITHIN REACH
Alex Edler – one goal away from career number 100
Anze Kopitar – needs 54 points to pass Dave Taylor for third on the Kings all-time scoring list
Dustin Brown is 10 goals away from passing Bernie Nicholls for fifth place in Kings franchise history
Saturday's Kings game will have a change…
— LA v Carolina will have Nick Nickson calling the game with Jim Fox on TV
— Josh Schaefer on Daryl Evans on radio
— The Mayor (@mayorNHL) November 18, 2021
Puck drop is scheduled for 1:00 pm PST tonight and the game will be on Bally Sports Network.
RELATED CONTENT:
NHL RADIO REPLAY: Mayor’s Minutes – Hoven on Kings Winning Streak and Items on the Horizon
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