Kings coach Todd McLellan wasn’t happy following his team’s win on Saturday night, and for good reason. After jumping out to a big lead early, they largely took the second half of the game off. What should have been a lopsided win eventually had to be decided in shootout.
With a few days of separation since the rocky weekend rollercoaster, he’ll be looking for something a little less wild for Tuesday’s contest in Minnesota.
We have a lot of work to do. Championship teams don't do that.. You have to be able to play with a lead. Our team has to improve immensely in that area. — McLellan
— The Mayor | Team MM (@mayorNHL) February 19, 2023
The two clubs have met twice this season, with LA winning both contests in decidedly different fashion. Back in mid-October, it was a 7-6 victory in Minnesota (featuring Kevin Fiala’a first trip back to the State of Hockey since his summertime trade, and he produced three points in that game). A rematch in LA three weeks later saw McLellan’s crew skate to a 1-0 victory.
Something similar to the latter could be in store this time around.
While it likely won’t happen as early as tonight, look for Quinton Byfield to possibly move to 4C on this road trip. The reasons behind the idea were discussed here:
NHL RADIO REPLAY: Mayor’s Minutes – Hoven on Chychrun and How Kings Will Navigate the Trade Deadline
LA Kings Projected Lineup vs. Minnesota Wild
Byfield – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Fiala – Lizotte – Iafallo
Kaliyev – Kupari – Vilardi
Anderson – Doughty
Durzi – Roy
Edler – Walker
Copley
Quick
Scratches: Anderson-Dolan, Bjornfot, Lemieux
Injured Reserve: Grundstrom (Jan. 19)
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 5:00 pm PST and will be televised by Bally Sports.
Across the Ice
In their last game played, Minnesota defeated Nashville 4-3 on Sunday
Here’s how they lined up earlier today:
#mnwild lines the same
Kaprizov Hartman Zuccarello
Beckman Ek Boldy
Greenway Gaudreau duhaime
Shaw Dewar ReavesMiddleton Spurgeon
Brodin Dumba
Merrill Goligoski— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) February 21, 2023
RELATED CONTENT:
Rob Blake Offers High Praise and Trade Deadline Foreshadowing
Lineup image created by ALo Images
Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news or interviews from this site please remember to include a link to www.MayorsManor.com