There’s a three-way battle atop the division standings, yet it’s a pair of Pacific Northwest teams that aren’t making it easy on Los Angeles. After defeating the Kraken 3-1 on Saturday, the Kings now have an unenviable task of taking on the Canucks in Vancouver on Sunday for a back-to-back affair to end this week’s road trip. Then, they’ll face the Oilers and Golden Knights, the other two teams looking to lay claim to the 2022-23 division title, and possibly the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
A Kings victory today would get them to 100 points, marking only the sixth time in franchise history — a span of 55 years — they will have hit the century mark. Even a simple point would punch their ticket to post-season play.
Nothing ever comes easy against Vancouver, though. LA will be facing a team they haven’t beaten in regulation since 2018 (although they did manage a shootout victory in December 2021). Quite simply, the Canucks have found plenty of success against the Kings in recent years largely thanks to their top forwards, Elias Petterson and Brock Boeser. That duo has a combined 21 goals against LA in 14 games. Keeping those two off the scoresheet could go a long way to securing victory.
Coach Todd McLellan is once again expected to turn to Joonas Korpisalo between the pipes. Overall, the Kings goaltending continues to be terrific of late, as they have allowed two goals or less in thirteen of the last fourteen contests.
Defensively speaking, McLellan will most likely go with the same configuration from last game due to the continued absence of Mikey Anderson. This also means veteran Alex Edler will be playing on consecutive nights, a rarity this season.
Perhaps the most obvious questions come at forward. Gabe Vilardi is once again expected to miss the game while recovering from an injury. Kevin Fiala had returned to the lineup yesterday, but was clearly still bothered by something nagging him. Despite being visibly agitated at some discomfort early in the game, he did continue to play and even scored an empty net goal to secure the victory. Assuming he plays, he’ll most likely be back on the third line. However, it’s very conceivable that McLellan would sit him out and let him rest for the important game against Edmonton on Tuesday. If so, that would likely result in Arthur Kaliyev moving up to RW3 and Zack MacEwen or Jaret Anderson-Dolan getting some action on the fourth line.
LA Kings Projected Lineup vs. Vancouver Canucks
Byfield – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Iafallo – Lizotte – Fiala
Grundstrom – Kupari – Kaliyev
Gavrikov – Doughty
Durzi – Roy
Edler – Walker
Korpisalo
Copley
Scratches: Anderson, Anderson-Dolan, Bjornfot, Vilardi, MacEwen
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 contest, the Canucks lost to the Flames 5-4 in overtime on Friday night.
Here’s how Vancouver lined up to start that one:
https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1641985907262906370
On This Day in Kings History
On April 2, 1977, Marcel Dionne became the first player in @LAKings' history to score 50 goals in a season. Dionne scored his 11th career hat trick, and with five points, recorded his 120th point of the season in a 7-2 win against the Minnesota North Stars.#LAKings #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/t5yytjjoOd
— The Kingstorian (@Kingstorian) April 2, 2023
On April 2, 2019, the @LAKings signed free agent forward Blake Lizotte from St. Cloud State University to a three-year, entry-level contract. Lizotte made his NHL debut four days later, and led all #LAKings' rookies in scoring in 2019-20 with 23 points in 65 games.#GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/o9dbXjSdb5
— The Kingstorian (@Kingstorian) April 2, 2023
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