Well, this is it; the Kings final opportunity to earn a victory at this year’s NHL Rookie Faceoff. They’ve dropped a pair of games by a single goal each and will now try to turn the tide against longtime rival, the Anaheim Ducks.
Monday’s matinee affair is expected to feature the return of Friday’s top line, consisting of Andre Lee, Frankie Pinelli, and Alex Laferriere. They were electric at times in the tournament opener and will likely need to drive the offense today for coach Marco Sturm.
Martin Chromiak provided much of the scoring punch in Game 2, yet there’s a possibility he is rested today, as some players were only slated to get two games total. The challenge there is the Kings only brought 15 forwards to Las Vegas, so it can’t be an even distribution across the board.
In net, Erik Portillo will be looking to rebound from a poor showing in Game 1. He came in to relieve Jacob Ingram in that contest and came away on the losing end of shootout with the Coyotes.
On defense, Kim Nousiainen is slated to remain in the lineup after drawing in for his first appearance of the tournament on Saturday. Will Jakub Dvorak get a third game, that question will probably not be answered until warmups. Thus far, he’s skated in both games.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Ducks:
Game 3 | 2023 Rookie Faceoff
Lee – Pinelli – Laferriere
Tschigerl – Johnson – Ziemmer
Armstrong – Jamsen – Chromiak
Lawrence – Thorpe – Francis
Dvorak – Nousiainen
Booth – Mayer
Modry – Coyle
Portillo
Oster
A stream to watch today’s game is available at the link down below.
2023 ROOKIE FACEOFF SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 15
Game 1 – SJS def. LAK, 4-3 SO
Game 2 – COL def. ARI, 3-2 OT
Game 3 – ANA def. VGK, 4-2
Saturday, Sept. 16
Game 1 – ARI def. LAK, 3-2
Game 2 – SJS def. VGK, 5-1
Sunday, Sept. 17
Game 1 – COL def. ANA, 5-3
Monday, Sept. 18
Game 1 – ARI vs. SJS, 10 am PT
Game 2 – ANA vs. LAK, 12:30 pm PT
Game 3 – COL vs. VGK, 3 pm PT
RELATED CONTENT:
2023 NHL Rookie Faceoff Stream
10 Tidbits from Kings Second Game at 2023 NHL Rookie Faceoff
Lead photo via ALo Images
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