LA returns to action tonight in San Jose as they continue the end stretch of the 2023 calendar against Pacific Division opponents. Following a thrilling nine-round shootout victory in Seattle on Saturday night, Todd McLellan’s group is looking to get back to their consistent winning ways.
Although San Jose sits dead last in the Pacific Division, there is no excuse for LA to take this game lightly. The Sharks are a .500 team on home ice this season and always seem to play tough against the Kings.
With Pheonix Copley going down to injury late last week, McLellan will need to decide which of his goaltenders will get the initial draw in LA’s back-to-back situation with San Jose and Seattle. If he goes with David Rittich, it would be his first career start in an LA sweater. However, in his career, Rittich has posted a 2-2-2 record when facing San Jose. Meanwhile, Cam Talbot has a career mark of 7-9-3 vs. the Sharks.
Given the Kings utilized an optional morning skate in San Jose earlier today, McLellan is keeping his goalie decision close to the vest for now.
Tuesday’s game in San Jose also comes with at least two warnings, both with very similar themes.
Don’t believe the hype about Kings management being panicked to make a goalie trade now that Copley is out for an extended period of time.
With Copley Out for Extended Time Period, Will LA Kings Explore a Goalie Trade?
And don’t buy into the those counting out NoCal’s hockey team. Despite their spot in the standings, there is more to the story when peeling back the onion.
Stats Worth Knowing
— San Jose has won three straight games at home. They also have a winning record in the month of December (4-3-1) after a dreadful start in October, where they didn’t manage a single victory in nine contests (0-8-1).
— The keys to beating San Jose appear to be centered on three areas. First, score against them before they get to you. When an opponent scores first, the Sharks are only 2-15-0 this season. If you’re ahead at either intermission, the Sharks are pretty much cooked. When trailing after one period, they’re 0-11. When trailing after two periods, they’ve managed just three points in 19 games. And when the opposition doesn’t keep it close, Metallica’s favorite hockey team struggles. In 2-goal games, they’re 0-5. In 3-goal games they aren’t much better, sporting a 2-12 mark.
— This game will begin the fifth back-to-back set for LA this season, where they are 4-1-3 thus far. In the first game, they’ve gone 3-0-1.
— Adrian Kempe will skate in his 500th career NHL game tonight. In doing so, he will become just the 13th player from the 2014 NHL Draft class to reach that mark; joining teammates Kevin Fiala (515 GP) and Viktor Arvidsson (528).
— More Kempe: In his 499 games with the Kings, he’s racked up 280 points. Only five other skaters in franchise history have accumulated at least 280 points through their first 499 games over the past three decades.
— Anze Kopitar as posted 68 points (26G, 42A) in 89 career games vs. San Jose. He leads all active skaters in points and sits in fifth all-time vs. the Sharks. With one point tonight, he’ll tie Shane Doan for fourth-most.
— Kevin Fiala: He now has 99 points (29G, 70A) in 96 career games with the Kings. Two more points will get him to the century mark. Only nine other players have recorded 100 points with the Kings in 100 games or fewer — Wayne Gretzky (47 GP), Charlie Simmer (72 GP), Tomas Sandstrom (80 GP), Marcel Dionne (86 GP), Ziggy Palffy (88 GP), Jari Kurri (91 GP), Luc Robitaille (93 GP), Jason Allison (94 GP) and Jimmy Carson (96 GP).
— Drew Doughty has points in five straight games against San Jose (1G, 4A) dating back to April 10, 2021. Further, his 36 points (6G, 30A) against the Sharks are the most in the league among active defensemen.
— Quinton Byfield’s plus-19 rating is tied for third-best among 2020 NHL Draftees behind Florida’s Anton Lundell (+38) and Carolina’s Seth Jarvis (+21).
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Sharks
Byfield – Kopitar – Kempe
Fiala – Danault – Moore
Laferriere – Dubois – Kaliyev
Grundstrom – Lizotte – Lewis
Anderson – Doughty
Moverare – Roy
Englund – Spence
Rittich (starter)
Talbot
Likely scratches: Anderson-Dolan, Bjornfot
Injured: Arvidsson (LTIR), Copley (LTIR), Gavrikov (IR)
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm Pacific Time and will be televised by ESPN+.
Across the Ice
San Jose is coming off a 6-2 loss to the Avs in Colorado on Sunday.
Here’s how they lined up earlier this morning while preparing for tonight’s game vs. LA:
#SJSharks lines in morning skate, Duclair back in, no Addison or Rutta, Couture/Carpenter aren't on lines:
Eklund-Hertl-Barabanov
Duclair-Granlund-Zetterlund
Hoffman-Kunin-Bailey
Labanc-Studnicka-ZadinaFerraro-Burroughs
Okhotiuk-Thrun
Vlasic-MacDonald— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 19, 2023
Well, look at that, Couture is participating in morning skate drills. First time he’s done that all year, good step pic.twitter.com/4n7sXmYdoN
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 19, 2023
On This Day in Kings History
On December 19, 2008, Trevor Lewis made his NHL debut at HSBC Arena against the Buffalo Sabres. Lewis, who was selected 17th overall by the @LAKings in 2006, recorded three points in his first six NHL games in 2008-09.#LAKings #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/pi6G2bAKpJ
— The Kingstorian (@Kingstorian) December 19, 2023
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Game day graphic created by ALoImages
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