Game Day #13: Kings @ Coyotes Preview

Los Angeles Kings v Phoenix Coyotes (Jobing.com Arena)

Time: 7.00 PM

TV: Fox Sports West

Enemy reading: Five for Howling

Coyotes (projected) lineup:

Boedker-Ribeiro-Vrbata
Klinkhammer-Vermette-Doan
Kennedy-Miele-Moss
Szwarz-Chipchura-Bissonnette

Ekman-Larsson-Michalek
Yandle-Morris
Schlemko-Stone

Smith

Injured: Jeff Halpern, Lauri Korpikoski, Rostislav Klesla; Scratched: David Rundblad; Suspended for being a huge doorknob, as usual: Martin Hanzal

Kings (projected) lineup:

King-Kopitar-Williams
Richards-Carter-Frattin
Brown-Stoll-Lewis
Clifford-Fraser-Nolan

Regehr-Doughty
Mitchell-Voynov
Muzzin-Greene

Scrivens

Game notes:

• The Coyotes are a bit banged up, with three lineup regulars sitting out tonight. Martin Hanzal is also serving the first game of his two-game suspension, which is good because now he can't try to murder Dustin Brown again and also because he is the Coyotes' leading scorer, with 11 points in 12 games.
• If you make a "Hanzal so hot right now" joke in the comments, I will ban you. If I can do that. [Note to self: find out if you can ban people.]
• If, on the other hand, you are the first person to tweet/alert me regarding a Mike Smith hissyfit, I will bestow upon you my eternal love. Oh, that Mike Smith. What a guy.
• As you will probably recall, the Coyotes and the Kings played a few short days ago. The Kings raced out to a 4-0 lead, coughed up that entire lead, then cruised through the third period to a 7-4 victory. Most importantly, Dwight King scored a hat trick. And that is why Dwight King will remain on the first line unto the end of days, or something. I can't even tell if I'm being ironic about this stuff anymore. Anyway, the point is, the Coyotes will be out for vengeance and probably get all mad about rivalries and stuff. Plus, the Kings and Coyotes are tied in the standings because the Pacific is hard, and a four-point swing would be nice even if the season is still young.
• The Kings' lineup tonight is almost identical to the game against the Oilers. Of note: the much-maligned third line turned in a decent performance on Sunday, which we all hope was a sign of improvement and not the "you're playing a truly awful team" bounce.
• The only change for the Kings is that back-up Ben Scrivens starts tonight. I've always thought the conventional wisdom is that you give your starter the easier game in a back-to-back to ensure at least one win, but I guess Darryl Sutter thinks the Kings can take two of two.
• Prediction: Kings win 6-2, Mike Smith cries, the usual.