Game Day #53: Kings @ Sharks Preview

Los Angeles Kings v San Jose Sharks (SAP Center)

Time: 7.00 PM

TV: NBC Sports Network, Fox Sports West

Enemy reading: Fear the Fin

Sharks (projected) lineup:

Pavelski-Thornton-Burns
Nieto-Marleau-Wingels
Kearns-Desjardins-Kennedy
Brown-McCarthy-Hayes

Vlasic-Demers
Stuart-Braun
Irwin-Boyle

Stalock

Injured: Adam Burish, Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, Raffi Torres; Scratched: Martin Havlat, James Sheppard, Scott Hannan

Kings (projected) lineup:

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

Muzzin-Doughty
Regehr-Voynov
Mitchell-Greene

Quick

Injured: Alec Martinez; Scratched: Jordan Nolan, Jeff Schultz

Game Notes:

• I am too overwhelmed with Kings ennui to muster up many thoughts about this game.
• This isn't a bad team, and that much is usually obvious when they play, but it is numbing to watch the same game play out over and over again, regardless of quality of opponent. They lose games they should win and they lose games they shouldn't win and it's not the losing - it's the listless, uninspired way they look while doing it.
• Ugh. In news which I'm sure will cheer you up, Alec Martinez suffered a hyperextended elbow during Saturday's game against the Ducks, and will be replaced in the lineup by Matt Greene, whose concussion was magically healed in a revolutionary treatment I think they call "oh god please not Jeff Schultz".
• If Tyler Toffoli doesn't play tonight, I say we riot. There is no logical justification for benching one of the Kings' most offensively gifted forwards in favour of guys who just aren't getting the job done. It doesn't matter if he's not as responsible defensively if nothing happens offensively. Do you hear me, Darryl Sutter? You can't win games 0-0. You can't.
• Ugh.
• The Sharks are now a mildly depressing number of points ahead of the Kings in the standings, since they haven't lost in their last six. Some of those haven't been particularly convincing wins, but they're still doing well and even though Extra Skater isn't loading for me right now, they're still very obviously a very good team.
• Prediction: 1-0 Kings shootout win, Tyler Toffoli benched, the clinching shootout goal scored by Colin Fraser or something equally stupid.