Preview: Edmonton Oilers (9-7-1) @ Los Angeles Kings (7-9-1)
How to Watch and What to Watch For
Notes:
Raise your hand if you thought that the Oilers would have a better record than the Kings. Go ahead, put them up high, it’s fine. Just a little survey between friends, right?
Not a lot of hands? That’s fine. Everything’s fine. It’s not like the Kings have lost four in a row or anything, or have relied mostly on depth scoring to get the job done. It’s fine.
So the Kings are trying to reset after a dismal road trip. They’re back home, in front of a friendly crowd, and want to start fresh, wipe the last four games from memory. Easier said than done, though, when you look at the lineup. (Anze Kopitar, Marian Gaborik, and Andy Andreoff all skated together this morning but none are ready to go just yet.) Peter Budaj continues to get all of the work in net, and the Kings will continue to lean on the Carter line to start producing instead of hoping for more depth scoring.
Of course, the Oilers are coming in with their own baggage as well; they’re looking to break a four-game losing streak of their own. Connor McDavid has two goals in the past fifteen games and goalie Cam Talbot has cooled off considerably and is being replaced in net tonight by Jonas Gustavsson. Milan Lucic, signed away from the Kings so that he could play alongside and/or protect McDavid, has been bumped to the third line.
Someone has to win this game. Right?
Line Combinations:
Los Angeles Kings
Pearson – Carter – Toffoli
Brown – Dowd – Setoguchi
King – Lewis – Nolan
Clifford – Shore – Purcell
Forbort – Doughty
Muzzin – Martinez
Gravel – Gilbert
Budaj
(Campbell)
Edmonton Oilers
Maroon – McDavid – Eberle
Pouliot – Nugent-Hopkins – Puljujarvi
Lucic – Draisaitl – Slepyshev
Kassian – Letestu – Pitlick
Klefbom – Larsson
Sekera – Benning
Nurse – Gryba
Gustavsson
(Talbot)
Opposing Preview: Copper & Blue