St. Louis Blues v Los Angeles Kings (Staples Center)
Time: 7:30 PM
TV: Fox Sports West/Midwest
Enemy Reading: St. Louis Game Time
Kings projected lineup:
Brown-Kopitar-Carter
Gaborik-Stoll-Williams
Pearson-Lewis-Toffoli
Clifford-Richards-King
Doughty-Muzzin
Regehr-Martinez
McNabb-Greene
Quick
(Jones)
(Jones)
Blues projected lineup:
Steen-Backes-Oshie
Ott-Lehtera-Tarasenko
Berglund-Stastny-Jaskin
Porter-Lapierre-Reaves
Bouwmeester-Pietrangelo
Butler-Shattenkirk
Jackman-Lindbohm
Brodeur
(Allen)
Scratches: Joakim Lindstrom, Ian Cole, Magnus Paajarvi Injured: Carl Gunnarsson (concussion/hip), Brian Elliott (knee), Jaden Schwartz (foot)
Game notes:
- MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
- The last game was, obviously, demoralizing. Darryl Sutter refuses to panic and is sending out the exact same lineup with, believe it or not, the exact same line combinations. Of course, if the Kings don’t score in the first half of the game, all bets are off.
[EDIT, 7:10 PM: I lied! Sutter has swapped the lines, but we don’t have time to analyze them now!] - Was I reading too much into Jeff Carter flubbing a difficult shot late in Tuesday’s game when I used it as a symbol of a larger slump? Probably. Still, it’s time for Carter to find his stride, and even if being on Anze Kopitar’s line results in more difficult competition, he dearly needs to step up the production.
- The new Team LA store is open, which means every fan in attendance will have an opportunity to purchase the brand spanking new Stadium Series jersey. LUCKY!
- Jaden Schwartz, who scored the game-tying goal on Tuesday by being in the path of a slapshot, is out with a broken foot. Instead of slotting in Paajarvi (the expected move), the Blues called up Russian-born, Czech-raised youngster Dmitri Jaškin. Jaškin is a onetime KHL #1 draft pick, but never played a game in the league.
- T.J. Oshie returns after spending some time dealing with a family matter. Katie Baker wrote a solid piece about that shootout (you know the one), even mentioning Jonathan Quick’s acrobatics at the other end. You’d hear about it a bajillion times if tonight’s game was on NBCSN, but they’re too busy showing actual rivalries, like Bruins–Wild.
- Why do I have a strange feeling that Dwight King is going to score tonight? It’d be better than him boarding Alex Pietrangelo.
- MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
- Only two 2012 references in that preview, and no 2013 references? I’m disappointed in myself.
- Prediction: Kings 2, Blues 0. LA will play a #gritty game, get outshot, and come out on top.