Los Angeles Kings v St Louis Blues (Staples Center)
Time: 7.00 PM
TV: CBC, RDS, NBC Sports Network, Fox Sports West
Enemy reading: St Louis Game Time
Previous series coverage: Preview | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Blues (projected) lineup:
Schwartz-Backes-Steen
Perron-Berglund-Oshie
McDonald-Sobotka-Stewart
Cracknell-Porter-Reaves
Pietrangelo-Bouwmeester
Shattenkirk-Leopold
Jackman-Polak
Elliott
Injured: Langenbrunner; Scratched: Grachev, Jaskin, Murray, Nichol, Tarasenko, Chorney, Cole, Hakanpaa, Russell, Woywitka
Kings (projected) lineup:
Brown-Kopitar-Williams
King-Richards-Carter
Penner-Stoll-Lewis
Clifford-Fraser-???
Regehr-Doughty
Muzzin-Scuderi/Voynov
Martinez/Ellerby-Scuderi
Quick
Injured: Mitchell; Scratched: Richardson, Nolan, Toffoli, Greene?
Game notes:
- Forgot to mention this before, but apparently Ken Hitchcock thinks that the ice at Staples Center is smaller than in other arenas, because of the rounded corners and also because geometry is hard? Can’t wait for him to stop the game and call for a rink curve measurement.
- There are some rumblings (mostly random uninformed ones on the internet) that Vladimir Tarasenko will re-enter the Blues lineup tonight. It would be a logical response to jump-start a Blues team that has looked muted offensively, but word from the Blues beat is that any lineup changes will be game-time decisions.
- Robert’s stats breakdown highlights the relative success of Coach Sutter’s seven-defencemen scheme from Game 3. He’s pretty much a “stick with what’s working” guy, so I’d guess that’s what we’ll be seeing again tonight.
- (Sidenote: I have no idea if Matt Greene counts as injured or scratched anymore.)
- (Further sidenote: I am choosing to be in denial over speculation that Anze Kopitar is injured, and also various comments from Coach Sutter that “some guys” are “banged up”. I have seen this movie before and I do not like how it ends.)
- Jonathan Quick, man. I know clutch isn’t a real quality, but he turned up huge in Game 3 (like he did in Games 1 and 2, but without giving up his obligatory softie). If he can’t be a .960 goalie all of the time, or even most of the time, at least he can do it some of the time in the playoffs.
- If the Kings want to come back to take this series, the power play might want to start out-chancing the short-handed Blues. The team also might want to stop taking such a grim number of silly and unnecessary penalties.
- Prediction: Kings win. The magnificent Justin Williams scores probably a million goals. Ken Hitchcock cries about it a lot.
- KINGS IN SIX.