Tonight, the Los Angeles Kings kick off the preseason with a pair of split-squad games against the Phoenix Arizona Coyotes! Coverage will be provided by radio (KABC AM 790 and KABC.com) and by Twitter (find the reporters).
Rich Hammond reported on the Los Angeles lineup this morning. Jon Rosen just came in with the lineup in Phoenix. Going off of that, here are the lineups for tonight’s games.
LOS ANGELES
Top line: Marian Gaborik, Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown
Fourth line and fourth line hopefuls: Kyle Clifford, Trevor Lewis, Adam Cracknell, Andy Andreoff, David Van Der Gulik
Forward prospects: Valentin Zykov, Brian O’Neill, Michael Mersch, Nick Shore
NHL Defensemen: Jake Muzzin, Matt Greene, Alec Martinez
Defensive prospects: Derek Forbort, Nick Ebert, Alex Roach, Vincent LoVerde, Kurtis MacDermid
Goaltenders: Martin Jones, Jeff Deslauriers
PHOENIX
Second line: Tanner Pearson, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli
Third line: Dwight King, Mike Richards, Justin Williams
Fourth line and fourth line hopefuls: Jordan Nolan
Forward prospects: Jordan Weal, Justin Auger, Maxim Kitsyn, Nic Dowd, Scott Sabourin
NHL defensemen: Robyn Regehr, Slava Voynov, Brayden McNabb, Jeff Schultz
Defensive prospects: Alex Lintuniemi, Colin Miller
Goaltenders: Jean-Francois Berube, Patrik Bartosak
Thoughts on those…
- Think we’ll get an early indicator as to whether Andy Andreoff or Adam Cracknell has the inside track on a 12/13 forward spot with LA tonight. The indicator being, who skates with Clifford and Lewis? Jordan Nolan playing in Phoenix seemingly puts him in line for the press box as of now.
- Then again, there are additional preseason games for each guy to get their shot to skate with NHL forwards. Still, with both guys needing to clear waivers, it’s a key battle for a team without many battles.
- The other battle: Brayden McNabb attempting to squeeze his way into the Kings’ second pairing. Sending him to play with Slava Voynov and Robyn Regehr is yet another indicator that if he’s impressive, that’s where he’ll end up. Eventually.
- Jarret Stoll will not play due to his recovery from hip surgery. Drew Doughty probably won’t play due to his “upper-body injury,” which appears to have something to do with his face. Whether Jonathan Quick plays is anyone’s guess, but I’d expect him to sit as well, leaving an opportunity for Berube or Bartosak to start.
- van der Gulik isn’t really a fourth line hopeful, but he’s 31 years old. He ain’t a prospect.
- ZYKOV AT STAPLES. Find a cheap ticket for tonight if you can.
We’ll update this post once we have more info on the rest of the lineups. Sadly, the game isn’t on television or stream tonight, but a radio broadcast should be available.
[UPDATE, 1:20 PM: The rest of the skaters in Los Angeles were tweeted out by Helene Elliott. Jon Rosen has an update on the Arizona lineup.]