Before we get to tonight’s lines, let’s take look back at the matchups from the prior meeting.
Thanks to Time on Ice, we have sortable charts at even strength.
Dustin Penner, Mike Richards, and Dustin Brown spent the most time against Ott-Benn-Eriksson. Eriksson, their leading goal-scorer, had just come off a splendid night against the Ducks.
This is what Mike Richards and his linemates have been tasked with most often. While Richards has a Selke nomination under his belt, this is a new world for the Kings’ top six.
Possible Stars Lineup:
Morrow-Ribeiro-Ryder
Ott-Benn-Eriksson
Nystrom-Fiddler-Dvorak
Wandell-Dowell-Burish
Goligoski-Pardy
Souray-Robidas
Grossman-Daley
Lehtonen
Kings Lineup:
Gagne-Kopitar-Williams
Parse-Richards-Brown
Penner-Stoll-Richardson
Clifford-Lewis-Moreau
Mitchell-Voynov
Scuderi-Johnson
Martinez-Greene
Quick
Doughty is still out, but Parse and Penner change spots.
Will Terry Murray shift the stopper role to Stoll, or will he look for Parse to excel both offensively and defensively? Murray was notably less than thrilled with Parse’s defensive positioning in the playoffs, but Parse is fully recovered from injury now. Keep an eye on this line and see what happens tonight.