Los Angeles Kings vs. Phoenix Arizona Coyotes (Staples Center)
Time: 7:30 Pacific
TV: Fox Sports West
Enemy Reading: Hockey Wilderness
Kings Lines:
Milan Lucic – Anze Kopitar – Marian Gaborik
Tanner Pearson – Jeff Carter – Tyler Toffoli
Dustin Brown – Nick Shore – Trevor Lewis
Kyle Clifford – Jordan Weal – Jordan Nolan
Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty
Brayden McNabb – Alec Martinez
Christian Ehrhoff – Matt Greene
Scratched: Andy Andreoff, Jeff Schultz, Derek Forbort. Injured: Dwight King
Confidence in these line combos is shaky, as the Kings did not have a full practice this morning.
Coyotes Lines:
Yikes – Oh No – Why
Lol – Wtf – Omg
Who? – Him? – [gritted teeth emoji]
Lmao – Rofl – Shane Doan
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Traffic Cone
Oops – Michal Rozsival’s Thigh
Who Cares – Martin Hanzal, maybe?
A Real Jerk
???
Confidence in these line combos is strong, this is the roster the Coyotes will ice tonight.
Game Notes
- The Kings enter tonight on a season-worst one-game losing streak.
- I haven’t believed in the Coyotes for awhile, but everyone keeps saying that the Kings are really truly playing them. I think you all might be part of some weird Flat Earth Society, but I’ll suspend my disbelief tonight.
- Disappointing that the Kings will scratch Andy Andreoff tonight, as he scored his first NHL goal against Mike Smith. I didn’t even have to look that up! Mike Smith stinks.
- It’s actually not disappointing that the Kings will scratch Andreoff. Doing so will allow Jordan Weal to draw into his first ever NHL game. Unless the Kings change their minds at the last minute, and why would they ever do something so strange and cruel?
- The Kings also appear set to scratch Jeff Schultz in favor of Brayden McNabb. This is good, because only one of those guys is a good player and it isn’t the one who played against the San Jose Sharks.
- Take both of those last two notes with a grain of salt, as I’ll once again say that the Kings did not have a full practice today. However, LA Kings Insider Jon Rosen reported that Jeff Schultz, Andy Andreoff, and Derek Forbort stayed on the ice for extra work this morning. That usually indicates that a healthy scratch is forthcoming.
- The Coyotes actually have some interesting young talent. Max Domi will make his NHL debut and Anthony Duclair will play his first game with the Coyotes. In a few years time, they’ll replace Shane Doan and Oliver Ekman-Larsson on that lineup as the players I can remember definitely play for this fake team.
- Arizona also signed former King Brad Richardson. During his time with the Kings, he oscillated between 4th-liner and healthy scratch, so he immediately will become the most talented player on the Coyotes roster.
- As mentioned, Mike Smith stinks. He had one of the worst seasons by a starting goaltender in recent memory last year. He hopes to rebound, I hope that he lets more goals go in off of his butt.
- Go Kangz.